I almost forgot why I left nursing in the first place. Now I really like my new coworkers. I get along with my team. YES! But I was brought to reality when a doc called me an idiot.
I call the urologist and ask for clarification on a procedure he is going to do , and the urologist says," ARe you an Idiot? What else am I going to do. I am a urologist."
Me-" Urology is not my specialty doctor and I need to know the exact procedure. So is it , Laparoscopic Cyst Ablation, cystoscopy, Lithotripsy, or something else?" (Thank god for Google, there are about a dozen others he could be doing.)
GRR. I am damn sure he would never have called our house doc an idiot. Our house doc didn't even know what procedure was going to be done. And I am supposed to know out of probably a dozen what a urologist does? No. And I am not an idiot for not knowing which one.
Sorry guys, I just had to vent. It's better than me taking it out on my bf who actually is a doctor too. I came home and told him "YOUR PEOPLE SUCK!"
He was upset because he said he would never call anyone an idiot, and to please refrain from using the term "You people."
So here I am , back at nursing. Remembering why I left in the first place. It just is so hard for me to let that stuff slide and not let it affect me. I also don't want to take it out on my boyfriend everytime I have issues with a doctor at work.
Hoorah! Hoorah! I work with Orthopedic Surgeons and have experienced some of the same attitudes and comments. I called one of them out for something personal he said about me to another co-worker. He knew I heard him. So when he walked into my office I confronted him. His face got red and he tried to rephrase what he said or meant. I told him he and the other guy got a good laugh at my expense and I heard exactly what was said. Being an older Nurse I have no respect for some of the Physicians that I work with due to the care they provide to patients and the way they treat co-workers. Just waiting to retire! So I can handle anything now. My time is short!
Sorry he called you an idiot. Unfair. I would never obtain consent for something I am not performing as it is not in my scope. I am happy to obtain the paperwork/package, but I do what is within my scope and I have the docs do their job. Any doctor who won't do his or her job shouldn't practice.
Maybe this is unfair, or even an over generalization, but I think many providers are stressed to maximum capacity and nursing is an easy punching bag at times. We "bug" them; we "want things" (i.e., orders, clarification, et al.) so we by nature of our profession are in the line of fire.
Also some providers (like all professions) just aren't nice people. Not all - but doesn't it seem like you only ever have to call the mean spirited, impatient one's? Or maybe they are more memorable? I can remember plenty I've contacted via Tiger Text (a secure text messaging system) for something and they've been nice - or asked how I am, long time no hear - but then there are the one's no one wants to contact either, even with legitimate concerns.
Sorry that happened to you. You're in good company my friend - I think every nurse has been belittled at least once by a provider taking a pot-shot. Let me just take this opportunity to say to you: "Well done nurse!".
I had a doctor tell me many years ago that LPN stood for" lowly peon nurse". The episode was not directed to me but to all the nurses as one of his patients had not voided since surgery and it only been about 4 hours after the surgery. Some of the staff were very upset and the unit manager tried to help them understand.There were some newer nurses that I think were the most upset. I know that we all can learn things no matter the source of some of the comments.
Specializes in Med/Surg, OR, Peds, Patient Education.
Nah, the write-ups won't catch up to him until he annoys a physician.
We had a whiney cardiologist years ago who was an utter jerk to everyone he encountered including, interestingly enough, other physicians. We wrote him up and wrote him up, but since the hospital didn't pay his salary, there wasn't much they could do. He represented one of the two major practices in town, and they weren't going to pull his priveleges over complaints from mere nurses. Then there was the day he argued with a nephrologist, (the nasty one from a previous post) and fisticuffs ensued. They both went to jail. Nobody STAYED in jail, but they were both much better behaved afterward.[/quote
Ahh, there is nothing like some "poetic justice." Did the arrests, and record of those arrests, affect the privileges of either of those "entitled" gentlemen/ladies(?)
The issue is not the incompetence of the nurses, who were treated with unacceptable behavior by those doctors. The problem lay with the sense of entitlement and maybe some insecurity on the part of the doctors who felt that they had to disrespect other knowledgeable medical professionals.
My motto is 'Never roll in the mud with pigs...you get dirty and they like it!'
It took a little practice but it's not that difficult to mentally train oneself to always remember that these types of communications have nothing to do with me and should not insult me in the least. Now it's just second nature. If it happened today it would make me pity the person who acts that way. A very good "therapeutic communication" we all learned in school is simple SILENCE. It places the burden of response back on the person who make the inappropriate comment to begin with. As to being asked if I'm an idiot? "Perhaps. But the question is, what procedure will you be doing?"
I don't play games. I'm sorry if someone is miserable but it doesn't involve me and I won't be roped into their misery.
What he wanted you to do was illegal, I have never in over 40 years seen "procedure" allowed on an operative form. Besides if the consent is not signed he cannot do the procedure. I would have documented that he would not tell you the procedure and left the consent blank and unsigned, let him do it when he was waiting for the patient. Also write him up and document it well. I had an ER doc yell at me once, I let him rant while a co-worker listened in. When he slowed down I asked if he was finished. He grunted "yes". I said "fine then let's get on to the business about taking care of the patient and leave the other crap out of it, shall we?" He never yelled at me again, he actually was rather polite. Distant but polite.
Specializes in primary care, holistic health, integrated medicine.
Yes needed to have a consent signed and all the urologist wrote was "procedure." How am I supposed to get a signature if I don't even know what this person is signing up to have done? I am supposed to say, "here sign this to have some kind of procedure done.
Heck, I wouldn't sign a damn thing if I was a patient and had no idea what was being done. Yet he calls me the idiot. "
historylovinglpn: You really shouldn't be "consenting" this patient anyway. If the surgeon had provided the information, then the patient would KNOW what the procedure is, and it would be written on the consent form, that would have already been signed. Consent to a procedure must be provided by the person who is actually DOING the procedure. If he messes up, and the patient doesn't know of a certain risk, then you could be brought into a lawsuit for getting a patient to consent to a procedure for which he/she has not been informed of the risks/benefits/alternative, etc. I am quite sure you don't know these. Plus, if it was my mother or father, I would want them to have the opportunity to ask the surgeon questions about the procedure, and again, if that had been provided, there is no reason that form should not have already been signed. Don't let surgeons trick you into getting consent on patients. It is really not okay, unless you are only witnessing the signature. But on most forms, when YOU sign, you are saying that you witnessed the CONSENT. And you clearly did not. JMHO. Oh, and I witnessed a nurse go through a major lawsuit in a case like this. And it has been addressed in the legal section of allnurses, as well.
Specializes in CNA 8 yrs LPN 6 geri, chemical dependency.
''Doctor, I've gathered all of the information needed on the patient we're BOTH responsible for to ensure there are no errors made and OUR patient doesn't receive the wrong treatment, getting both or us in trouble."
My inner agitated LPN would say, "Look. I want to make sure we don't potentially kill or harm Mr. Or Mrs. X. I'm the last step in making sure the right procedure is done/ right medication is given/etc.. You get paid a lot more than me and doling verbal abuse out is neither in your job description or allowed. I'm 31 and will not allow others to treat me that way. Please clarify the procedure you want done. I'll do it, and please think of an apology while I do whatever it is you said to."
'Sorry, ladies and gents, I've received s great amount of abuse from everyone in the facilities I've worked in. From housekeeping to doctors. About 25 or so, I grew a major backbone and quickly developed a reputation of being NOT the one to say that to. OP, best of luck. First and foremost, you deserve respect, and you make sure you get it.
So here I am , back at nursing. Remembering why I left in the first place. It just is so hard for me to let that stuff slide and not let it affect me. I also don't want to take it out on my boyfriend everytime I have issues with a doctor at work.
It's interesting how nursing makes you have thick skin, the whole environment, especially inpatient settings are so stressful. But, I think I draw the line on being called an idiot and being yelled at. I never been called an idiot, but, I have been yelled at in the beginning of my career.
Unfortunately, I was a new grad and didn't think that a nurse can stick up for themselves. And, this was being yelled at by resident.
Anyway, I noticed the physicians that are so quick to demean others are usually inadequate in their profession. Either, they have experienced being belittled by other physicians that they take their first chance to make other's feel little.
Another reason could be complete lack of professionalism that I noticed, I've only experience with one foreign doctor who later got yelled at by a surgeon for leaving medication running.
she244
158 Posts
Hoorah! Hoorah! I work with Orthopedic Surgeons and have experienced some of the same attitudes and comments. I called one of them out for something personal he said about me to another co-worker. He knew I heard him. So when he walked into my office I confronted him. His face got red and he tried to rephrase what he said or meant. I told him he and the other guy got a good laugh at my expense and I heard exactly what was said. Being an older Nurse I have no respect for some of the Physicians that I work with due to the care they provide to patients and the way they treat co-workers. Just waiting to retire! So I can handle anything now. My time is short!