Baaaad day!!!

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by Pretzlgl
Nov 21, '02 Views: 1,736 Comments: 19

Had a doctor today tell me, "You think you are a f*****g super nurse but you're not g** d*** it!" Why? Because I questioned why he had a patient on the OR table for 16 minutes with a tourniquet inflated and not performing surgery because he was on the telephone in his office! (Now, the patient is awake - can you say tourniquet pain? and we charge by the minute in the OR - NOT CHEAP. No wonder insurance companies scrutinize so much). I was advocating for my patient, and this was the response I received from him. Besides what he said above, he also told me that I am not there to police the doctors, and to mind my own business. HELLO!! Taking care of patients is my business. Talked to administration - basically was told to sweep it under the carpet. They won't do anything. Anyone out there actually have a facility that does not tolerate this behavior???
About Pretzlgl

Joined: May '02; Posts: 266; Likes: 1

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Nov 21, '02
Joined: May '02; Posts: 266; Likes: 1

Did I mention that he was actually yelling at me when he said this?? SOoooo frustrating...
Nov 21, '02
Occupation: nurse Joined: Oct '02; Posts: 13

take it easy, pretzlgl!

I think anybody will meet some unhappy things always, just relax, have some deep breath, forget what had happened, then smile to everyone.

Just like me

I hope you happy everyday!
Nov 21, '02
Occupation: RN Joined: Apr '02; Posts: 2,065; Likes: 48

file an official complaint!...pronto...THEN you can smile to everyone......gee what was your response?
Nov 21, '02
Joined: Nov '02; Posts: 11

Sorry to hear you got chewed out, but don't let it get to you. Either the doctor in question is a complete ass who will someday get his come uppance, or he is under a lot of personal strain himself and just blew up. His actions were inexcusable, at least in the tone and language that he used with you. YOU did nothing wrong, you stepped up for your patient which is what a nurse is supposed to do.

You did your job, he didn't. Take a few minutes and try to remember just as clearly as you can exactly what he looked and sounded like when you had your confrontation, and then smile, and if possible, laugh about it. He will probably spend the rest of the day pissed off about the super nurse butting into his business, so the best thing for you to do is to spend the rest of the day chuckling about how much you got under his skin.

Some day down the road, he might remember what happened and realize that he was wrong. Probably won't apologize, but its better than if you had not confronted him at all.
Nov 21, '02
Occupation: RN Joined: Aug '01; Posts: 2,276; Likes: 42

I would tell your administration that you are filing a formal complaint against this "surgeon." He created for you what is called a "hostile workplace" and we don't have to put up with that nonsense. Make sure you document everything that happened, including witnesses and tell your administration that you want this surgeon dealt with or you will have to get an attorney. I am sure you are not the first nurse this surgeon has treated this way and he will probably continue to treat nurses in such a horrid fashion until he is stopped. Good luck...and stick to your guns!!!

Last edit by deespoohbear on Nov 22, '02
Nov 21, '02
Occupation: RN Joined: Aug '01; Posts: 2,276; Likes: 42

Did a quick Google search and found this link for you. Hope it helps.

http://www.itstime.com/apr97.htm
Nov 21, '02
Joined: May '02; Posts: 266; Likes: 1

Thank you all - and thanks deespoohbear for the link to the website. Believe me, this situation went further than just what I described - I basically summed it up in a nutshell.
Nov 21, '02
Occupation: Hospice clinical director Joined: May '02; Posts: 2,873; Likes: 26

Originally posted by chinaway
take it easy, pretzlgl!

I think anybody will meet some unhappy things always, just relax, have some deep breath, forget what had happened, then smile to everyone.

Just like me

I hope you happy everyday!

Absolutely, positively NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you think that admin. would tolerate a nurse speaking to a doc in such an abusive manner? And just what exactly was your transgression??? You were advocating for the pt.

I would write it up, and let it be known that there will be consequences (and yes, I have put my money where my mouth is. I went to a lawyer over abusive treatment from a supervisor...not only did the lawyer handle the problem, he did it gratis, because he was glad to help a nurse).

It really burns me when people say to just overlook it...if there idiots don't start having to deal with repercussions for such inappropriate behavior, it will never end, and we will continue to have people leaving the profession early, or not even entering it at all.

GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
Nov 21, '02
Joined: May '02; Posts: 266; Likes: 1

Exactly the way I feel fab - I know if I would have said that to him, I would have been gone so fast... Good for you for standing up for yourself - I am going to speak with our medical director tomorrow and see if he will be any help. Later on today this doctor apologized to me, like this. "I'm sorry, BUT, you should not talk to me this way - you should respect me. And apologize to me." HAHAHAHAHA. I said, "I only respect those who respect me first - and I will not apologize to you. I did nothing wrong."
Nov 22, '02
Occupation: RN Joined: Nov '02; Posts: 36

Chinaway, you sound like a nice person but you are way off base with the live and let live philosophy in this senario.

Pretzlgl.....I believe you said this pinhead is a surgeon. Any administrator worth his salt will tell you that the surgeons bring in the big bucks and you as a ungrateful, disrespectful nurse only drain the hospital of revenue. The cure for this type of cretin behavior is to keep the pt informed of all the proper times, procedural changes, expectations etc and let them question the little **** went he comes back into the room. I'll bet he doesn't say to his pt what he said to you. Protect your pts by letting them know what proper treatment is to be expected. There is tremendous political pressure to keep surgeons happy because they do big money procedures and the hosp doesn't want them to take their business elsewhere. I'll bet he has done this to other nurses. A written notification to the medical director and a discussion with your director of nursing may go nowhere but I would have a record of his mistreatment to you documented.
Nov 22, '02
Occupation: RN, outpt onc/hem unit Joined: Jul '02; Posts: 1,233; Likes: 8

Maybe notification to the patient's insurance company that the certain number of minutes were not spent on the patient? Or, if you are up to really raising a ruckus -- the local tv news might be interested. (Remember the recent news reports about the surgeon who left his surgery to go to the bank?)
Nov 22, '02
Joined: Oct '02; Posts: 60,386; Likes: 16,574

Our facility is a not-for-profit hospital. Surgeons that bring in paying patients that offset the indigent care can basically get away with whatever they want to because we need them to choose our hospital to do surgeries in.

It's quite competetive here. A hospital five minutes away just built a new OR to suck up to surgeons.

I can't say if they tolerate that kind of behavior in our OR, since I don't work there.

What you can do is to continue to advocate for your patients, even if it means more cussing out. Then you continue to report him and report him and report, if that what it takes to take care of the patients.

Baaaad day!!!

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