Ever Been Fired or Kicked Out of Surgeon's Room

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Just curious and wanted to know if anyone has been fired or kicked out of a surgeon's room. Temporarily or permanently? Did they confront you face to face and tell/yell at you? Or did they go behind your back and do it? Would like to hear your experiences and how you dealt with it. Thanks for sharing.

Specializes in trauma, ortho, burns, plastic surgery.
Never have been tossed but in reality it wouldn't really bother me if they did. I can always find something else to do.

Good atitude! Self confidence, but sweetheart this come only in years and she is on her first steps!

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Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

Actually I meant I could find something to do within the department and not another specialty. Yes, it does come with years of experience but one should at least know why things happen. Some docs just have a pretty crappy attitude towards new people and nothing will change that except being persistent and consistent in your skills.

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Specializes in Trauma & Plastic Surgeon (MD,PhD).

First, I have to forewarn everyone I am not a nurse, I am a Trauma-Reconstructive (Plastic) Surgeon in Central Europe, though I was born in the U.S. and did a lot of training in the U.S., also I am a former Police Officer, so you probably are thinking - oh, oh, typical surgeon, but I am a typical good guy surgeon, not an old-time jerk. Second, I have to apologize for some of my moron colleagues that think they're greater than any nurse and do things like throw instruments, throw out nurses, and insult nurses in front of others and have temper tantrums - ridiculous, but yes a lot of those morons are "old-timers"... not that being old allows such behavior.

I have a different take on nurses, and I must admit that most of the surgeons in the country where I work (Poland) are of my similar mindset. I truly believe that nurses are the backbone of a "MEDICAL TEAM" as that is what it is. I learned during medical school and residency that a nurse that has 5, 10, 20 years experience and spends 8 hours a day with a patient will know a lot more of what's going on with the patient and what that patient needs far better than I will with the limited time I can spend with the patient.... so of course I will use the nurse as a VALUABLE resource, any doctor that doesn't is a fool. Yes, I have the M.D. (I also have a Ph.D. - you can say it - NERD, I'm not a NERD though, just a typical overachiever, type A surgeon, and a lot of docs in Europe also have PhD's), just because I have the M.D. means I am ultimately responsible, but nurses are part of a team.

NEVER, and I mean never, have I yelled at a nurse, thrown ANYTHING at a nurse or chewed one out, publicly or privately. If I am in a tense situation in a surgery, I may get a bit abrupt, but that's because I'm concentrating. If a nurse hands me a wrong instrument (mistakes are just mistakes), I'll ask for the correct one and forget about it.... NOW in defense of a surgeons job, things can get pretty hairy sometimes for us, especially traumas, and things can move really fast. I may drop a wrong instrument out of my hand and ask for another one, but throwing is stupid, and not only disrespects everyone in the OR, but I would disrespect myself, my career as a surgeon is a calling, not a job. Sure you get the nuts that say, "But I am the doctor, you're just a nurse" - so what, that doesn't make a nurse less important.... good heavens, if I had to get my own instruments off the tray, a surgery would never get done and people would die.

Now if something goes really wrong with a nurse in the OR, I will, after the surgery talk to her (we don't have hardly any male nurses) and tell her my concerns. I don't go to her supervisor-that's just unproductive. I will ask her what happened, ask her if I said something wrong or if I was misunderstood, or if I made a mistake (it happens-LOL) and how we can correct the issue. I also make sure that I always treat ALL my nurses well, and once a week I treat them to dinner, or pizza, or doughnuts, or something - they deserve it in my eyes. I don't want nurses, especially new ones thinking all surgeons are jerks, we're not, it's just most if not all of us are type A personalities so we're already screwed up from the start :-) The "old-timer nurses" just had it bad. So think of me next time some idiot surgeon (wanker surgeon if you are in the UK) goes off on you.

Nurses are the best, hang in there ladies (and guys), us young surgeons are changing things. Now for a joke: "What's the difference between God and a Surgeon? God knows he's not a surgeon" Take Care and God Bless all of you - you get tired of the jerks, come work in a cool young country where we respect our team-mates.....:redbeathe

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Specializes in 2 years school nurse, 15 in the OR!.

Yup, a podiatriast threw me out once. Someone transferred a personal call to my room from my son's school nurse. Long story short, I was trying to talk to her about my child, and he threw me out. I calmly left, and went to our director. She took care of it for me, and the podiatrist and me ended up talking and we were OK after that. My charge nurse usually kept me out of his room after that though. LOL

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

I tend to have the attitude at work that the OR room is the nurses domain, we restock it (surgeons don't), clean it after cases (surgeons never do) AND we make sure the equipment there is working properly (surgeons don't do this either). So if they even tried kicking me out of my OR then they can restock it, clean it and maintain all the equipment.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

I think I'm in love with OBMDPHD

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Specializes in L&D, OR, travel.

Gonzo, Me too! Shall we go visit him in Poland? Maybe we could come back and give a presentation about proper "surgical personality" (AORN, Sept 2008).

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Specializes in L&D, OR, travel.

OBMDPHD,

Thanks for chiming in here on our nurse's discussion forum. It's good to hear from the other side of the table from one with such insight and skill in interpersonal relationships.:redbeathe Thanks for the heart you left us too.

I'm glad that you have found a place to practice your craft in the new young Poland! wow! I've never heard it described that way.

To OR nursing team: good discussion. Here's hoping the bad days/assignments/rooms with a difficult surgeon are heavily out-weighed with the good ones. Hang in there!

Deb

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Specializes in Trauma & Plastic Surgeon (MD,PhD).

GONZO1 and Nurseinadream.... you ladies are the best, my sincerest thanks!!! My OR is always open to awsome nurses - and I definitely agree with SCRUBBY, it's really the nurses OR!! - A surgeon find something in the OR? - HAH! I can find the table, does that count?? LOL... Ladies, now I'm falling in Love with you...:redbeathe watch out, you are being far too nice to me!! I knew I shouldn't have married that Family Practice doctor... she suddenly walked out on me after 15 years... mid-life crisis, I knew something was up when she bought the sports car!! ... oh well, it's over finally (after 7 figures went to the bloody attorneys - oops, sorry I'm venting)... but I did get two wonderful kids out of the "experience".:wink2: My door is always open in Warsaw to great team members, but I think you'll need to beat "proper surgical personality" into the head of the Prima Donna Surgeons - use a heavy hammer!

I tend to make the OR a place to enjoy for the entire team, not a place to dread... why can't it be fun? Isn't surgery stressful enough for ALL OF US without the surgeon making it worse? Yes, now that Poland is a free democracy, it is a blast, and an untapped vacation hotspot... I escaped the U.S. after the nasty divorce as everything in Poland is calmer, nicer in some ways, simpler and a lot cheaper, and we are ALWAYS looking for OR nurses, we do have a shortage!! It's a rapidly developing country, and the rest of Europe is closeby - makes for fantastic vacations!!

I too pray that the good days in the OR outweigh the bad ones for the nursing teams... I feel so bad that these idiot surgeons treat you so poorly, that's why I had to join this forum, it really bothered me! Thank-you all for allowing me to put in my two cents and "speak" to you. You all have my deepest respect, appreciation and thanks, and are all in my heart. God Bless and take care.... :redbeathe

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Specializes in Operating Room.

Just wanted to point out too, that depending on how nasty the surgeon is, maybe it's not a bad thing to be kicked out. I saw a tech( a good one) get kicked out of a room once by one of our meanest surgeons. He was high fiving people on the way out!:yeah::D

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First, I have to forewarn everyone I am not a nurse, I am a Trauma-Reconstructive (Plastic) Surgeon in Central Europe, though I was born in the U.S. and did a lot of training in the U.S., also I am a former Police Officer, so you probably are thinking - oh, oh, typical surgeon, but I am a typical good guy surgeon, not an old-time jerk. Second, I have to apologize for some of my moron colleagues that think they're greater than any nurse and do things like throw instruments, throw out nurses, and insult nurses in front of others and have temper tantrums - ridiculous, but yes a lot of those morons are "old-timers"... not that being old allows such behavior.

I have a different take on nurses, and I must admit that most of the surgeons in the country where I work (Poland) are of my similar mindset. I truly believe that nurses are the backbone of a "MEDICAL TEAM" as that is what it is. I learned during medical school and residency that a nurse that has 5, 10, 20 years experience and spends 8 hours a day with a patient will know a lot more of what's going on with the patient and what that patient needs far better than I will with the limited time I can spend with the patient.... so of course I will use the nurse as a VALUABLE resource, any doctor that doesn't is a fool. Yes, I have the M.D. (I also have a Ph.D. - you can say it - NERD, I'm not a NERD though, just a typical overachiever, type A surgeon, and a lot of docs in Europe also have PhD's), just because I have the M.D. means I am ultimately responsible, but nurses are part of a team.

NEVER, and I mean never, have I yelled at a nurse, thrown ANYTHING at a nurse or chewed one out, publicly or privately. If I am in a tense situation in a surgery, I may get a bit abrupt, but that's because I'm concentrating. If a nurse hands me a wrong instrument (mistakes are just mistakes), I'll ask for the correct one and forget about it.... NOW in defense of a surgeons job, things can get pretty hairy sometimes for us, especially traumas, and things can move really fast. I may drop a wrong instrument out of my hand and ask for another one, but throwing is stupid, and not only disrespects everyone in the OR, but I would disrespect myself, my career as a surgeon is a calling, not a job. Sure you get the nuts that say, "But I am the doctor, you're just a nurse" - so what, that doesn't make a nurse less important.... good heavens, if I had to get my own instruments off the tray, a surgery would never get done and people would die.

Now if something goes really wrong with a nurse in the OR, I will, after the surgery talk to her (we don't have hardly any male nurses) and tell her my concerns. I don't go to her supervisor-that's just unproductive. I will ask her what happened, ask her if I said something wrong or if I was misunderstood, or if I made a mistake (it happens-LOL) and how we can correct the issue. I also make sure that I always treat ALL my nurses well, and once a week I treat them to dinner, or pizza, or doughnuts, or something - they deserve it in my eyes. I don't want nurses, especially new ones thinking all surgeons are jerks, we're not, it's just most if not all of us are type A personalities so we're already screwed up from the start :-) The "old-timer nurses" just had it bad. So think of me next time some idiot surgeon (wanker surgeon if you are in the UK) goes off on you.

Nurses are the best, hang in there ladies (and guys), us young surgeons are changing things. Now for a joke: "What's the difference between God and a Surgeon? God knows he's not a surgeon" Take Care and God Bless all of you - you get tired of the jerks, come work in a cool young country where we respect our team-mates.....:redbeathe

:yeah::yeah::yeah:

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Not fired, kicked out of a room once, because i asked that the conversation go away from raunch, since the pt. was MAC and was hearing all of this. Got kicked out for "being a prude." While i waiting for my relief, surgeon kept saying to get out, i refused saying "Virginia law calls that abandonment, the rule doesn't exclude prudes that i am aware of". When my relief came in i said loudly "Thank you for doing ME the favor."

I didn't see it as humiliating though. Shoot, DO ME the favor, kick me out, 'cause then maybe my next assignment is tolerable.

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