When a clinic employee plays Know-It-All......

Nurses General Nursing

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MIL had her rotator cuff repaired last week. I took her in this morning for a post-op check and when the MA removed the dressing she asked if we had put anything on it. I told her I had been putting on Neosporin. She then proceeded to lecture me about the values of incisions being left alone to heal on their own and that I really shouldn't have done anything more than change the actual dressing. The edges were a little swollen (the normal swelling that occurs after surgery) but looked really good, but she then told me that the swelling might indicate an infection and that I probably hadn't cleaned it properly, and that putting on Neosporin would just lock the germs in. MIL and I just smiled at each other.

When the doc (who knows me from when I used to work at that hospital) walked in I told him "I guess I was a bad girl, your MA just gave me a lecture about using Neosporin."

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Specializes in LTC, Home Health.

How did you manage not to tell her off? I must be too confrontational because I would be all over her. Yuck!

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Specializes in Assisted Living, Med-Surg/CVA specialty.
How did you manage not to tell her off? I must be too confrontational because I would be all over her. Yuck!
Same here. I would've let her have it.

And then laughed in her face.

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I didn't want to come across as an arrogant "Don't-tell-me-what-to-do, don't-you-know-what-I-do-for-a-living" nurse.

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rotflmao....I find the funniest thing is that you just let her go on & on....rotflmao...I do the same thing..I don't advertise at all that I am a nurse..the only people who know it are the ones who've known that I have been going to school for nursing......I chuckle to myself & let them go on & on...... I actually had to put some peroxide on the finger of the guy who does wheelchair repairs as he came to my house to do my daughters and he nicked his finger enough to make it bleed a little ..enough to warrant a band aid...well apparently he is an emt as well.....and he told me after I bandaged his finger that I " I get a pass on bandaging from emt's" ;) rotflmao....I wanted so badly to throw in ....how about for nursing??? but I didn't.....I thought eh' let 'em think he gave me kudos on my "skills" lol.....he has no clue I am a nurse......that's the funny part...hehe

I think you handled yourself great!!! Maybe the Dr told the MA after that you are a nurse...lol:lol2:

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Specializes in ER/SICU/Med-Surg/Ortho/Trauma/Flight.

I would have chewed the ma up and spit her out.:angryfire Just because there Ma's they thank they know more then a nurse

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

No need to label the whole lot for one KIA.

Lock the germs in. I would have asked where she got that info from lol.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.

:chuckle :chuckle :chuckle way to funny! I am like you are, I just let people talk, talk talk about how I should do or not do. I always love it when they go on and on and then ask what do you do at your job. I smile sweetly and reply take care of 7-9 pts on a very busy med/surg floor, then I get oh so are a nurse?? Yeap,;) gets them every time.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :p

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Ohhh, I can imagine her face if I had said "I'm an ER nurse....."

I did tell her "I'm used to the opposite of what you're saying" without going into detail. It wasn't just my work I was talking about; when I had a c-section the doc told me to slather ointment on the incision so the staples would come out easier, and it worked....a lot less pinching. I also told her that no one had ever told us not to put anything on it.

The doc laughed when I told him about it and said "I'll talk to her" so she knows now.

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