Ooops, I told off a doctor

Nurses Relations

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So I was visiting my patient in the hospital who is just gaining back bowel sounds and has alot of bowel issues ... well now, she has MRSA and the doc comes in and says, "Well the vaco is covering her but I want to put her on bactrim ds". So without even thinking, I'm like - Is that a good idea with her belly and the havoc bactrim reaks on everyones bellys.

Wooops. LOL. But whats funnier is tho doc says bactrim doesn't cause stomach issues but I've changed my mind and gonna put her on such and such. Good thing I had a mask on cause I was laughing at her backpeddling.

Isn't it my job to protect my patient from possible harm?

You're idea of "telling someone off" is pretty tame. :)

Honestly I'm starting to think I need to tell people off more aften. Think I'm being to nice

Uhhh that wasn't telling him off, that was simply providing a different suggestion/opinion. You are your patients advocate, you are supposed to stand up for them.

You were visiting your patient or you were taking care of the patient and happend to be in the room?

If the vanco was covering, not sure what the need for an additional antibiotic is at all, but may be some info that as a person visiting as opposed to the nurse taking care of the patient would not be a party to.

I really try not to offer suggestions to the MD if I happend to be visiting as opposed to taking care of the patient. And I would never make a suggestion like that without knowing all of the facts. As in it seems like the sensitivities had come back--hence maybe why the doctor wanted additional coverage. And c-diff on top of MRSA would not be ideal in any circumstance, which is always a concern--as well as a whopper of a yeast infection, so I would (again if I were the nurse taking care of the patient at the time) definetely question the need to additional antibiotics. I think its such a nice thing to advocate for patients, but I do think it has the potential to backfire if you are a person, who happens to be a nurse, visting with a patient in the hospital. And I would have probably excused myself from the room so that the patient and the doctor could have conversation and respect the patient's privacy.

Specializes in Psych, LTC/SNF, Rehab, Corrections.

I've said far worse, but that was a different dept.

...and rad personnel are allowed to be more 'flippant'. Well, maybe not 'allowed'.

We just ...are.

LOL

I completely dressed down a doc about screaming at one of my students. For one, ours was a teaching hospital. Secondly, how dare she berate a student! Thirdly, the exam was performed properly. It just wasn't ordered properly and instead of that hag being reasonable, she brought her hormonal self down to xray throwing a tantrum.

Just loud AND wrong.

TWO STRIKES!

When I came in the room (after a student pulled me), she and the student were at the viewbox. She was speaking in harsh tones in front of his peers. Not cool.

It was ridiculous.

To my credit, I did address the matter in my office...in private. I did it 'professionally'...LOL

My student was too shaken and intimidated to say a thing. Naturally.

Me? I'm not 'big and bad', but I cannot stand when some people speak to others just 'any old kind of way'...simply because they think they can.

That's the sort of thing that puts steel in my spine! LOL

She went upstairs in a little huff. Then, she tried to contact our rad docs about the 'wrongly shot images'. They told her the same as I...and why wouldn't they?

It's their protocol, Ugh.

Your situation?

A little different.

That wasn't really a 'tell-off'. You weren't responding defensively.

The doc misspoke or made an error in judgement. You just sort of corrected and embarrassed her.

Seems like you did it in front of the patient....

...then gloated about it.

Is there more to the story? Do you and the doc not get along?

The doc probably made a mistake was just trying to save face.

They're human.

Like everyone else....

So I was visiting my patient in the hospital who is just gaining back bowel sounds and has alot of bowel issues ... well now, she has MRSA and the doc comes in and says, "Well the vaco is covering her but I want to put her on bactrim ds". So without even thinking, I'm like - Is that a good idea with her belly and the havoc bactrim reaks on everyones bellys.

Wooops. LOL. But whats funnier is tho doc says bactrim doesn't cause stomach issues but I've changed my mind and gonna put her on such and such. Good thing I had a mask on cause I was laughing at her backpeddling.

Isn't it my job to protect my patient from possible harm?

You did the right thing. You did it professionally. It does not matter whether you "like' the doctor or not. Commenters, please do read into this. The OP asked a professional and clinical question. If the OP was "wrong" with the content/thoughts, the doctor would have educated the OP. That was appropriate clinical discourse and patients appreciate this. Period.

Specializes in Emergency nursing, critical care nursing..

That is not telling off a doctor. That is what you are supposed to do. Be aware of the situation and critical think. It's a multidisciplinary care approach.

Good job. :yeah:

Specializes in Emergency Medicine.

i dont think you really told off the doctor, but just stating your opinion. Yes you should keep the patient from harm, but at the same time not be rude to the doctor.

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

All youdid was bounce a (correct) suggestion off his hard head.

Specializes in family practice.

I think correcting over the antibiotics choice is good for your pt, but then in front of the pt is just worng. First of all, it uestions the docs expertise and could bring a whole lot of headache to the pt which could mean more work trying to calm their fears that this doctor actually know what they are doing or they are human. its ok to gloat if u didnt like the person but i'd try to take all suggestion out of the room

Specializes in NICU.
I think correcting over the antibiotics choice is good for your pt, but then in front of the pt is just worng. First of all, it uestions the docs expertise and could bring a whole lot of headache to the pt which could mean more work trying to calm their fears that this doctor actually know what they are doing or they are human. its ok to gloat if u didnt like the person but i'd try to take all suggestion out of the room

I agree. It never feels good as a patient to not feel like your doc is actually a good doc (and I've seen genuinely good docs make themselves sound like idiots in front of parents). How I make suggestions to our docs in front of parents versus out of the room are completely different.

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