More Proof That Surgeons Are HUGE JERKS!

[All4NursingRN]

I know I know not all surgeons and docs are like this, but in all my years as a nurse this is the most rude I've ever seen any doc.

So had an elderly patient last shift who came in due to a fall.

Blood work was run and shows infection probably simple UTI (according to emergency doc)

ER doc SIGNS-OFF to internal medicine & admitted pt. the internal medicine doc comes to see patient, reviews lab work which shows elevated LFT's, orders sonogram.

Sono shows cholecystitis.

Internal medicine doc makes me aware of diagnosis and also notifies surgery (asap I assume)

I make sure patient is on fluids. Pt is now on 2nd liter of NS

Surgery comes to see patient (about 1-2 hours after)

I point the surgeons to the patient.

I then see surgery walking off (At the time I thought to myself, did they examine the patient? I didn't see them by the bedside or hear them speaking to the patient)

Before I go on break, something in my head makes me focus in on this patient. She was very confused (this is her baseline). Not agitated like before, but defintely not the type to show you that she is going sour. I take the patients vitals which are stable. Call doc about fever doc says pt cannot take antipyretics due to possible liver involvement. I charted that. Pt continues on fluids.

I go on break, when I come back from break pt IV fluid bag is empty, before I had gone on break I had placed the 2nd liter up, it wasn't more than 400ml in when I left for break-POSITIVE!

I come back from break. Chief surgeon happens to comes around and sees the empty bag. Starts going off on ER doc stating that the patient hasn't gotten fluids for 2 hours, and starts accusing the ER doc stating that the patient was right in front of him and etc.. etc.., although the ER doc was no longer covering the case.

ER doc explains that she was no longer covering the case and etc.. but she was helping out with the patient (who was going sour at this point anyway)

Chief surgeon is just spouting off at the mouth, calling his residents and yelling at them, instead of (in my opinion) taking charge of the situation.

ER docs and me move souring pt to resus bay. Chief surgeon is still yelling at ER doc and spouting off at the mouth. Then says something like ''yeah when I saw the patient that IV bag was almost done'' (a bold face lie!)

They didn't see the patient, the saw an old demented lady, looked at her radiology results insted of the patient & moved the the next patient. They never assessed her. Second that bag was near full when they came around, no where close to empty, how dare he lie!

Now I realize why he was so heated. He yelled at internal med and ER med, and even his own residents & tried to sweep nursing under the bus too. but it was his service that dropped the ball. The pt was surgical, not medical and they forgot about her. She layed there for 2 more hours after they took the case and no surgical intervention was either planned or executed. Now he has a pt that went sour on his watch before he did any definitive goal directed treatment for her.

I mean it's someone's life, I understand the sense of urgency, but don't throw everyone else under the bus for not doing anything when you didn't do anything either and not to mention you are the one in charge of the case, MR. Attending!

I had to bite my tongue not to say anything. I don't know how the ER doc didn't tell him off. What nerve he had to insinuate that the patient was her responsibility when she wasn't.

I hate blame shifting.

[SwansonRN]

Sorry I am having a hard time following the story. The surgeon does sound like a jerk, but I don't think this is worth leaving medicine over. It's like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, you can't feed into or it gets worse. If you feel like he is being abusive, document and report. On the other hand, I never hang fluids without a pump unless the patient is crashing and I'm using pressure bags. Is hanging fluids with no pump still commonplace in some areas?

[limaRN, BSN, RN]

Yes, his response is rude. In working with a lot of surgeons I've learned to take a deep breath and let it go. You can only control your response, not his. While he threw a tantrum like a 2 year old you stayed professional and did the best you could to take care of the pt.

[Rhi007]

That is such a small minority of surgeons and doctors that to say ALL is wrong, although in this situation he sounds like a complete tool I've worked with amazing staff!!! Maybe pulling the chief surgeon aside and explaining exactly what you witnessed and what you did as the pt's nurse may have helped defuse the situation, I'm guessing that all infusions were charted with times they were started and not just ' 2ltrs NS STAT'

Hopefully each litre was charted with time started etc, that way nursing staff cannot be yelled at, as for the ER doc copping it, is there a reason that she didn't grow a pair and tell the chief surgeon exactly her role??? At my workplace this kind of bollocks is not tolerated at all and nursing staff will generally pull a doc up on his behaviour if inappropriate with no ramifications.