Physician Bullying of Nurses Reaching Epidemic Levels

allnurses Guide · May 18, 2015

Then of course there was the case of the nurse who bullied the surgeon by taking the patient's donor kidney and throwing it in the trash..... . The author wrote a whole book full of this kind of stuff...

But this disturbing problem was one of the more shocking discoveries when nurses pulled back the curtain.

What will we call the real disturbing problems, shocking discoveries, LIES, etc when they are stripped of their meaning due to being applied as a cheap attention-grab?

Anyway, the only thing I have seen a physician throw is every stick of his office furniture out in the hallway, resulting in a kind of Matterhorn pile of book cases, lamps, and even the large potted philodendron. I never did find out what the guy's problem was, but I know he didn't work there very much longer.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · May 18, 2015

In any situation there is a perfect storm sometimes for bad behavior. Which should not be tolerated, but often is.

What I find interesting is that there's flying instruments all around. THAT to me would be the tipping point.

But dumb comments from someone who thinks they are a demi-god and whatever--they look like the ass, not me--and a few surveys from patients that are audience to this, and reimbursements are affected, then there will be a bit of a change I would think.

But the moment I become a circus model for a knife thrower and I am all set. No job is worth that.

loriangel14, RN · May 18, 2015

I've never had a problem with A doc. One time a doc was rude to my Charge Nurse and the manager made him apologize. It's made quite clear that respect is expected.

Guest219794 · May 18, 2015

While I don't know the technical definition, in my mind bullying requires a power dynamic. For example, the big bully took my lunch money- I gave it because I was afraid he would give me a swirlie. Or, the charge nurse bullied me into working through lunch, she controls my assignment, and can make my shift hell.

But, in many cases, this dynamic does not exist. I work for a hospital. I don't work for doctors. Doctors have no more power over me than a phlebotomist. They can't bully me, unless I am complicit- unless I give them a power they don't have.

(For the record, I work with an excellent medical staff.)

Let's say Dr Schmuck has not had the foresight to put in an order for PRN tylenol, and I need some ordered at 0300. The other nurses warn me about how cranky Dr Schmuck can be when he is woken up. I call Dr Schmuck, and he is not just cranky, but downright abusive. This is not bullying; its Dr Schmuck being a schmuck. I can choose how I deal with it. In my case, I'll probably wait until 0345, and call back to let him know that the pt can't take the 500 mg tablets, could I please have an order for 975. If he has a temper tantrum, I'll put the phone on speaker for all to enjoy. Heck, if I was feeling really creative, I might record it. That way when I call back at 0430 to update him on his Pts headache and he let's it go to voice mail, I can play it back for him to enjoy as well.

I can't control Dr Schmuck, but I can control how his actions affect me. I can also control how I react.

dishes, BSN, RN · May 18, 2015

I'm tired of seeing advertising... err articles on Alexandra Robbins new book about nursing drama.

OCNRN63, RN · May 18, 2015

We took the word "epidemic" for title of this thread from the first paragraph of linked article. It was neither our intention nor design to inflame, incite, insult or otherwise cause injury. Certainly did not expect to be attacked for doing so.
Since a majority of the responding posters appear not to have encountered negative behavior from a physician nor likewise witnessed it against other nurses, decided to see what else was out there independent of the Slate article and the book from which it was drawn.
Workplace bullying of general surgery residents by nurses. - PubMed - NCBI
In the interests of full disclosure the above link was provided by: Bully doctor "epidemic" | Student Doctor Network
which was happily provided by a physician friend.

I'm confused. The PubMed article you cited was regarding residents being bullied by nurses, not nurses being bullied by the residents.

Are you talking about bullying in general now, or are you still talking about nurses being bullied> If it's the latter, the the PubMed citation doesn't belong as a citation.

No one is attacking you. You're just getting responses that don't agree with your premise.

And who is "we"? Did you collaborate with someone in writing this article?

Finally, I have been bullied by a few doctors...not many, but occasionally. I spoke up for myself, and on one occasion, I filled out an incident report. The doctor was spoken to by administration, and he behaved himself for a little while.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · May 18, 2015

It's been years since I've witnessed any behavior by MDs on the scale of what's described in the OP.

It used to happen.

Somehow the hospital convinced the MDs it was in their best interest not to throw, yell, or push the nurses.

I don't want those days back. I suffered humiliation on more than one occasion. But the entertainment value of watching a grown man become unglued can't be underestimated.

spacemonkey15 · May 18, 2015

I've seen surgeons get stroppy in theatre, but they're usually kept in line by the senior nursing staff. I've never seen anyone throw a sharp like a scalpel, if anything like that were to happen to me then the brown stuff really would hit the fan over it.

Altra, BSN, RN · May 18, 2015

I'm also confused about the "we" reference, OP. If you mean to indicate yourself and AN admin staff - can you verify this? And could an admin elaborate?

allnurses Guide · May 18, 2015

I don't know; I just might believe it. I would say perhaps 1:4 or more hospitals are rural, and I would also say that nurses in rural areas are more likely to be bullied/abused by physicians. World-class hospitals have no trouble attracting talent, so I believe those sorts of hospitals are more likely to kick misbehaving physicians to the curb. Rural hospitals that have to throw insane amounts of money at physicians to even get them to look their way are a totally different story. In those places, physicians are God.
.

Oh now please, don't generalize about rural hospitals. Maybe YOUR rural hospital was that way but that doesn't mean there is even a tendency for rural hospital to be that way.

Obviously, I work in a rural setting. Our docs are wonderful for the most part. Sometimes a doc can get cranky but there is no true "bullying".

I'll have to tell the docs I work with today that some folks think they are getting insane amounts of money and being given carte blanche to bully nurses in order to get them to work here. And that they can misbehave all they want - they won't be kicked to the curb. :sarcastic:

I work for the hospital, not the docs. The admin backs the nurses and other staff.

One of my pet peeves is generalizing or using stereotypes. :no:

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · May 18, 2015

I have the opposite experience where I work. I work in a teaching facility and when a resident tries to throw a nurse under the bus, or ignore pages, the attendings are on them like stink on you know what. There is zero tolerance. I do work in the OR, where I would imagine it is way more stressful, but on the floor, it is a big no-no to treat the nurses badly. The residents also find out how difficult it can be if they try. Not saying that is better, but we have nurses that are great nurses and have been nursing a lot longer than the residents have been alive. they are a wealth of help and can be an asset. Most, if not all residents learn that quickly.

Jules A, MSN · May 18, 2015

We took the word "epidemic" for title of this thread from the first paragraph of linked article. It was neither our intention nor design to inflame, incite, insult or otherwise cause injury. Certainly did not expect to be attacked for doing so.

I'm not trying to be even remotely snarky but do you truly feel as if you were "attacked" in this thread?