Grumpy Docs

[NewLPN11]

Why does it seem (in my experience) that the on call docs are always grumpy when you call them? Even at a reasonable hour. Youre a doctor. What do you expect? Geez.

[Asystole RN]

Most likely because they are on hour 18 of the day and you are caller 1,087 of the day, 1082 of which were silly stupid calls.

There is no excuse for a doc being rude and unprofessional on the phone, I just personally can understand it. Be professional back and just smile when they throw tantrums, its what I do for my two year old.

[Art_Vandelay]

Haha! It's more fun when you say, "Hi doc, I was just calling to let you know your patient Tina sneezed today. Well, sleep tight!" :-) That tends to sooth the grumpiness.

[RNperdiem, RN]

As long as my patient gets what they need and the doctor does not cross any lines, of course they can be a little grumpy.

I remember what it felt like to be sleep deprived when I had babies. For an overworked, under-rested person, even less sleep feels like torture.

[eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN]

I think it's related to the unnecessary calls. Unfortunately nurses aren't granted enough autonomy even though it's the same orders each time. I bet I'd be frustrated too if I had to give the same order for a sleeping pill 30 times. Or had to order 40 pain medications every time I worked.

Be courteous. I don't think doctors go into it because they enjoy being woken up or getting calls regarding minute problems that could wait.

[SaoirseRN]

I understand the grumpiness, but if you are calling for a necessary reason, then they'll get over it. It's definitely unnecessary calls that wear on them, for sure.

I had to call the same on-call doctor twice last night. The second call, being later in the evening, I made sure to check with the other nurses to see if they might need that particular doctor for anything, since I was calling him anyway, so if they did he wouldn't need to take another phone call.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

I agree, I think it has to do with unnecessary calls....and also the amount of calls that they have already received that day. I really wish nurses had more autonomy in the things we do.

After learning that physicians are oftentimes more sleep deprived than the nursing staff *and* they work 24 hour shifts, I have become a little more empathetic towards them. That still doesn't give an excuse for a physician to be grumpy towards you, but over time I have learned to just accept it, kill 'em with kindness and move on. Be professional. Unless they are being an absolute JERK then put your foot down. They don't need to talk to you that way.