Are doctors all high and mighty?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello I am a male Cna working a hospital. I have worked here for 4 months and have noticed that almost all doctors except for one don't even make eye contact with me or say hello.

Today I was in a patients room of which I had been taking care of for 3 days. This patient would hit anyone and spit at them at the flip of a hat. I had established trust with this patient and knew how to talk to him. If you did not tell him what you where going to do, he would start punching and spitting. I was in this patients room with the door closed talking with him when the door has a single knock and a MD walks in with 5 residents behind her. She quickly says, "This patient is hard of hearing and does not have his hearing aid with him". Her tone was condescending and belittling. It took every ounce of self control in my body not to respond with a smart ass comment and explain I had been taking care of this patient for 3 days and never being attacked by him, when many of the staff had been. The patient could hear me just fine and would pretend to be asleep or not hear you if he did not want you messing with him. I also just got done feeding, doing perineal care that was up his back, brushing his teeth, providing clean sheets, and repositioning because I saw his red bottom that needed a break from the pressure.

Long story short I want to become a Medical Doctor and thought becoming a CNA first would give me great experience working with patients so I knew what it was like working at the bottom. As in bottom I really mean bottom with all the peri care I perform every day and keep smiling.

I have seen ONE doctor actually doing perineal care on a patient and helped me boost him after he was done. I later talked to this doctor and explained that I had respect for him doing that. He looked at me and said, "Hey I am not god, and I will be damned if I walk around like him". Since then I have been able to joke around and talk with this doctor, but the rest all walk around like they are high and mighty. It makes me sick to see them act this way. The nursing staff busts their butts to make the patients presentable for the doctor to come in for 5 minutes and leave.

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Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

No not all doctors are high an mighty, in fact where I work we have a whole load of great docs who are great to work with.

You will always get the odd one but that's the same for any profession.

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I am glad you are working as a CNA and getting the view from the bottom.

When you do become a doctor, you will have a better understanding about the value of nursing.

My brother worked as a CNA before med school and found the experience very helpful since he knew how to interact with patients well. He said some of his fellow med students were lacking in those social skills.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I work with a lot of residents and I have to say the majority are great but you'll get a few that have the "god complex" and they get called to the carpet quickly. I don't put up with rude behavior from doctors and I will never put up with it. If they think that they can say whatever they want to me and get away with it, they are sorely mistaken. Respect is earned not given.

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Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.
I work with a lot of residents and I have to say the majority are great but you'll get a few that have the "god complex" and they get called to the carpet quickly. I don't put up with rude behavior from doctors and I will never put up with it. If they think that they can say whatever they want to me and get away with it, they are sorely mistaken. Respect is earned not given.

:yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

I'd love to work with you Michigan, those docs who get big for thier boots wouldnt know what hit them :D

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Specializes in Oncology, Cardiac.

Michigan- teach me, please?

lol!

I know a lot of docs that are snobby, but then i also know some docs that are glad to take the time to talk or explain something if you just ask...

:twocents:

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I work with a lot of residents and I have to say the majority are great but you'll get a few that have the "god complex" and they get called to the carpet quickly. I don't put up with rude behavior from doctors and I will never put up with it. If they think that they can say whatever they want to me and get away with it, they are sorely mistaken. Respect is earned not given.

Should I have said something besides ok and left the room?

I really don't want to lose my job, but I feel so gutless for not standing up for myself.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
Should I have said something besides ok and left the room?

I really don't want to lose my job, but I feel so gutless for not standing up for myself.

If it was me I would have said something along the lines of.."Well, the patient hasn't had a problem hearing me" and THEN i would have walked out. I think it's just ignorance on the doc's part. I really don't think she was talking to you when she said that. Some docs forget that patients have two ears and usually there is one that is actually working.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I got irritated with a doc the other day because he walks into the room and looks at the patient and says to me "He looks out of it. Is he alert?".. I said "Yes and he's following commands. I just gave him morphine for his pain"...doc leaves....comes back at 4am and says "the patient looks out of it"...I said "I'm feeling a bit insulted here. I just gave the patient IV valium which is ORDERED atc and now you are saying he looks out of it..again when the patient is not out of it. He's fully alert and following commands..." He apologized.

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She was for sure talking to me. She looked right at me with her nose in in the air and said it. Perhaps next time a doctor says something that is stupid and belittling I will just tell them I was aware in a respectful way and move on.

The patient was tired of me messing with him so he was pretending to be sleeping. I was raising my voice talking close to him when they all walked in. I have no problem with her letting me know that he is hard of hearing and does not have his hearing aids, but the way she said it was very belittling.

Thank you for your responses so far!

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Specializes in ICU.

.........not the good ones! :smokin:

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Hello I am a male Cna working a hospital. I have worked here for 4 months and have noticed that almost all doctors except for one don't even make eye contact with me or say hello.

Today I was in a patients room of which I had been taking care of for 3 days. This patient would hit anyone and spit at them at the flip of a hat. I had established trust with this patient and knew how to talk to him. If you did not tell him what you where going to do, he would start punching and spitting. I was in this patients room with the door closed talking with him when the door has a single knock and a MD walks in with 5 residents behind her. She quickly says, "This patient is hard of hearing and does not have his hearing aid with him". Her tone was condescending and belittling. It took every ounce of self control in my body not to respond with a smart ass comment and explain I had been taking care of this patient for 3 days and never being attacked by him, when many of the staff had been. The patient could hear me just fine and would pretend to be asleep or not hear you if he did not want you messing with him. I also just got done feeding, doing perineal care that was up his back, brushing his teeth, providing clean sheets, and repositioning because I saw his red bottom that needed a break from the pressure.

Long story short I want to become a Medical Doctor and thought becoming a CNA first would give me great experience working with patients so I knew what it was like working at the bottom. As in bottom I really mean bottom with all the peri care I perform every day and keep smiling.

I have seen ONE doctor actually doing perineal care on a patient and helped me boost him after he was done. I later talked to this doctor and explained that I had respect for him doing that. He looked at me and said, "Hey I am not god, and I will be damned if I walk around like him". Since then I have been able to joke around and talk with this doctor, but the rest all walk around like they are high and mighty. It makes me sick to see them act this way. The nursing staff busts their butts to make the patients presentable for the doctor to come in for 5 minutes and leave.

Where I work the dr.'s are pretty cool.. for the most part. They can be a little conceited at times. or think they know it all... but they make mistakes too.:bowingpur

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