Why are doctors so rude?

Nurses Relations

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Why are many doctors so rude when in the hospital setting? I was at clinical practice recently when a doctor screamed, ranted, and fumed at the nurses. I've noticed this mean-spirited behavior from other physicians as well. I asked one of the nurses, and she just commented, "well, they've got a lot of education." Why are many docs rude? Why do plenty of nurses tolerate it?

Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
Sorry, COMPLETELY disagree that this is a "guy thing".

I'm sorry, this is a non-sequiter. Gender-based socialization models are highly generalizable, and consistent. If a woman is capable of bringing the "inner animal" to the surface, either in highly pointed and articulate expression, physical posturing or both, she will be far less likely to experience the abusive behaviors (more than once) that many have described.

By the same token, men who are successful, in a female dominated arena, tend to be more relational, and express their competitive natures in "less traditional" methods, or only with other men.

To Commuter, look at the "role models": Ochsner (whose OR was referred to as "The Bullpen"); Willaims (known for grabbing residents by the coat and slamming them on the wall while screaming questions at them), etc., etc.. The old guard is dying off, but they have left a distinctly dysfunctional legacy.

The old model operated under the rather confused concept of grossly uncontrolled anxiety and deprivation as effective teaching/disqualification models. While our SOCOM still uses this with soldiers, the difference is the understanding of the inducement of stress, and the ability to individualize "therapy", pushing individual limits with the goal of growth and effectively determining suitability in the process, vs. everyone receiving time at the rape-ramp.

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I haven't been a nurse for very long, but have only run into a couple of drs like this. My first was within my 2nd week of nursing I had a new admit at the AL I was working at and needed the med list verified, I got the on call doc. He yelled at me that he didn't know the pt blah blah blah. I apologized and told the doc if he just tells me to go with the discharge med list from the hospital and follow up with the pts GP in the am that would be fine. He sheepishly said yes do that and hung up.

Another doc that frequently crawls up nurses umm butts is a locally very well known geriatric specialist and has a rep of being quite a jerk. He was one of the main docs to see our pts at the AL and now at the SNF I work at. I found if you know you are going to tick him off stroke his ego a bit and he's much more pleasent. LOL

As others have said jerks are everywhere and I've just found that if you are respectful and don't go into a conversation on the defensive most people/docs are fine. There are of course exceptions to every rule though :)

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Specializes in med/surg 1 year, ER 5 years.

nurses can be just as rude...it's not doctors who are rude, it's rude people who are rude!

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Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
nurses can be just as rude...it's not doctors who are rude, it's rude people who are rude!

True, but there are social models that encourage such behavior. Some people "demand respect", some say, "You dissin' me!" Same animal, same root causes. There is profound truth in the statement that an armed society is a polite society.;)

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How does a five and a half year old thread just spring back to life like this?

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Specializes in Infectious Disease, Neuro, Research.
How does a five and a half year old thread just spring back to life like this?

It was bumped?:smokin:

I do find the format here a little strange. Most other forums I'm on archive threads older than 90-120 days.

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