I am looking for thoughts and perspectives about a situation so that I can take the next step in dealing with it.
I work with a doctor who has been rude to me and others for about the last month. I tried not to take her rudeness personally because I figured she is just stressed out. She always talks about the "countdown" to the end of her fellowship. She has more than once mentioned to people at work how much she hates her fellowship and described it as the "bane of her existence" on Facebook. So, trying to be a cheerful person and brighten her day a bit, I say "hello" to her whenever I see her, to which she bares no smile and gruffly and obligatorily says "hello" back...I try my best to promote a good working environment for everyone.
Yesterday, I was taking care of a very sweet, laboring patient. She had a very sweet husband and a sweet extended family as well. We all got along very nicely. I do my best to provide a warm, nurturing, caring environment as childbirth is usually a time of great joy. I want all the kiddos I help see into this to have a very Happy Birthday. :) All those good vibes were wrecked when in walks Dr. Grumpy (I'll call her Dr.G for short). She literally barked off about three "orders" to me...things that aren't medical orders...like "change the pt's underpad" and such...seriously, I don't need to be told how to be a nurse. I am not a lazy nurse who waits to be told to do things. I am busy and proactive. Then she quickly apologized for being "so demanding." Next, she turns to the resident in the room and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a princess today." Huh? What does that mean, anyway? That you are going to keep up with this ridiculous trend of telling me how to do the job I've been doing without prompting for the last five years of my life? I didn't respond to her "princess" statement. I thought it was just dumb that she said that. Furthermore, I am precepting a nursing student right now and want to teach her to be professional.
Long story short, Dr. G kept that poo up all day. I didn't pay too much attention to it...didn't take it personally...until she yelled at me in front of two other doctors, my student and a couple of other nurses. Here's what happened: My patient was completely dilated and was starting to push with contractions. Dr. G is not satisfied with the fact that the pt's contractions are five minutes apart, so she wants an oxytocin infusion started. I didn't really think it was totally necessary but couldn't disagree with her reason for asking for oxytocin--it would be helpful. Well, Dr. G had walked out of the room after demanding that Pit be started. When I came back with the Pit, I asked the resident at what dosage she wanted to start the infusion. She said 1mU, which I did. (She put the order in the computer later). Those of you in L&D know that oxytocin is a high-risk medication and low-dose "Pit" infusions are more effective than high-dose. After 15 mins, I increased the infusion by 1 more unit. The resident them told the pt that she would have her take a short break from pushing and would have her start again when her ctx were 2-3 mins apart. My patient was stable; I stepped around the corner to get a sip of coffee in the "board room." Dr. G is is there looking at a computer. She whips her chair around, stared at me in the face and asked if the Pit had been started, to which I replied, "Yes." She asked me what it was started at; I told her. She immediately yelled very loudly saying, "ONE? ONE? Her contractions are SIX minutes apart! How do you expect her to have a baby with ONE mU of Pit going?" I said, "I just increased it to 2." She said, "We need to CRANK that Pit. This is ridiculous Why did you start it at one?" I said, "Because that's what your resident ordered and I started it according to her orders." She replied, "Well, you need to crank that pit!" and whipped her chair back around. Why in the world was she yelling at me? I went back to my pt's room to help with her delivery, unable to smile for several minutes. My face was so hot I had to step outside the door for a couple of minutes (my charge nurse stayed in the room with the patient during that time).
It was at that point that I started to feel like it was personal with Dr. G. She was nice to the other nurses and techs yesterday. What bugs me is, I seriously cannot think of anything I ever did to upset her, personally or professionally. I am so upset about this. It literally ruined my day yesterday. What should I do to handle this? I am definitely not going to let her just get away with being so unprofessional.
