So smart they are dumb?

[Uniquemoi04]

I am about to start nursing school in two weeks but have been working at a level 1 trauma center as an EMT for almost two years and ask, how would you handle this situation:

I go to the 8th floor (women's unit) to pick up a patient. Upon arriving I introduce myself and get' no response from her. The care partner informs me that the patient only speaks Spanish. Before leaving the doctor walks in and asks could he have a few moments to speak with the patient which was no problem. He begins rambling off all kinds of medical terms in English at which point I look at him and say "she doesn't speak any English":uhoh3:. He pauses and then CONTINUES to ramble in English all the while this poor woman is standing there smiling and nodding because she doesn't know what else to do. The nurse walks in and states "she doesn't speak any English". HE then CONTINUES:angryfire to talk at this woman because he isn't talking to her, yet again, in English. Over a period of ten or so minutes the nurse and I repeatedly tell this doctor she doesn't speak any English to no avail. Finally the nurse is furious and steps straight into the doctor's face and growls "SHE DOESN'T SPEAK ANY F****** ENGLISH!" Only then does he stop and ask the patient in spanish does she speak English to which she promptly answers no. He does not bother to explain what he was telling the patient in English to her in Spanish but instead just says nevermind and walks out. Am I wrong for wanting to strangle him? Or is this level of stupidity common and to be expected when I finally become a nurse?

[Michigan]

and then your Honor I woke up 5 minutes later with my hands around the Dr. neck.

[Balder_LPN, LPN]

here is my theory i have been developing for a long time;

there is only so much room in the brain (forget about that "you only use 10% of your brain" and study some modern psychology / neuroscience)

the more you learn about any one subject, the more other items must be shoveled out to make room for this one subject you are learning about.

if you learn too much about any one subject you will be lacking (noticeably) in some other (unrelated) area.

i don't care if you are a doctor, inventor, accountant, writer, or a sheetrocker. when you learn so much about one subject other areas must suffer.

it can manifest itself in many ways, but social skills seem to be the first to go. it may be that you just put so much into what you learn/do (same thing for these folks) that you just lack practice of social skills and are considered rude/egotistical etc by others. but really you just dont have room in your brain to remember those skills.

this "syndrome of overlearning" can manifest itself in other ways too, not just social skills;

lack of any basic communication skills

absentmindedness

can't cook

never travels

bad driver

no hobbies

but lack of social skills is the main issue for most suffering from this syndrome.

p.s. i have had this theory since long before becoming a nurse. nursing has just reinforced my theory.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Two really good books . . .one on the brain for "balder":

"Another Day in the Frontal Lobe - a brain surgeon exposes life on the inside" by Katrina Firlik

http://www.katrinafirlik.com/

And one about docs and nurses:

"Reflections on Doctors - Nurses' Stories about Physicians and Surgeons" by Terry Ratner, RN, MFA Kaplan Voices

http://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Doctors-Stories-Physicians-Surgeons/dp/1427798257

steph

[mshultz]

here is my theory i have been developing for a long time;

there is only so much room in the brain (forget about that "you only use 10% of your brain" and study some modern psychology / neuroscience)

the more you learn about any one subject, the more other items must be shoveled out to make room for this one subject you are learning about.

if you learn too much about any one subject you will be lacking (noticeably) in some other (unrelated) area.

i don't care if you are a doctor, inventor, accountant, writer, or a sheetrocker. when you learn so much about one subject other areas must suffer.

it can manifest itself in many ways, but social skills seem to be the first to go. it may be that you just put so much into what you learn/do (same thing for these folks) that you just lack practice of social skills and are considered rude/egotistical etc by others. but really you just dont have room in your brain to remember those skills.

this "syndrome of overlearning" can manifest itself in other ways too, not just social skills;

lack of any basic communication skills

absentmindedness

can't cook

never travels

bad driver

no hobbies

but lack of social skills is the main issue for most suffering from this syndrome.

p.s. i have had this theory since long before becoming a nurse. nursing has just reinforced my theory.

in general, i agree with your theory. while some people are able to learn more than others, we all have our limits.

in addition, we are all limited by time. there are 24 hours in a day. time spent reading is time that can not be spent in other areas, such as developing social skills.

there is also a degree of self selection involved. we tend toward those activities in which we have the most talent. that is why i take college courses rather than play sports.

however, being a health care practitioner requires some degree of social skills. perhaps this doctor would be better suited in research.

[llg, PhD, RN]

While I certainly agree that the doctor was being a jerk ...

I hate to see intelligence and educated used as a reason for being a jerk. It's form of prejudice and professional nurses should be above that. There are millions of people who are intelligent, well-educated, and also decent human beings. We should should not excuse bad behavior because of intellectual skills -- nor should we assume that people with intellectual skills are by default jerks.

This prejudice against intelligence and education has held the profession of nursing back for generations. It starts with using intellectual skills as a "reason" for bad behavior ... then progresses to using intellectual skills as an "excuse" for bad behavior ... then progresses to a reason to not like or accept people of great intellegence or education into the clique ... then progresses to discouraging people not to "act too smart" or to get "too educated" lest they also turn into some socially unacceptable geek.

[MichelleB34]

Yes this unusual. Hopefully that nurse took it up the chain of command or to the medical director. If he did that in front of witnesses what else is he doing when no one is looking.

[Riseupandnurse]

Uh, actually illegal to fail to provide an interpreter. Not a choice.