Blame nurses

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Is this true:

"Blame nurses with poor patients' out-come, and doctors will be appreciated with good patients' out-come?"

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Truthfully? I think it depends on how much responsibility each has in the patient outcome.

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Specializes in nursery, L and D.

I've told this story before, but here it goes again. I once went to a c-sec for fetal distress as part of the nursery team. Which consisted of me and a doc, btw. They give me a limp, blue, mostly dead child. I give meds, chest compressions, bag, all the usual stuff. The doc helped, of course, but was much more hesitant due to the fact that the docs just didn't go to many deliveries, and the nurses were easier with the process. Well, the baby finally lets out a weak cry. The OB on the case said "Lets hear it for Dr. soandso!" and everyone cheered for him. Well....I guess I was chopped liver, lol. Anyway, I guess I do believe that adage in some situations, obviously!

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Why do you think that doctors STILL think that we don't do anything unless it is ordered by a doc? Why do you think that a doc can be an unprofessional jerk but it is the nurse that is counseled and sent down the road to termination?

Nurses do not bring money in to hospitals. Nurses only cost the hospitals a fortune. The general public is groomed to accept the doctor as all-knowing and the nurse is the one to wipe their butts.

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I've told this story before, but here it goes again. I once went to a c-sec for fetal distress as part of the nursery team. Which consisted of me and a doc, btw. They give me a limp, blue, mostly dead child. I give meds, chest compressions, bag, all the usual stuff. The doc helped, of course, but was much more hesitant due to the fact that the docs just didn't go to many deliveries, and the nurses were easier with the process. Well, the baby finally lets out a weak cry. The OB on the case said "Lets hear it for Dr. soandso!" and everyone cheered for him. Well....I guess I was chopped liver, lol. Anyway, I guess I do believe that adage in some situations, obviously!

Why "LOL"? You did the work, he got the glory. That does not deserve a laugh. You should have spoken up and said, "So what am I, chopped liver?" where everyone, including the 2 doctors, could hear you. It would certainly make them think.

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Specializes in Mixed Level-1 ICU.

"The general public is groomed to accept the doctor as all-knowing and the nurse is the one to wipe their butts."

And we're all to blame unless--with every appropriate opportunity--you give families and the general public ten reasons to believe otherwise.

Regarding the c-sec story. I would have hoped the nurse involved would have piped right in with, "How about lets' hear it for the nurse?!"

Remaining dutifully silent and expecting perspectives to change is a dream.

No Courage, no change.

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I think the "LOL" is one of those things that if you don't laugh, what else are you going to do since it was probably a "no win" situation for the nurse.

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Specializes in psych. rehab nursing, float pool.
Why "LOL"? You did the work, he got the glory. That does not deserve a laugh. You should have spoken up and said, "So what am I, chopped liver?" where everyone, including the 2 doctors, could hear you. It would certainly make them think.

It is not verbally stated as it would be seen as unprofessional in front of the patient. I think the nurse handled it the only way she could and was entitled to her feelings about the situation.

momma taught I can think what I want, "but I had better not say it in some instances"

I think it is a great story, and who knows what is unsaid might be the nurse gave the doctor a discreet look which said more than words could ever have said.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

That reminds me of yesterday. I had a patient with a trach who probably hasn't eaten anything for over two months. The SICU resident orders her a purple popsicle and gives it to her. She did good, tolerated it just fine and is so very happy. I had to tease him about it..."Sure, I wipe her butt and don't get a thank you but you're her best friend after giving her the popsicle."

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Medicine is a high-prestige profession. Society bestows a great deal of unquestioned respect upon physicians, whether or not they arrive at the correct diagnoses. By the way, the diagnosis is correct only 59 percent of the time.

Nursing is a low-prestige profession. Society bestows only a very questionable amount of respect upon nurses. As an example, the general public will attempt to become bossy with a nurse or give him/her directives. However, these same people would never tell the physician how to proceed.

Members of the high-prestige professions (medicine, law, business, engineering) tend to be forgiven by the public for any mistakes they might make. Members of the low-prestige professions can do 1,000 things correctly, but the one mistake is the highlight of their careers.

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Medicine is a high-prestige profession. Society bestows a great deal of unquestioned respect upon physicians, whether or not they arrive at the correct diagnoses. By the way, the diagnosis is correct only 59 percent of the time.

Nursing is a low-prestige profession. Society bestows only a very questionable amount of respect upon nurses. As an example, the general public will attempt to become bossy with a nurse or give him/her directives. However, these same people would never tell the physician how to proceed.

Members of the high-prestige professions (medicine, law, business, engineering) tend to be forgiven by the public for any mistakes they might make. Members of the low-prestige professions can do 1,000 things correctly, but the one mistake is the highlight of their careers.

What is odd is that this is very true, yet in all those Gallup polls, nurses come out #1 ahead of the docs.

I wonder if that is because the patients don't like the docs because THEY pay the docs and feel cheated, but patients don't pay nurses directly or have nursing care itemized on their insurance bills? Whatever the reason -the public doesn't have a clue either way.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
What is odd is that this is very true, yet in all those Gallup polls, nurses come out #1 ahead of the docs.
Nursing, according to polls, is the most trusted profession. Nursing is not the most respected profession. Trust and respect are two uniquely separate attributes.

The public can trust a profession without feeling much respect for them. For example, we place our trust in bus drivers to get us from place to place safely. However, we don't necessarily have much respect for bus drivers. While society trusts nurses to do the right things for our patients, the respect isn't all the way there.

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