Docs yelling at nurses....

[ClassQ1]

Hi guys,

I have been reading the several posts about doctors yelling at the nurses. I am wondering:

1. As a male nurse, is it any different?

2. Have you ever had to deal with yelling physicians? If yes, what did you do? How did you deal with it? I read several posts stating from mouthing off to cry in the bathroom (mostly women on how they react).

3. It is my second career moving from a corporate environment with lots of politics. We cannot tolerate such things. A person can be written up for such behaviors. However, me going into nursing, I carry the same habits. I cannot put up with such behaviors. I am just wondering how to prepare myself. It is something common and have to learn to deal with it or there are ways to handle it without feeling embarrassed such as involving HR,etc...? The politically correct way that I know is to let the physician know that he doesnt realize that he is yelling and to go to a more private place to discuss it and if he doesnt listen, just walk away from him (ignore him).

Please enlighten me with your experiences and advises....

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

A code pink usually stands for infant abduction in most hospitals!

Same here, until recently it was changed to Code Amber. So I think pink is available, again.

The problem with code pink for infant abduction is that it's okay for little girls, but if a little boy were abducted, shouldn't we call a code blue? Plus, even in this neck of the woods, not all little boys and girls are pink. (WV does have ethnic diversity. There are Scottish people and Irish people and Scots-Irish people...plus a couple of others.)

[Music in My Heart]

Now, it wasn't right for him to bring his troubles to work and take them out on his nurses...

"His" nurses? Were these nurses in his practice or was there a direct reporting structure? If not, I'd strongly advocate against the terminology "his nurses." They are coworkers, not servants.

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

Same here, until recently it was changed to Code Amber. So I think pink is available, again.

The problem with code pink for infant abduction is that it's okay for little girls, but if a little boy were abducted, shouldn't we call a code blue? Plus, even in this neck of the woods, not all little boys and girls are pink. (WV does have ethnic diversity. There are Scottish people and Irish people and Scots-Irish people...plus a couple of others.)

Hmmm you're right! But what do we do for our unfortunate little ambiguous genitalia babies? Code Question Mark? Code Who the Heck Knows?

Scottish-Irish? Whoeee! How'd that happen. I'm visualizing a stout-swilling red-headed baby in a tartan diaper...

ok. Thread derailment over...

[darkblue]

When I was a CNA, I watched a doctor (a young, yuppie-type) really tear into one of my favorite (very young) nurses. She stood there, tears streaming down her face, making little nods and "yes, doctor's." It was so quite at the nurse's station you could've heard a pin drop.

So, I started clapping.

Still clapping, I walked up to "Leonard" and said, "Good Job, Doc! You've made a 18-year old girl cry. What do you do for an encore?"

Never saw the moron again. Apparently, he never said anything to the Nurse Manager or the Facility Administrator, as I continued to work there for another two years.

Mike

This is awesome, well done.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

I've seen a male doc scream at and totally humilate a female nurse, then turn right around to a male nurse and ask him in a friendly way if he knew who won a football game.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

when a nurse is being berated by a physician. That nurse should call a Code Pink. This is a code for all available nurses to come and stand beside the nurse being yelled out. Without words or physical intimidations, all the nurses stand in a group and look at the physician in solidarity. Then you write a letter to the Medical Director with details of the incident.

I wish this was still done, but code pinks are a thing of the past. It seems to be every woman/man for himself these days.

[K98]

I wish this was still done, but code pinks are a thing of the past. It seems to be every woman/man for himself these days.

Not where I work. There are cliques like anywhere else, but the docs know better than to stir the waters in the "shark tank". There are some *ahem* strong personalities in the SICU where I work that will not stand for another nurse being berated in public by a doc, no matter what they think of that nurse personally.

[pawashrn]

When faced with a decision, a doctor will always support a doctor over a nurse. Therefore, by standing together( no matter what color you choose) it places the message out there, that we support eachother unconditionally. Never let your guard down. The very doctor that I have to sit in front of the board about has known me for 24 years. Maybe, I am hurt. I let my guard down and thought of him as a friend.

[labordude, BSN, RN]

Insinuated a couple of weeks ago that I fed a pt with an ETT GRRRRRRR!!!!!

I had to look at your specialty because this is something we do all the time without a second thought! Of course, MICU and NICU are a little different ;-)

[TraumaNurseRN]

We recently had a mass exodus of tenure RNs (20) from the ED. Now, with many new grads and new RNs from elsewhere in the hospital, the docs are frustrated and the newbies are too. I never "allow" a physician to treat me with disrespect. Sometimes, I don't think they even know how rude they can be. Believe me....I have not hesitated to point that out either...lol....it unfortunately does not change their behavior. Just the other day as I was respectfully standing/waiting for the doc to finish his personal phone call, he made a remark to whomever he was speaking to that "he had to get off the phone because a nurse was on his shoulder wanting him for another stupid reason" .....the doc snidely repeated what, what...what do you want as I was attempting to alert him of a crashing patient.

I stopped mid-sentence and said...."Do not talk to me like that ever again, and when you are ready to learn of your coding patient, I'd be glad to tell you which room they are in." Turned on my heels and walked away. He obviously knew he was in the wrong and followed me like a spanked puppy into the patient's room. He'll be disrespectful again everyone knows it.

Later, I approached him and told him that I will bust my butt for him just as I do for the other ED docs, but, it will take me 3 times as long if he keeps his "tude" with the nurses as he does. He smiled and knew exactly what I meant, and apologized. The docs rely on the remaining tenure nurses and if they push us out too, it will be a disaster.:deadhorse(I know it's beating a dead horse but, I certainly feel much better when I stick up for myself or my fellow nurses)

[male_nurse22]

when i was in my senior year in nursing, i was asigned to assist in an OB-GYNE surgery the doctor always yells and shouts at me and somestimes throwing instruments on my try and saying i am passing her the wrong instruments. after the rotation i've heard rumors from the other OR staff that it is her habit to shout or yel at students and somestimes even staff nurses.

[Sean 91]

I got yelled at by a dr I called when doing a one-night stand on the trauma unit with 11 pts on nightshift. The charge didn't tell me there was a PA taking all calls for the floor. So I called the M.D. at about 2 a.m. and he started yelling, called me an idiot three times. Only then did the charge tell me, three hours into the shift, oh we don't call the M.D. But I e-mailed the hospital CEO the next morning and ran the 5-story garage three times (the drive, not the stairs) the next morning to work it off. There have been a few docs who have raised their voice but they are the ones who do with all--and they get reported and reprimanded themselves.