I can barely even breathe I am just outraged and upset and everything else. I shadowed in ob/gyn (my choice for working after graduation, if I am so lucky) and lucked out shadowing an amazing team of nurses. Its a big downtown hospital, very busy. Anyway, the backstory is that a first time mom was getting in induction, did not like her perinatologist, who is known to frankly be a big jerk and is legendary for being really rude, disruptive and awful to the nurses, paitents, other drs (and I mean other dr's saying they refuse to work with this dr anymore or refer their perinatologist cases onwards).
SO,the patient was literally crying to not have to see dr ------- again, and the nurse said she had no choice but would be there thru it all, helping and coaching (it was really amazing to see her caring bedside manner!)
Etc etc I ASSUME the nurse waited til the last minute to call the dr, the high risk dr whizzes in, I should say.. STORMS IN SCREAMING "wHO IS HAVING A BABY AND HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME"
does not say or look at the patient, who bursts into huge sobbing tears.
at this particular hospital, they handle lots of serious high risk (which this patient was not, just had the misfortune of selecting this dr by accident) so in comes the hi risk patient team.
I at this point am behind the nurse (out of the way yet involved by looking) when the dr stormed in slamming stuff. Literally screaming.
delivery happens. Perfect delivery, mom and baby fine, great.
Dr then proceeds to stitch up the patient, the dr is still VERY IRATE and yells at the nurse who is holding a sponge says "Give it to me then if you cant hold it right" the nurse sarcastically says "ok dr X, I am gonna tell you right now I wont take this tonite"
and here is where I come in.
The dr takes the SPONGE filled with blood out of her hands and throws it down, BUT THE SPONGE HITS ME IN THE ARM and splashes BLOOD ON ME
EVERYONE started arguing. The patient was crying again, thinking something was happening to HER
I am STUNNED.
no one apologized and the dr didnt even LOOK at me. The other nurses were horrorfied on my behalf. I do NOT know what to do.
Maybe nursing is NOT for me. This is not how another human should be treated. And get this, the PATIENT who just had a baby and getting stiched up says "EXCUSE ME, if you want to argue you do it outside of THIS ROOM, do you understand me?"
she was the coolest out of them all.
If this is how high flying peri's treat their nurses , this is not my field, I refuse to be talked to like this and I refuse to have wet fresh blood flung at me.
I quit. This is enough. I am switching to OT school. Done
Specializes in Retired OR nurse/Tissue bank technician.
When I worked OR, we had a doctor throw a massive tantrum, complete with throwing bloody sponges and cursing out staff. Everyone in the room wrote him up and a call was made to the head of the health region. He didn't lose privileges, but one more bad move and he would have. I refused to run his clinic for a month and when I came back, he was the perfect gentleman.
May I also suggest, if not just writing him up to your hospital, also include a CC to the state medical board? That is totally inappropriate behaviour.
What I want to know is: CAN we stand up for ourselves? I have read alot of posts on this forum about abusive behavior from patients, their families, doctors, and even other nurses. Some of the nurses on here indicate that abuse is not tolerated at their place of work - that sometimes charges are filed (if there is assault/battery) or doctors are disciplined, etc. if they have good management. But it doesn't sound like it's always that way. It's real easy to say that we shouldn't put up with it, and find another job if we have to. But if you're worried about having any job at all, then what? 'Cause, believe me, I worry ALOT about having a job when I graduate. I would love to stand up for myself if I am assaulted in any way. But how often are you backed up by management?
Let me tell you something, if it comes down between the MD and the nurse, who do you think the hospital is going to side with? Will it be the MD who brings patients to the hospital and creates a ton of revenue for the hospital or the "lowly" nurse who is a "dime a dozen" and is seen as nothing more than an expendable laborer? Hospitals bend over backwards to keep MD"s happy so they keep bringing "their patients" through the door. You ever seen the doctor's lounge with miles of fruit, drinks, muffins, etc. and then look at the nurses lounge with nothing? The hospitals are feeding these guys steak while they give us hamburgers!!!:mad: You see, it's not your patient, it's the doctor's patient!!!! It's only going to get worse as competition picks up. The outburst this MD did is just another day at the office and will never change. This happens at every hospital on a daily basis and I've heard and seen a lot worse.
Well I tell you exactly what I would do. I would write a very strong letter to the CEO of the hospital with a copy to the Chief of Staff. In addition, I would send a copy to the dean of the nursing program. This guy has to be taken to task and I guarantee you they have other complaints on him. Just because you are a student does not mean that you have to put up with stuff like this. I would certianly report him. And I might even go as far as to report him to the licensing board. And in addition, you need to do what ever your school requires after a body fluid exposure.
You know what the CEO is going to do with that: #1-Ball it up and throw it in the trash or #2-Send it right back down the line to the nursing supervisor where she's going to pat you on the butt and tell you everything is going to be alright. I've seen it happen too many times before!!!!!! As far as a hospital is concerned, the MD is the only one who matters and the nurse is way down the food chain, if they're even on it. I know I sound really negative but you guys really need to wake up and smell the coffee-Been there, done that, got no results after 16 yrs, found another profession. Nuff said........
Gee, I don't know if this experience is sort of language abuse and physical abuse because she threw sponge with blood on you and yell at everyone. I think it is. I am sorry to hear that. I will follow the chain of command and report this incident in writing and demand hospital administration to handle this case properly. Meanwhile, I will find a good lawyer or legal expert in labor safety and working right for possible legal pursuit.
I can barely even breathe I am just outraged and upset and everything else. I shadowed in ob/gyn (my choice for working after graduation, if I am so lucky) and lucked out shadowing an amazing team of nurses. Its a big downtown hospital, very busy. Anyway, the backstory is that a first time mom was getting in induction, did not like her perinatologist, who is known to frankly be a big jerk and is legendary for being really rude, disruptive and awful to the nurses, paitents, other drs (and I mean other dr's saying they refuse to work with this dr anymore or refer their perinatologist cases onwards).
SO,the patient was literally crying to not have to see dr ------- again, and the nurse said she had no choice but would be there thru it all, helping and coaching (it was really amazing to see her caring bedside manner!)
Etc etc I ASSUME the nurse waited til the last minute to call the dr, the high risk dr whizzes in, I should say.. STORMS IN SCREAMING "wHO IS HAVING A BABY AND HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME"
does not say or look at the patient, who bursts into huge sobbing tears.
at this particular hospital, they handle lots of serious high risk (which this patient was not, just had the misfortune of selecting this dr by accident) so in comes the hi risk patient team.
I at this point am behind the nurse (out of the way yet involved by looking) when the dr stormed in slamming stuff. Literally screaming.
delivery happens. Perfect delivery, mom and baby fine, great.
Dr then proceeds to stitch up the patient, the dr is still VERY IRATE and yells at the nurse who is holding a sponge says "Give it to me then if you cant hold it right" the nurse sarcastically says "ok dr X, I am gonna tell you right now I wont take this tonite"
and here is where I come in.
The dr takes the SPONGE filled with blood out of her hands and throws it down, BUT THE SPONGE HITS ME IN THE ARM and splashes BLOOD ON ME
EVERYONE started arguing. The patient was crying again, thinking something was happening to HER
I am STUNNED.
no one apologized and the dr didnt even LOOK at me. The other nurses were horrorfied on my behalf. I do NOT know what to do.
Maybe nursing is NOT for me. This is not how another human should be treated. And get this, the PATIENT who just had a baby and getting stiched up says "EXCUSE ME, if you want to argue you do it outside of THIS ROOM, do you understand me?"
she was the coolest out of them all.
If this is how high flying peri's treat their nurses , this is not my field, I refuse to be talked to like this and I refuse to have wet fresh blood flung at me.
I quit. This is enough. I am switching to OT school. Done
now I get to see if I get HIV or hep C right
THANKS FOR NOTHING
I would be driving a very nice car now, living life large. That was assault, should have called the police, filed a complaint and got a lawyer that day. Yep, happens alot, but nurses especially put up with that crap all the time. Who makes the doctor "god"? Nurses have a huge amount of power, can shut down an institution in a nano second and rally public opinion to support them. But instead we cower and belly up. So sad you witnessed this.
It's very unfortunate to work with healthcare professionals, or lack there of (in this situation). However, being a nurse, includes advocating for your patients at all time. You will run into unprofessional experiences and people in any career. I don't think this is a point to end your interest in nursing based solely on this experience.
I admire and respect you, greenykilt. You have done what I wish I had the cahoneys to do. In my hospital, it's not really the doctors. It's the nurses. I haven't seen bullying like this since sixth grade. And yes, I guess I am part of the problem. I have been subjected to abuse like this, though not physical, verbal abuse as harsh as this level. But I do not report it.
Why?
I am a divorced single parent, raising my two kids and supporting my mom who lives with me. She's battling cancer, and she helps me with the kids as much as she can. I work full time at the hospital, part time for home health, and am in school for my bachelors.
I don't report it because my family has no one else to depend on. The one who deals this abuse is the charge nurse, and the unit manager's best friend. She's run off 4 nurses in the 8 months I've been there.
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
Nobody deserves to be treated so badly is the person is doing what he/she is supposed to be doing. I am a homecare patient, who has a caregiver who holds her head down, and allows herself to be used by others. Her car is fairly new to her and is already burning or leaking oil. She still has at least two and a half more years to pay on it. Her boss wants her to go to an area that has worse weather than we have here, and she is afraid to, but is more afraid to talk to her boss about it because the boss knows she is a timid person. The boss always gives her a guilt trip. I got angry while she was here today, because she was instructed to go to the area where the snow is drifting, the roads are slippery and drifted, and she is forced to drive about 45 minutes in a car that already has over a hundred thousand miles on it. I told her to get some backbone and tell her boss what's wrong. I disrespect this boss because she is a gossip, and tells stories about her employees to other employees.
My office of aging case manager was here a few days ago, and noticed my kitchen was dirty. The girl doesn't clean dirty spots like she is supposed to, and my case manager noticed it. She told me she is going to ask the girl's boss to check on her here, but I told her the boss wouldn't do that. I also told her that in my nursing assessment, I believe that manager is a poor one. My case manager called her, asked her to do a surprise visit, but she didn't and she warned this manager that she is going to assign me to another agency if things don't get better. The girl's boss called her and basically yelled at her, giving details that neither I nor my case manager mentioned about my kitchen. In other words she exaggerated, and made the girl feel awful. I truly feel bad for her, and wish she would get a better job; one that pays more than minimum wage, and has benefits. She is raising a little girl.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Fran, your post has struck a whole bunch of nerves with me, because I've worked side by side with at least 10 women who have stories similar to your caregiver's. It is generally related to this topic, in the sense that you are describing a largely unheard from population. Out of all of them, only one was not an honest, hardworking, responsible person.
If there is a language barrier or documentation issue it is 100x worse. I would ask this-- how is she at providing for your physical needs, do you trust her and do your personalities mesh well? In my experience those issues are far more important than whether she misses spots in the kitchen or not.
It sounds like from what you are saying that your Case Manager decides who the caregiver is going to be without regard to any input you may have. In my state, a Case Manager would never dismiss a caregiver against the objections of the patient unless he or she was unsafe or demonstrably negligent. It really isn't that hard to teach someone to clean things better. If that is her only difficulty, and you are happy with her otherwise, I can think of no cause to fire her. All the best to you.
:mad: You see, it's not your patient, it's the doctor's patient!!!! It's only going to get worse as competition picks up. The outburst this MD did is just another day at the office and will never change. This happens at every hospital on a daily basis and I've heard and seen a lot worse.
RetiredTooSoon
167 Posts
When I worked OR, we had a doctor throw a massive tantrum, complete with throwing bloody sponges and cursing out staff. Everyone in the room wrote him up and a call was made to the head of the health region. He didn't lose privileges, but one more bad move and he would have. I refused to run his clinic for a month and when I came back, he was the perfect gentleman.
May I also suggest, if not just writing him up to your hospital, also include a CC to the state medical board? That is totally inappropriate behaviour.