Favourite Doctor Moments

NO50FRANNY · Apr 20, 2012

Just thought of another one. Naughty OD, just unloaded in resus, decides to jump off the trolley and attack the nearest person who happened to be our very fit, South African male consultant physician. To the floor in 1 second flat, he didn't try it again. The words "settle down bro" sounded so good with his accent and with his knee in the pts'back.

Calabria, BSN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

One night, after working with a particularly difficult, pregnant woman with drug addiction who was on our floor with pain issues, the attending came by during morning rounds and asked me how she did overnight. First, he apologized that I had her as a patient, since he knew how difficult she could be. I told him that she had been refusing some of the medications that she had ordered, only taking a lot of the stronger medications offered, and that she had to be gently coaxed into intermittent monitoring (and then, surprise, her fetus had a prolonged decel into the 80s for almost 4 minutes right after I got her onto the monitor). She was pretty rude, but I documented everything and let our residents know when they needed to know.

The attending threw a fit in the nurse's station. He used abrasive language that I can't post here, which got the attention of 8 other people in the nurse's station, and booked it down the hall to her room where he said that he was going to have a "talking to" the patient about how it's unacceptable to treat her nurses that way, and that if she wasn't going to adhere to the treatments that we had planned out for her, that he was just going to send her home.

It was nice to have a doctor actually stick up for me when a patient treated me like crap. :nurse:

NO50FRANNY · Apr 20, 2012

Calabria, your post has just reminded me of a doozy. I had a patient in our short stay unit 40yold M with a CSF leak after being belted in the head with his surfboard. His almost full term pregnant "partner" was visiting. He walks casually up to the nurses' station and tells me that she won't wake up. She is on his bed, and not unresponsive but ALOC. I hit the emergency bell while he tells me that she has pre-eclampsia and is currently an inpatient in OB. Our senior docs arrive, assess the situation and lots of whispers and weirdness ensue. I was convinced medical badness was going on. How naive I was. This pertains to favourite doctor moments for two reasons. Firstly, we take her back to OB, and my favourite obstetrician tells me I shouldn't feel bad but this entire elaborate scenario was executed by this couple to engineer an induction (tired of having that baby in her belly). Heroin addicts, the pair of them and they fibbed about the eclampsia. He was giving her drugs when she came to visit. The obstetrician said to me "it's ok, it's not your fault, they just need to wear a sign that says IVDU, then you know everything that comes out of their mouths is BS, and she won't be getting an induction". Can you imagine our bewilderment when same pregnant woman manages to get back to boyfriends' bedside an hour later? My registrar (resident) wheeled her back upstairs in no time flat, despite multiple histrionic protests, do not pass go, do not collect $200- and she didn't get her induction, or any more fixes from her boyfriend. Those two docs gave me some great education about real life that day and without a hint of condescention.

Tarabara · Apr 22, 2012

I work at a VA hospital and had a pt yelling about wanting a private room and family members to stay all night with him and things like that. When we told him it was not a hotel and his family could not sleep over and have tons of blankets and pillows all night he said "but i am a vet!", the doc said "i am a vet too and i would never take resources from other vets". That shut that pt up quick!

SaoirseRN · Oct 27, 2012

This is an old thread, but a good one...

My hospital shares weekend call for surgical/specialties with another hospital, and in the case of urology, two.

This other hospital with which we only share urology had a patient, an admitted patient but in an over-flow stretcher in ER. He had one kidney and had been anuric for more than 24 hours before the patient was consulted to our urologist on call.

The urologist accepted the patient with the understanding that he would have his procedure and return to his own hospital.

I get him post-op at 2200. Send off the ambulance booking form to admin, and wait to hear for a time. About 2230 I receive a call from the after hours clinical coordinator of the other hospital, claiming she knows nothing about the repatriation, their ER has 18 admits, etc, etc, and she tries to refuse the patient.

I called the surgeon and let him know what she said. He was angry but not at me, explained the situation and the arrangement he made with the other doctor. I said I would call the AHCC back, and asked his permission to give her his number.

He said, "Oh, please do!"

I call her back, explain, and gave her the surgeon's number.

Half an hour passes, and the surgeon calls back. He's irritated, but again not with me, and rightly so. Vents a little on the phone, tells me about his chat with the CC and how magically their ER admits multiplied from the time I talked to her until he did.

He said, "I told her I thought this was absolute bull****, and I'm probably going to be written up for it but it's the truth. Anyway, I said to her it was up to you -- that the only way I'm keeping him here is if it's okay with my nurses."

We ended up keeping the patient and sending him out first thing in the morning, because we had the room for him. But I appreciated the surgeon letting me make the final call and for having my back during the situation. Even "my nurses" doesn't bother me because in this context, he's not belittling us but rather standing up for us.

I have more, but I'd like to read others' contributions too.

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Oct 27, 2012

Bahaha! Good thread!

We had a young looking PCP going in to see a patient when he was on call for her doc. Goes in with me in tow. Gives the usual d/c speech, follow up appt, ect. Patient gets really angry, "you don't know me, I'm too sick, ect" Gets thrown out of the room.

He sees a few more patients and is ready to go back to said room. Grabs lab coat off chair since this is his last patient to see on rounds Knocks on door, goes in. Introduce himself. Pt holds his hand,"Oh, I am SO glad you're here!" This little boy came in a few minutes ago and tried to make me leave. I told him to just leave me, becaue I'm sick!"

Got a good laugh out of that one!

Anne, RNC

SaoirseRN · Oct 27, 2012

Okay, here is another one:

One of our GPs has a bit of a reputation for being "difficult". Indeed, I fully agree that he often forgets his people skills in situations, but I have found this is because he is both very much an advocate for his patients (thus does not like it when things aren't right) and dislikes it when others aren't as thorough as they should be. This does not give him license to be rude, I agree, but the root of it is concern for his patients, an a (not unrealistic) expectation that we as nurses should be knowledgable and prepared when phoning him. He is thorough, caring, and if you need him to come see his patient, he's there. No begging required.

Anyway, he was the GP for a particularly difficult woman who I had encountered many times over several years. He took her on as a patient after she fired her previous GP. She was known for being exceedingly pessimistic and also for exaggerating negative things to the extreme.

My first day shift she had a very green nursing student assigned to her. I spoke to student and instructor beforehand, not to prejudice them against the patient, but to let them know that this would be a good opportunity for learning to set boundaries (an important lesson I think). The day went okay.

The next morning, this woman was in one of the foulest moods I had ever witnessed, and when the student went in to say good morning, the patient said, "You almost killed me yesterday! I'm not having you touch me!!"

Completely out of line and untrue. The student ran from the room crying. After telling the patient that I would not tolerate any more of that, I spoke to both student and instructor.

A short while later, the doctor came along on his rounds and I heard her telling him her untrue story of how the student nearly offed her. He immediately approached me after, asking for clarification. I explained, and he flat-out said he hoped I had told her she was inappropriate and that he did not want any of us to take "any crap" from her.

Then, after finishing his rounds, he approached me again and asked me to find him the student. I did, and he proceeded to apologize to her for his patient's behaviour.

I imagine that student will always remember that.

NO50FRANNY · Oct 28, 2012

Thankyou for some new responses on this thread, I love reading the stories and am really glad I started it. I have a couple more to add because I work with fantastic physicians.

I was airway and team leader for a young cyclist who was the victim of an 80-100kmph hit and run. We were short staffed hence the dual role for me in the biggest hour and a half of my nursing career. I find when it comes to extremely intense trauma scenarios, your #1 doctor will be the make or break of how the trauma team works together, this particular day my consultant was on fire. While rushing this patient to emergency surgery after resuscitation and a very stressful scoot through CT, my senior ED consultant says to me "I'm so glad it was you". Possibly the greatest compliment I have ever received from a doctor, I responded with, "The feeling is mutual K___".

I recently looked after an elderly gentleman who was deeply offended that the medical specialist wanted to examine and formally admit him at 2am. He essentially swore and threw said doc out of his room and refused assessment. The doctor asked me if the patient had been unpleasant or difficult previously, but he had been reasonable when I had cared for him. So I asked the doc to hang around and see if I could sweet talk him into being seen. The doc was convinced I could'nt make it happen- I told him I could be pretty charming and to please wait. Assessment, examination and admission carried out 15 mins later. Doctor actually took the time to write this in the notes "Superlative DEM RN negotiated medical examination with patient after previously aggressive refusal, many thanks".

AN please keep adding your stories- love them.

SaoirseRN · Oct 28, 2012

Two stories, as I get ready to head to work:

1)

We were working short one day shift on a weekend. We reshuffled the assignments and worked together, and despite the missing staff member we were having a decent (though busy) day.

There is a coffee stand outside the main doors of my hospital, and on my (late-ish) lunch break I went out there for a coffee.

As I was heading out, one of our surgeons was heading in. We stopped to say hello (I have a pretty good rapport with this one and have for years). He asked how the day was going, I explained but said we were pulling together and things were okay.

He said, "I know you can do it. Saoirse, your patients are lucky to have you."

Wow. Him saying that still makes me smile.

That same day, one of my favourite GPs was stuck looking after a day-one post op because her surgeon wasn't going to be around that day (???). She needed blood and was fairly symptomatic, with a few other minor post-op complications. I called him once in the early afternoon with an update, a few new concerns and some requests, to which he agreed. He requested that I personally phone him before my shift ended to update him on her status.

I did so, happily reporting that most of the concerns were settling. He commented on my assessments from that morning, that because of the info I provided, she had received prompt and appropriate treatment, and said, "Thank you for all your hard work today."

It wasn't anything I would not have normally done, but it's nice to know sometimes that the doctors (most of them) appreciate what we do.

2)

Difficult palliative situation involving a patient I knew well. I had swapped assignments that day, knowingly taken on a heavy team so that I could be her nurse (nobody wanted to). She was not an easy patient, but she was a special one (one of those I will always remember).

Anyway, her GP (one of our best) and I were talking with the family, having the conversation that ultimately led to the decision to go fully comfort care.

He nodded to me several times to answer their questions, asked my opinions, nodded as I backed up his statements with my own.

Then he said to them, "You've got a good nurse in Saoirse, here. She will give "Patient" excellent care."

He told them later in the conversation that the nursing team on our floor was fantastic -- and he's right. The team that cared for her over the next two and a half days was amazing and her death was peaceful. Excellent nursing care and some of the best comfort care orders I have seen from an excellent GP.

It was also one of the most collaborative conversations I've had in nursing. We were on the same page and were able to work together with the family from our two separate yet related points of view.

We spoke about her a few days later, after she had passed. I ran into him on a day off, and while we were just chatting he said, "Thank you for looking after her."

I thanked him for his approach with the family, and that threw us into a discussion about her and about end of life care in general, about which he and I seem to see eye-to-eye.

He then said to me, "We make a good team." I agreed, "We do."

monkeybug · Oct 29, 2012

I just recently left the hospital setting. I worked in a labor unit that was sort of a hybrid. Most of our patients came to see a group of private MDs, and the rest were patients of the local medical school. If I wrote down all the good things about the private MDs, I'd overload the server! :) When I resigned, 4 of them sought me out and asked me not to leave. One said several times to other physicians and my manager, that she knew her day would go better if I had her patients.

Good stories about the medical school are few and far between, so I'll share a couple of them.

We had a pt. delivering who was a mulitp and preterm. The attending was a bit of a nervous Nelly and was really worried that the baby would just fall out if we left the room, so we kept the patient in stirrups with everyone in attendance for about 2 hours. One of the residents was really reveling in lording it over his student. Rather than taking off his gown and gloves, he made the student go get him a cup of water and then hold the straw to his lips. I nearly gagged, and my eyes nearly fell out and rolled across the room I was rolling them so hard. The attending noticed, and made the resident get up and give me his exam stool! I was tired, so I enjoyed getting to sit, but I really enjoyed seeing him taken down a peg or two. I think the student enjoyed it.

We had a fellow who was turning out to be pretty good, and he really confirmed it for me in one of my deliveries. The private doctors would let us push on our own. We only called for them if there was absolutely no progress, some sort of distress, or the baby was about to pop out. Oh, but the residents.... No peace with them! They would insist that we start pushing the minute the patient was complete, and would insist on gowning and gloving and sitting on the exam stool while the nurses were left to stand at the side and try to coach without really knowing what was going on. After about an hour of this one day, the fellow told the resident to get up and let me sit there. "There's something the nurses do, I wish I could figure it out. Let Monkeybug have a go, and I bet we'll have this baby out." I sat down and did my usualy thing (perineal massage, pressure down towards the rectum, and dircected coaching "No, that's not quite it. Yes, just like that! More of that!" and we were crowning in 4 contractions. All the residents and the student were looking at me like I'd just turned lead into gold, and the fellow said, "see, I told you, the nurses know what they're doing."

SaoirseRN · Nov 21, 2012

I work with some fantastic doctors! Please, people, share more stories!

Clementia · Nov 23, 2012

This is a neat thread! I have two stories:

Story #1 -- I was caring for a somewhat anxious patient who had had a scan earlier in the day and been informed that it showed the remains of an old molar pregnancy. She immediately assumed the results meant she had had a miscarriage in the past and became distraught. I did my best to calm her down and explain what a molar pregnancy is, but it just didn't seem to be helping. It was past midnight by this time and I really didn't know what else to do, so my charge and I phoned the OB on call and explained the situation. He was reluctant to come up, because he wasn't even assigned to the case, but he did come up and talk to the patient. He was very thorough and reassuring, and she seemed a lot better after that. I was really, really impressed that this doc would do me and the patient that kind of favor. He's one of my favorite OB's!

Story #2 -- It was my first job as a new grad on a busy surgical floor, and I worked nights. I was terrified of all doctors, but especially surgeons. One evening I was called to the nurses' station to talk to the doc that was taking care of one of my patients. I instantly assumed the worst -- I figured I had made some terrible mistake and that he would chew me out. Instead, the doctor asked my name, updated me on the orders he had written, shook my hand, and thanked me for taking care of his patient. He was so friendly and polite I could hardly believe it! I've been in the profession for six years and am no longer terrified of doctors, but I very seldom get treated that politely by a doc. I liked that doctor!