I worked 16 hours yesterday to help out my floor. I worked 7A-7P as a nurse, then worked 7P-11P as secretary since our secretary was sick. Our day shift secretary works 7A-3P. So after I handed my patients off at 7p I sat at the desk to begin working on a mountain of orders that had been written that afternoon. The charge nurse tried to put some orders in that afternoon but there were quite a few charts left.
I was tired, hungry, and flustered. The first chart I picked up had a urology consult on it. We call all consults until 9pm then wait until the next AM to call unless urgent. It was 6:55 So I paged the urologist. When he called back he was a complete jerk. I mean just hateful. Asked me all kinds of questions that I answered to the best of my ability. The order was written that he could come in the AM to see the patient. He said he could not come see the patient tomorrow because he has surgeries scheduled all day. So he said that he would come that evening because he had time to come then. I mean he was really rude.
I did a few more charts and then slipped into the conference room to eat my supper. I had to get my supper at 6:30 because the cafeteria closes then. So it was probably 7:05 and my food was already cold. As my food was heating up the charge nurse came and got me and said the urologist was out there and needed to talk to me. Me?? why me? I wasn't the nurse. She said I know... He wants to talk to the person that called the consult.. Well this made me nervous. He was already so mean to me on the phone. What else could he have to fuss at me about.
So I left my food... went out there and.. I HAD CALLED THE WRONG UROLOGY GROUP!!! OMG I felt really terrible. And it just had to be this jerk doctor... He was about to blow his top. He yelled at me and told me that I shouldn't be a secretary and that I wasted his precious time. (WELL I"M NOT A SECRETARY I"M A NURSE!) I apologist repeatedly. (I did feel bad at this point.) He then told me to call the supervisor. Great.... So I got the charge nurse.. NO he wanted to speak to the supervisor of the hospital.. WOW...
Ok so the supervisor comes up and they walk around the corner. I hear him yelling at her telling her that I pulled him out of a difficult surgery case and told him he had to see the patient tonight. And it wasn't even the right urology group. That he was in surgery helping his partner at the hospital on the other side of town when I paged him and he left because he had to see the patient tonight due to surgeries all day the next day. He told her I shouldn't be allowed to call consults yadda yadda yadda....
He was on the floor 10 minutes after I called the consult. It is impossible that I pulled him out of surgery. He drove across town. Parked and made it to our hospital in 10 minutes. So he just fabricated this ridiculus story to make me look worse than I already did.
I mean really! I'm sorry? I felt bad... But to lie to make me look even worse?? what a jerk!
Oh and a nurse leaving day shift ended up on the elevator with him. She called me and told me that he was holding a list of patients and got off on the next floor to see a patient!! So really he didn't even go out of his way at all!
What did the supervisor say after she finished talking to the doctor?
At my last job, docs got away with yelling at nurses all the time and it was because the hospital sent us to mandatory meetings on how to cater to the docs(this is no joke) so that they bring their patients to the hospital.
Oh... and what surgeon leaves a case to go see a consult on the floor at another facility ?? Any person with a brain knows thats a LIE !!
I'm sure everyone involved could tell what a jerk he was. Don't give it a second thought. You did the right thing and apologized for your mistake that is all you can do- you cannot give him his precious time back- although he did not seem too busy if he had the time to call the supervisor and make a huge production out of the whole thing.
Plain and simple, this guy is a jerk that no one will ever be able to please- no wonder your doc wanted the "other urology group"!!!!
That is called unprofessional behaviour and you should report it. At my facility, a doc who talks to a nurse like that then is crazy enough to talk to the nursing supervisor afterwards...well, he wouldn't be as smug when he left.
I think you should report that, that is verbal abuse and there is no reason for you to have to take it. Sure, you made a mistake, but that doesn't justify his behaviour.
Ditto this suggestion! Our hospital takes abuse from physicians very seriously - MD gets reprimanded by his/her peers, and it has gone as far as them losing privilages.
If I had received such treatment, I would go on record for having been verbally abused. Most HR departments will look into things also. If you decide to do this, make sure you go thru appropriate chain of command.
Plain and simple, this guy is a jerk that no one will ever be able to please- no wonder your doc wanted the "other urology group"!!!!
Yea that is for sure. The DON came up to me today and apologized to me that I had to go through that. Everyone was on my side and knew he was full of it. Thanks for the support.
That is why at "my house" if a Doc wants to consult another, he/she makes the call. They will write the order, the unit secretary will page or call then transfer the call to the one who ordered it. Simple. As for the urologist, well, Karma is about all I can think of right now...
Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.
Methinks someone needs some psychiatric help. The urologist I mean.
Is THAT what happens to men who look at weenies and butts all day?
Now that you mention it, the "jerk ratio" among urologists I've known has been disproportionately high!
Years ago, there was one at the hospital where I worked who was well-known among the staff for breaking in line in the cafeteria. "I have to be in surgery." He either didn't know or didn't care that every unit in the hospital got a daily surgery list and anyone who cared to look could see that he was lying.
Here is a simple trick that attendings can learn to insure that consults are requested on a timely basis, to insure that the right specialist or specialty group is contacted, and to insure that the reason for the consult is communicated clearly:
THE ATTENDING NEEDS TO PULL THAT DAMN CELL PHONE OUT AND OBTAIN HIS/HER OWN DAMN CONSULT!!!!!!!!
First off you made my day reading this. I do recall back in the days of when a doctor wrote a consult they were the ones who then followed through with calling the other doctor themselves. Remember when they actually use to call in their own prescription orders for a patient even? Now the doctors barely appear to talk to each at all. I once came home complaining about a doctor,,, my darling said " Oh, I have been in the doctors lounge and they don't speak to the doctors professionally either" to which he laughed, I laughed.
Now the doctors barely appear to talk to each at all. I once came home complaining about a doctor,,, my darling said " Oh, I have been in the doctors lounge and they don't speak to the doctors professionally either" to which he laughed, I laughed.
CHATSDALE
4,177 Posts
there are two doctors in town with same name but different specilites
i woke up one of them at 2am, pronounced his name wrong and it wasn't his patient
i guess it had happen before because he wasn't too mad