Get it off your chest! What's the rudest thing a doctor ever said to you?

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What's the rudest thing a doctor said to you and how did you handle it?

I haven't had any run ins, but my preceptors have and they're not so willing to share.

So tell me yours...

Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
i worked in a locked psych ward and our patients generally had file cabinet-sized hx. one night a frequent flier went off the deep end. we ended up putting him in 4 pt. restraints and medicating him with ativan (which did absolutely nothing whatsoever.) eventually, we had to remove the restraints because of state law. he bagan acting out again and i paged the on call.

he loudly questioned my parentage (not as politely) in front of patients and staff, then told me loudly

that my education was inferior and a waste of time and money, and said that i'd probably bought my degrees. if i'd actually earned them, i wouldn't have had to call him or drag him over there.:eek:

jerk!

big jerk!!!!!!!!!!!!

anne, rnc

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Busy horrible night in the ED. Short staffed, again. Pt bleeding out and coding. Help do CPR, set up lines. Leave room, organize shift change, get all pt rooms covered. Back in, help with CPR again, get gtts going. Back out, cover rest of pts in zone where code is. Make sure other zones did turnover smoothly. NIght doc comes on , ****** there are too many people in waiting room, not enough staff to bring more back, as soon as inpt rooms assigned, helped do all the paper work, transported several to the floors myself, cleaned rooms and brought more back. Coding pt dies.

Night doc says, "you think you did a good job don't you?" Yes I tell him, I kept everything going, I did a good job" Screams in front of pts and families: "THATS THE PROBLEM, YOU THINK YOU DID A GOOD JOB!!....."

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

"The trouble with you is that I dont understand a word of what you are saying, you need to speak in an american accent and speak correct english!'

I am English and I really dont know how to speak with an American Accent

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Well, not so much rude words as much as just a rude manner. I just can't stand the ones who are barking rude when you call them in the night. I'm sorry -- IT'S PART OF BEING DOCTOR! And I rarely call for anything other than admission orders. I'm sorry, we have to get admit orders or we are in trouble, dear doc.

Mostly, though, i work with fantastic doctors who are polite and professional. It's the RN co-workers who have been more rude than anyone on a daily basis. :uhoh3:

I actually feel working w/ the docs gives me a break from the nastiness of the other nurses and techs!!

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

When an MD returned my page from his car on a Friday night he had his stereo cranked up. So I politely said, 'I'm sorry but I'm having a hard time hearing you over your stereo (hint, hint)' he politely replied 'that's okay, I can hear you just fine'. So every other thing he said to me I replied with 'pardon me, excuse me I can't hear you, could you repeat that, etc. The call took 4x as long as it should have haha on him for being a pompous jerk.

Thankfully his fellowship was almost thru and he would be on his merry way.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
Had one doc yell "what do you want now!"

I'm not defending the doctor, but I can understand where they are coming from sometimes. I work in an area where we send patients to other areas of the hospital. There is one area that is notorious for having the nurses call for the silliest things, and I mean the silliest things. Even from us--instead of calling the doctor for clarification--they call us--I guess because it is easier.

I can tell you now--I think these people in this area are probably the nicest, and most decent people. But I have to say are missing a few tools in the shed. I can constantly frustrated by their "box thinking"....and if you multiply that by several nurses ALL DAY LONG....Yikes!!:uhoh3:

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
"The trouble with you is that I dont understand a word of what you are saying, you need to speak in an american accent and speak correct english!'

I am English and I really dont know how to speak with an American Accent

Okay this made me LOL.

What an idiot doc.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
Lol these dr's can be harsh. I've noticed though that the women md's are tougher than the male md's. I mean all of them can go to hell (except when I need an order) but the women are way more moodier imo.

They seem to have more to prove....But I don't tolerate bad behavior from males or females.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

working nights - 7 m/old baby seemed lethargic. Called MD who asked if I knew the difference between being sleepy and being lethargic. Later that night we transferred baby by helicopter to tertiary hospital due to convusions, etc. Turned out he had a brain tumor. MD never came in

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I'm not sure rude is the word, but, this was said to a nurse after an unsuccessful code. "You've just killed my patient."

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Maybe I should start a separate thread because I can imagine the answers to my question would be varied and interesting, but how many of you guys actually reported a supervisor/doctor, and what happened? I understand it's hard to report in these instances, however inappropriate they are, because you come off as being immature, whiny, a complainer, problem maker, etc

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I went to ask a MD about something

"yeah cause I'm clearly not busy" very sarcastic.

Same conversation

"well what do you want me to do about that?"

He ended up ordering abx. Which was uh exactly what I wanted him to do about "that". It was more his tone with was oh so sarcastic.

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