Rude remarks by doc with his own kids

Nurses General Nursing

Published

:uhoh21:last night when i got to work, i was pulled to another floor which did not bother me. as i went walking up the nurse's station, which sits right in front of the elevators, i seen one of our more popular docs finishing rounds with his 2 kids in tow.

doc ben says" ok kids tell them by, kids say by every one ( 7y boy and 4y girl). doc says push the button, the elevators open and he says very loudly ,ok guys let go see the lady with the biggest butt, what floor should we go to? kids reply, we don't know dad. he laughs :lol2::lol2:and says how about the first floor by the cafeteria , that usually where they hang out!!'

now this is not the first remark this doc has made, few weeks back, he had same son and son's friend with them, makes the remark, come on boys, let she go show you a big one!

the nurses on the floor just laughed and said that's doc ben for you.

now what kind of example is he setting for his kids? :madface:not to mention, what if family members or worse yet, one of his pt's heard him.

i did tell my nurse manager, who replied, well there's really nothing we can do about that.

i used to have respect for this man, no longer, how very unprofessional, rude and down right mean.:down::down:

:angryfire:angryfirestill burns me a good one when writing this!!

Specializes in Medical Assisting, Phlebotomy.

No matter WHO this doctor THINKS he is, comments like this are NOT acceptable, and very unbecoming of a physician. Their kids have no business being babysat by the nursing staff, and that too is not a good thing.

I remember a scene from Emergency! where Nurse McCall is scolding a nurse (Walters) about how she is not to repeat things she hears, and to keep things to herself. Where's "Dix" when we need her now ???

Paul

Specializes in Med-Surg, Paediatrics.

I agree with you - doctors should arrange their own childcare, as we all had to. OK if it's a one-off emergency, as with one of our female surgeons whose kids sat quietly in the office for five minutes.

But it's unprofessional to bring your kids to work on a regular basis. The doctors are being paid to see the patients and they should give their full attention. And what about confidentiality issues? I wouldn't want to discuss how I'm doing with a couple of kids at the bottom of the bed!

As for his rude, and regular, remarks about patients' appearance.......he needs to be spoken to! But from what the OP says, this is unlikely as he is on the Board, etc...

Sue

Specializes in Med-Surg, Paediatrics.
Occasionally we have a few docs that will tell their kids to stay at the nurses station and most are old enough to be quiet and polite but one in particular..basically looks around to find a "babysitter." One female doctor in particular that most of us cannot personally stand does this. When I see her coming with her 3 year old I leave the area PRONTO-even if it means just getting into the nearest bathroom. My whole take on it-if I have to jump through hoops and arrange daycare then she should also. I have told people that I work with that I will NEVER watch a kid at work NEVER. Maybe the only exception would be a CRITICAL situation after hours--not regular rounds.

Sorry, should have added this quote to the above post!

Sue

Specializes in 27 yrs in long term care, 5 yrs office.

I would think this would be a big HIPPA violation?

Specializes in Cardiac, ICU, EP, CCU.

Just found this thread and am so shocked by this behavior on the part of physicians with regards to the comments, the babysitting requests, etc. I work at a very big teaching hospital, and I've seen doctors bring their kid (one kid) with them maybe 3 times. The kid was always older, around 9 or 10, and sat at the nurses station, didn't go in rooms or go to rounds! Can you imagine if you or I or any nurse tried to put our baby in a baby carrier and take them to work with us? Ha! We'd be looking for another job. You need to speak up, people, this sounds like a really poor place to work.

About 7 years ago I was in the hospital A LOT! I remember not wanting to see a lot of people while I was there. It just took too much energy. I could not imagine my Doc at the time bringing in any kids with him. First of all, I see my Doctor in a professional manner. If there were kids with him (no matter the age), I would have felt like I was not his priority. Secondly, I was fairly young, and don't think I would have appreciated disclosing anything embarrassing in front of individuals who are not part of the health care team. Patients have it hard enough without the added stress of children around who have no reason to be there for the patient.

I will also say that at the time, I did not know I would have the ability to ask them to leave. I probably would have ok'd anything. I want the doctor to help me get better, and upsetting him in anyway would be at the bottom of my list. I consider this an abuse of power, weather intended or not.

I am commenting from the perspective of a patient and a pre-nursing student (for what it's worth). When I attain an RN licensure, I will not be one who lets a Doc manipulate me into watching his/her child. If I wanted to watch children for a living, I would have opened a daycare. As previous posters have said, the patients don't deserve to be short-changed by the nurse due to keeping an eye on unattended children.

Specializes in Critical Care.
Maybe he was talking about his ex-wife . . . just kidding.

I have known a number of physicians who round with their children in tow, including one who would wear the "baby-backpack" and round with his sleeping infant. I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with this, nor is it prohibited by any law or regulation that I am aware of.

There is definitely something wrong with a Dr. rounding with his children (I guess an infant wouldn't apply) it's called a violation of HIPPA!

In our facility this would not be tolerated. The administration is very strict about Physician conduct and has had to tell more than a few docs that they are not employees of the hospital but the nurses are and that the docs are GRANTED the priveledge of practicing there but they will not be allowed to abuse the hospitals employees while doing so.

I understand your unhappiness but can I suggest you work on your writing skills or maybe read what you have written before you send it.

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
Maybe he was talking about his ex-wife . . . just kidding.

I have known a number of physicians who round with their children in tow, including one who would wear the "baby-backpack" and round with his sleeping infant. I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with this, nor is it prohibited by any law or regulation that I am aware of.

_____________________________________________________________

Well, if it isn't against hospital policy, it should be! Young kids are known incubators of many communicable diseases, and at one time, a long time ago, they weren't allowed to visit patients, period. Some hospitals were designed with that in mind, having outdoor corridors to patients' rooms........

This experience may have affected my attitude, but not much. My surgeon came around with his 4 year old to remove my dressing over the reconstructed mastectomy he'd done. When little "________" saw my raw. bleeding op site, he said it like it was, "Yuck!" I thought that was funny, at the time, but now wonder how seeing such things at a tender age really affects those kids, and what would motivate a "professional" to expose them to things they might not let them see on TV................ Bad baby sitter! :innerconf

What about doctor who brings his kids, not toddlers but pre teens, into his consulting rooms and actually has them working (helping) while they are there and he is seeing patients, filing, entering patients test results onto computer records etc, and secretary/nursing staff are expected to supervise them. I have a huge issue with this - surely it is a massive professional misconduct and violation of privacy?

Sorry to go off the original topic but it's sort of related.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, DOU.
What about doctor who brings his kids, not toddlers but pre teens, into his consulting rooms and actually has them working (helping) while they are there and he is seeing patients, filing, entering patients test results onto computer records etc, and secretary/nursing staff are expected to supervise them. I have a huge issue with this - surely it is a massive professional misconduct and violation of privacy?

Sorry to go off the original topic but it's sort of related.

Sorry OP,

I am breaking tos and going off topic to respond to the above post.

I understand what you are saying. I understand why you are saying this also.

My mom wasn't a doctor, however, she was the only person working in the laboratory of a small rural hospital. She drove from our home to the hospital for any labs needed for patients in the ER (anytime day or night).

If I didn't go with her on call, file those papers, document the statistics or whatever else she needed, I wouldn't have been able to spend time with her.

I understand what everyone is saying about privacy. I also understand what it is like to actually live on the other side--as the child. I cherish those days, I spent with my mother. I am only now able to pull from her character and work ethic.

The focus is not to jeopardize anyone's privacy etc. The focus of the parent is to build a relationship with their child and still serve others.

If you are the patient and not comfortable with a child being present, then please ask the parent to have their child leave the room.

If you are the nurse and you know a patient isn't comfortable with a child's presence, then let the practitioner know before they take their child into the room with them. Don't offer to babysit, keep the child occupied, or anything else, just go on about your business seeing your next patient. The parent and child should already be having discussions about correct behaviors, and what to do while waiting.

If the above discussions haven't taken place or aren't understood by the child, then this is the time to either confront the parent, or notify your supervisor, or both.

In the end, this particular topic becomes a very thorny matter, indeed. Because, privacy is being jeopardized for family-time; and family-time is being jeopardized for privacy. Violation of privacy yes. Massive professional misconduct, doubtful.

Definitely, no easy answers. Case-by case, compromise is necessary.

Again my apologies to the OP.

Sorry OP,

I am breaking tos and going off topic to respond to the above post.

I understand what you are saying. I understand why you are saying this also.

My mom wasn't a doctor, however, she was the only person working in the laboratory of a small rural hospital. She drove from our home to the hospital for any labs needed for patients in the ER (anytime day or night).

If I didn't go with her on call, file those papers, document the statistics or whatever else she needed, I wouldn't have been able to spend time with her.

I understand what everyone is saying about privacy. I also understand what it is like to actually live on the other side--as the child. I cherish those days, I spent with my mother. I am only now able to pull from her character and work ethic.

The focus is not to jeopardize anyone's privacy etc. The focus of the parent is to build a relationship with their child and still serve others.

If you are the patient and not comfortable with a child being present, then please ask the parent to have their child leave the room.

If you are the nurse and you know a patient isn't comfortable with a child's presence, then let the practitioner know before they take their child into the room with them. Don't offer to babysit, keep the child occupied, or anything else, just go on about your business seeing your next patient. The parent and child should already be having discussions about correct behaviors, and what to do while waiting.

If the above discussions haven't taken place or aren't understood by the child, then this is the time to either confront the parent, or notify your supervisor, or both.

In the end, this particular topic becomes a very thorny matter, indeed. Because, privacy is being jeopardized for family-time; and family-time is being jeopardized for privacy. Violation of privacy yes. Massive professional misconduct, doubtful.

Definitely, no easy answers. Case-by case, compromise is necessary.

Again my apologies to the OP.

Yea - apologies to the OP.

In reply to the above post I resepct your views and where you are coming from re - your experience. However, we will have to agree to differ. I feel unable to give detailed background information on my experience here but can say the patient details were being used in research without consent and the children were being paid to do it to save time - in quite a sensitive speciality. Like you say - may be a case by case issue. As a reserach co-ordinator - I have been advised that I would be liable for breach of ethics. Of course - as a nurse among this - I would expect to face a disciplinary hearing or lose my license - doubt the doctor would - maybe that's cynical and maybe I'm not as tolerant as everyone else here - like I say - agree to differ is the best thing - and thanks for your viewpoint.

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