Have you been injured by a doctor?

Nurses General Nursing

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Just wondering--is there anybody out there who has been injured by a doctor? Or do you know of anyone injured by a doctor? I mean--a chart thrown at them, or worse a scalpel? :uhoh21: Has anyone been slapped, kicked, or thrown against a wall? I know we've all been yelled at, but I'm curious how prevalent this behavior might be. I'm having some difficulty finding any research on this. Also, what happened to the doctor--sued, disciplined, lost his license? Thanks for your responses.

Are you kidding??!?? I have never heard/seen any of this. Our docs don't yell at us, they respect us. On occasion someone will get snooty (generally if it is an off-service pt and the doc is not as familiar with our floor), but that is absolutely not tolerated. Our nurse manager goes to bat for us and we have them all trained nicely. Respect and respect. THat is it. They throw us a fancy nurses breakfast each year, cater a wonderful formal Christmas party, and are great to work with. It is absolutely unacceptable to work in a situation where you are demeaned and have even a threat of violence like that.

Specializes in med surg, SICU.

Why are you doing this research? Are you trying to understand a personal experience or are you writing a paper for school? This seems like a very loaded question and I am interested in why you wonder.

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

I wish a doctor would throw something at me! :angryfire He'd regret the day he was born if he ever did something THAT stupid and immature. :rolleyes:

Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
Are you kidding??!?? I have never heard/seen any of this. Our docs don't yell at us, they respect us. On occasion someone will get snooty (generally if it is an off-service pt and the doc is not as familiar with our floor), but that is absolutely not tolerated. Our nurse manager goes to bat for us and we have them all trained nicely. Respect and respect. THat is it. They throw us a fancy nurses breakfast each year, cater a wonderful formal Christmas party, and are great to work with. It is absolutely unacceptable to work in a situation where you are demeaned and have even a threat of violence like that.

Can I come work on your floor? :)

There used to be stories floating around about this type of behavior but nurses can and do file assualt and battery charges now. Beside, I used to have such a bad temper the meanest doctor was afraid to be too rough to me. There are many ways to climb that old tree. :chuckle

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I think this thread should be handled with care....

Specializes in PCU, Critical Care, Observation.

I haven't seen anything like that done by a doctor, but I was reading about a lawsuit online about a doctor/surgeon that sued a hospital he worked at because they discontinued his privileges after many complaints from not only nurses, but also respiratory therapists & other doctors. He would use foul language, slap - even came out of one room & told the nurse the patient had committed suicide under her care (which was not true, the pt was fine). Under testimony he claimed he was just trying to see how "on the ball" she was. Not quite sure how the lawsuit turned out though.

Jen

Just wondering--is there anybody out there who has been injured by a doctor? Or do you know of anyone injured by a doctor? I mean--a chart thrown at them, or worse a scalpel? :uhoh21: Has anyone been slapped, kicked, or thrown against a wall? I know we've all been yelled at, but I'm curious how prevalent this behavior might be. I'm having some difficulty finding any research on this. Also, what happened to the doctor--sued, disciplined, lost his license? Thanks for your responses.

It hasn't happened to me but I do know of personal accounts where charts, phones, etc have been thrown. To my knowledge, the MD's were never disciplined.

Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

I've never personally witnessed it, nor heard about any recent incidents. I did hear of a doctor at the hospital I used to work at who routinely threw charts at nurses. I heard (from a very reliable source) that the last time he did it the nurse was cut on the face by the edge of the chart. She called 911 and the police came and arrested him in the hospital for assault. This was probably in the 70s or 80s. I really can't see anything like physical assault happening in this day and age.

Specializes in Urgent Care.

I have seen charts, phones and chairs thrown, not at people though.

Why are you doing this research? Are you trying to understand a personal experience or are you writing a paper for school? This seems like a very loaded question and I am interested in why you wonder.

No, not doing research. But read about a lawsuit against a doc on another website "Placebo Journal" (heard of it?) and Dr. Doug was incensed that a doctor would be sued for "bullying." I think he (Dr. Doug) must have his head in the sand about what really goes on in the hospital, but don't really have anything to back it up. I couldn't find any information on the Web but, like others, feel this may be a loaded question. Not too many people willing to come forward and say they've been "abused" by a doctor.

I know a nurse in another town who was thrown up against the wall in the ER by a surgeon who, subsequently, lost his priviledges at that facility, but her injury left her unable to work. :angryfire Also know of a nurse in my own facility who was kicked by a surgeon in the cath lab. He was disciplined by the hospital, but he's still here. Heard she sued his a**! :rolleyes:

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