Dumbest thing a doctor has done/said to you

Nurses Relations

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I'm very curious. I'm sure we've all been there. We've dealt with doctors from all spectrum and mindsets. Most are very good at their jobs and have sound ideas!

But sometimes docs just say and do the craziest things

My example: at my last LTC facility I had one doctor seriously outright refuse/fight giving and prescribing pain meds (for patients who really, really needed it/were on vents/dying) because he honestly believed that these residents who had been stuck in a bed for years were going to get better and go out to buy/smoke crack cocaine.

According to him "prescribing narcotics leads to methadone and crack usage." These poor residents have been here for years taking the same medications and pain meds for years...just WHAT?

What kinda crazy stuff has your doctor done?

Specializes in med/surg.

I had a patient one night who died of his cancer. When his doctor returned our phone call a couple of hours later he insisted on knowing what his blood sugar was now, and when I reiterated that he had been pronounced and sent to the morgue two hours ago, he insisted he still wanted a finger stick done and I had to go down to the morgue, pull him out of the cooler and do a stick! It wasn't like this was unexpected, as he was under Hospice care and was expected to pass. Interestingly, once I could palpitate his finger enough, I did get enough blood for the stick and his BS was in the low 100's but how this meant anything is still a mystery to me.

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"That patient couldn't have fallen, I ordered him to be on bedrest."

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Called the doc to let him know his A&Ox4 patient was refusing everything, meds and fluids through his gtube, being combative, struck me 4 times, attempting to get out of bed. Doc replied "so what? You want restraints? Sedate the man? I'd be mad too if you woke me up!" I said "that gives him permission to hit a nurse because he was woken up? Never in my 12 years of nursing have I been hit by a patient." Doc replied "well consider yourself lucky because I've never heard of a nurse that has not been hit by a patient within the 1st few years in their career!" I said "oh so I guess I was overdue then, huh?!?" His reply "YES!" I then told him I was going to let the director know of his rude behavior and document every word he said... Right then he changed his tune and gave me the orders I needed to deal with this patient!

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Interesting thread, all in jest, I know... I could think of a handful of very amusing examples that came up during my several years working with new residents, but it would hardly be fair to call it out on a blog post. (Maybe over a couple sodas with friends though...)

But it did get me thinking...

I can recall several "dumb" things I've said in the past (because I was still learning)... And I think I would be mortified to find them posted on a blog of "dumbest things nurses ever said to a physician.") I think in healthcare there can be a tendency for professionals to assert their intelligence by proving how much *more* they know than everyone (or even someone) around them (at their expense). It takes away from the bigger picture.

And while I am sure no physician group will be out there rally around a post as innocent as this; I can venture a guess if it was reversed, some nurses would be circling the wagons with outrage.

It seems like most of the examples posted have more to do with arrogance and aggression than actual lack of ability or scientific intelligence. I think we all have lots examples of that...

I have had the good fortune to work with some incredible nurses over my career (many whom were doctorally prepared-- so let's not forget what the term "doctor" means versus "physician"). They taught me that when handling situations like these, while challenging, it's best to handle these with professionalism and grace. Tyrants pretty much always make themselves known...

And in the meantime, it's better to demonstrate our skill, professionalism, and intelligence by being just that. (And of course, let's not forget the golden rule).

Probably more than anyone wanted to read on a weekend afternoon... Anyhoo....

Happy Halloween fellow nurses!

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I had a doctor tell me the patient can't die because they have a pacemaker.

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I was working med surg my first year as a nurse. Doc wrote an order for a med my patient was allergic to. I brought it up and asked for a new order. Doc started yelling at me to stay in my lane and get out of his face. I started walking down the hallway to the nurse manager's office and he chucked the hard chart at me, which bounced off the back of my head.

Nurse manager told me that this particular doc often made "mistakes" like that and she would speak to him... yeah... he never got in trouble for that one, nor did he ever apologize for chucking the chart at me. It makes me glad we have EMRs now :p

What is an EMR? I'm not in nursing school yet. I start this upcoming spring

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.
Called the doc to let him know his A&Ox4 patient was refusing everything, meds and fluids through his gtube, being combative, struck me 4 times, attempting to get out of bed. Doc replied "so what? You want restraints? Sedate the man? I'd be mad too if you woke me up!" I said "that gives him permission to hit a nurse because he was woken up? Never in my 12 years of nursing have I been hit by a patient." Doc replied "well consider yourself lucky because I've never heard of a nurse that has not been hit by a patient within the 1st few years in their career!" I said "oh so I guess I was overdue then, huh?!?" His reply "YES!" I then told him I was going to let the director know of his rude behavior and document every word he said... Right then he changed his tune and gave me the orders I needed to deal with this patient!

Extra, super, triple dog like this post!

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Craziest thing a doctor has ever said to me? There are so many examples.

"Yes I DO want q 1 hour ABGs on this patient, even though she has no art line and you have to stick her and even though she's a DNR and we aren't going to treat the results anyway." And yes, he wrote that as an order -- word for word -- taking a whole sheet in the order book.

"Flower care q 24 hours."

"If the nurse is at lunch and you're watching her and you won't give her a shampoo right now, I'm just gonna call a code on her." And he did. (Our manager grabbed him by the lapels, swung him around and slammed him up against the wall. Her tirade started out with "Buck up, Buster" and ended with "and if you ever do such a thing again, I will have your gonads for breakfast." I don't remember the middle parts, probably because I was laughing so hard I nearly peed my pants.)

To me, from my (former) PCP: "Don't you worry your pretty head about your blood pressure. You let me worry about the big numbers." (Yes, he actually said this. I was 20 at the time. I was pretty when I was 20 -- everyone who is 20 is pretty. Even the boys.)

Your manager threw the doc up against the wall?? :o

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I had a patient one night who died of his cancer. When his doctor returned our phone call a couple of hours later he insisted on knowing what his blood sugar was now, and when I reiterated that he had been pronounced and sent to the morgue two hours ago, he insisted he still wanted a finger stick done and I had to go down to the morgue, pull him out of the cooler and do a stick! It wasn't like this was unexpected, as he was under Hospice care and was expected to pass. Interestingly, once I could palpitate his finger enough, I did get enough blood for the stick and his BS was in the low 100's but how this meant anything is still a mystery to me.[/quote

I would have told the Dr. to do it himself. This is desecrating a body. Also, you do not palpitate a finger, you palpate it. I mean this in the nicest way possible.

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Your manager threw the doc up against the wall?? :o

If a manager behaved like that where I work, he/she would be fired immediately.

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If a manager behaved like that where I work, he/she would be fired immediately.

One of the comments stated that! That's why I was asking and a bit shocked!

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EMR = electronic medical records

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