The dumbest things you've heard from a provider

Nurses Relations

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The other afternoon an OB resident came by to check in with a patient, the OB doc seemed very perplexed as to why the patient was crying. "I don't know why she would be crying, that seems strange..."

Because postpartum women NEVER cry. THERE'S NO CRYING IN CHILDBIRTH RECOVERY!!

So what are some of the things a provider has said that just make you wonder?

Specializes in Pedi.
I was a patient in an ER 2 years ago when i was 27. I had a really bad pyelo, a fever, and having a lot of pain. The ER Resident came up to me and said oh we cant admit you your just too young to be admitted to a hospital you will catch something and get sick.

The last time I was in the ER was about 6 years ago. I went over my history with the triage nurse and then a medical student comes in the room all perplexed, looks at me and says "why did you have a brain tumor?" Me: "uhhhh, because one decided to grow in my brain?"

Same medical student a few hours later says "I think you have viral pharyngitis, I'm going to talk to the doctor about starting you on penicillin." Next thing I know I've got an Attending in my room explaining to me why we don't use antibiotics to treat viruses... I'm like "I know that, you might want to give this little lecture to your student."

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.

PCP doing rectal check and states "Oh, you have stool there..."

Really?? Alert the media.

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Specializes in GI, ER, ICU, Med/Surg, Stress Test Nurse.

I was working in ICU, Pt. RR 35, HR 145, LOC altered, sat 90% on 100% NRB; family extremely worried; Doc says to me the lowly nurse, She's better, You don't need to be so excited -- Nurse - maybe this pt need a pulmonologist??? Doc -- No she is fine you are over reacting. When night Doc came on shift pt was intubated and EMS at bedside ready to take pt to a facility with a, you guessed it, pulmonologist accepting the pt to their service. was really scared pt was gonna die before next doctor got there

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.
How far was the baby dropped? Was any injury involved? Was the student disciplined?

Into the placenta bucket in the bottom of the bed. No injury (just shocked parents). No discipline that I'm aware of--one of the reasons the nurse was so irate.

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.
Into the placenta bucket in the bottom of the bed. No injury (just shocked parents). No discipline that I'm aware of--one of the reasons the nurse was so irate.

We had it happen a couple of times. One of the students refused to slide in close to the patient for the delivery. Maybe she was afraid of body fluids. Of course, the slick baby slid right out of her hands and headed to the bucket. My very tall RN buddy managed to grab the baby by an ankle before its wee head made contact with anything. We started telling new students that it didn't matter if they later found the cure for the common cold AND herpes, if they dropped a baby we would make sure that was the first thing people knew about them.

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Me to doctor: "Doctor S., I'm going to take room 3's BP before his surgery this evening. He said that he thought it was running a little high today!"

Doctor: "Ummmm, okay...."

(I then go take the pt. in room 3's BP before his scheduled outpatient surgery. Patient's BP is very high.)

Me to doctor: "Room 3's BP is up pretty high Dr. S., should we postpone his surgery? What would you like me to tell the pt. doctor?"

Doctor to me: "Great! Just great! You had to go and take his BP didn't you?! Now we probably shouldn't do his surgery today!"

(At that moment I'm thinking... How do people like you get through medical school?)

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I had a pt with repeated runs of VT throughout the night shift that continued on days. He had no bloodwork drawn and was in for syncope. Doctor replied, "D/C tele. We don't want to have to keep treating that"

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Specializes in Pedi.
I had a pt with repeated runs of VT throughout the night shift that continued on days. He had no bloodwork drawn and was in for syncope. Doctor replied, "D/C tele. We don't want to have to keep treating that"

I read once- I think on a nursing group on facebook- about a patient who a doctor wanted to discharge but couldn't because the patient kept desatting. Doctor then wrote an order "d/c O2 sat monitoring."

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A resident once told me to tell a young post partum mom in severe pain, who just could not swallow pills, to grow up she had just had a baby and there was no liquid pain medicine available... This young woman had delivered more than six hours earlier and had not received any pain meds post partum in L&D, really. This was also a pediatric hospital; so I asked this sweet resident to please come up and explain his comments to the patient and her family right away in a convincing tone of voice. :-) Less than five minutes later, voila, two liquid pain meds showed up on her order profile.

Be a patient advocate!!!

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In the PACU my patient's K+ was low and I let the surgeon know. He said, "give her a banana".

(Waited over an hr for food service to bring it, never came, pt discharged) about 2 hrs later,

said banana arrived, I ate it!

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I have lots of examples!

Colleague - "where is the baby's car seat"?

Mother - "I haven't got a car"

Colleague - "you can't take the baby home without a car seat"......

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Specializes in Pediatrics/Developmental Pediatrics/Research/psych.
I have lots of examples!

Colleague - "where is the baby's car seat"?

Mother - "I haven't got a car"

Colleague - "you can't take the baby home without a car seat"......

So how were they going home?

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