Do all surgeons think that they are Gods?

Nurses General Nursing

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I used to work in a small community hospital with 4 OR rooms, it seems that most of our surgeons think that they are God when they are in the OR. Why are the Doctors who have terrible bedside manners, usually the best surgeons, and the Doctors who do not have the best skills, are loved dearly by the staff and the patients.

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

There is a difference in knowing you have a life in your hands and having all the confidence and arrogance in the world when slicing and dicing people. It's quite another to treat nurses and ancillary personnel as underlings or gum on your shoe. You don't have to be a JERK to have confidence. NO excuse is good enough in my book to be RUDE. There are DARN good surgeons that are NOT like this you know. IT CAN BE DONE.

yup, i totally agree!

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Originally posted by yannadey

I'm with cubby

If a surgeon gonna slice me open I do hope he see's himself as god. As a matter of fact I've had quiet a few of these "god like" surgeon(4) cut me open & I thanked (the real) god for them.

That "I am God" mentality may work for you as the patient. My attorney has actually compared himself with God too(we'll see-I'll let ya'll know if we get that 2 million he keeps saying we deserve). BUT when you are nursing staff treated like crap it is not so cool. There are, like I've said, some awesome surgeons great at what they do with lots of confidence but they are also aware they are mortals and treat nurses with appreciation and respect.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Originally posted by yannadey

I'm with cubby

If a surgeon gonna slice me open I do hope he see's himself as god. As a matter of fact I've had quiet a few of these "god like" surgeon(4) cut me open & I thanked (the real) god for them.

OK so this begs a question from me to you: I am a nurse, someone, who CAN actually function to save lives in my capacity........(we all do save lives in our assessments and skills, even if not "coding" a person)----- then does that give me the right to treat, say, custodial staff, like POOP cause of my skills and ability? Do you see the fault in your logic here? My point is, You can be a human(e) being and still do great works. THOSE are the "GREAT" ones in my book

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smilingblueeyes,

Ditto--the really great surgeons are capable of recognizing their limitations and asking for advice or help when they need it--the ones who think they are "god" may not!

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We have a couple like that where I work at. I just move and get out of the way when they want to review a chart.

Seems a shame to me to have that type of attitude. Many really nice people do not like to be around arrogant people. So they miss out on forming some really good friendships. Their loss.

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Applauding you SmilingBlueEyes! I couln't have said it better myself.

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Specializes in Critical Care Baby!!!!!.

The unit I work in has really great surgeons....except one is a real jerk! He has a HUGE God complex. Those are the ones you have to ignore. The other 3 are wonderful, really good teachers, patient, and great with families! I think you just have to blow off the ones that are like that.

They act that way because they are inadequate in other areas!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ER, L&D, ICU, OR, Educator.

I suppose you need an overly confident ego to actually think you CAN cut someone open, fix what is wrong, and close them back up, assuming they will function better after your "tweeking".

....but I want your RECORD of these successes, before you will mess with any of mine!

Prove yourself, and you are allowed "a bit" of the complex you may need to have the nerve to do what you do.

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I picked up days on the open surgery step-down unit...the reason I didn't take a permanent position was the surgeons....my, my, my some were very rude. Though most were rude some were nice.

But in the most part Dr.'s have been nice to me. I can think of a few that were rude. But those cardiac-thoracic Dr.'s I used to work with .... hmmm take a "nice" pill pleaaazzze!!!!

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Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

You don't have to be a JERK to have confidence. NO excuse is good enough in my book to be RUDE.

Having spent much of my career in LTC I am now in the hospital for 4 months and my answer is YES- Most surgeons are arrogant, high and mighty, nasty, rude SOB's :o

I am averaging one per month and yesterday I had a run-in with one of the worst. Ive seen him freak out before but not on me. I take report on admit from the ER the night before Ankle cellulitis. I was handed a mess to say the least. I spent about 30-45 minutes sitting with the chart-fixing it. No she wasnt NPO and NO she wasnt activity as tolerated NO there was no bedside commode and NO her foot wasnt elevated the specific "4 inches with the bed not gatched" as stated in the mighty surgeons orders. I had a soak and treatment for 1400 and the dsg was intact on my initial rounds. Night nurse tells me tx done at 0600 (and signed for) I got her a breakfast tray and put all orders in the computer. I fixed 2 med errors that I found and went to pharmacy for her meds, gave her pain med, hung her AB and helped her rearrange the room to her liking, got the commode helped her onto it, I elevated the mattress with some rolled up chucks but didnt have a ruler to measure to the 4 inches !!!! PLUS I had a few other pts to deal with too. :eek:

Now she tells the doc that the last soak was in the ER at 0100 !!

Wish she would have told me that. He decides to take it out on me. I gave it right back to him. He always causes a fuss on the unit and frequently yells at nurses.

The others that I didnt back down to now treat me better and seek me out sometimes and ask- DO you have Mrs so and so today and I love to say NOOOOOO- sorry LONG PAUSE and say

........can I help you with something LOL

KILL them with kindness and professionalism after you lay THEM out.

Theres a huge difference between confidence and arrogance and theres no need to be just plain rude and MEAN

deb

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Smilingblueyes and debRN, you said it so well, you don't have to be a jerk to be a good doctor. Everyone has a bad day, but there is no excuse to be consitantly rude, sarcastic or hateful because of the letters behind your name. I work with a world renowed neurosurgeon. Not only does he treat his pts like they are special, he is always polite and cheerful. After his clinics, he makes a point of thanking EVERYONE for thier help, not just the nurses, but the check-in clerks, insurance ppl, etc. I have heard him say several times that it takes all of us to care for pts. He also thanks his pts for putting thier trust in him. Thank goodness, I work at a teaching hospital, I can only hope more future drs learn from him.

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Originally posted by zudy

I work with a world renowed neurosurgeon. Not only does he treat his pts like they are special, he is always polite and cheerful.

Consider yourself blessed to work with him.

He is a gift to all. :kiss

deb

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