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 PACU,Trauma ICU,CVICU,Med-Surg,EENT.
Beautiful job handling this horrible situation,greenykilt! I am very proud of your determination to be proactive; despite having some extra advantages,it would still have been difficult for anyone to deal with.
I have been an RN for just about 30 years,and while I have encountered a number of unpleasant,rude,arrogant doctors in my practice settings -I have not had the misfortune of experiencing what you have described,though many other nurses have by the sound of it. (I have,though,been on the receiving end of episodes of abuse from patients -similar,yet different!)
Your goal of becoming a professional nurse, and after which doing missionary work with your husband, is admirable in the extreme. :bowingpur
I do hope that with further reflection and the passage of a little more time, you will get back on track and decide to resume your study. The nursing profession,though already filled with wonderful people,could always use more principled people like yourself!
This is not normal, acceptable behavior for the physician. Do not give up on nursing. Write an incident report on the physician, tell the Director what happened and have the nurses all work together...for example if he doctor starts yelling, the nurses all stand together and say nothing. Report it. He might be angry, but he is already that. That is abuse and no one should tolerate it. Complain. Enough complaints and they will let him go. It is a hostile working environment....report him to HR.
All4Seasons
155 Posts
Beautiful job handling this horrible situation,greenykilt! I am very proud of your determination to be proactive; despite having some extra advantages,it would still have been difficult for anyone to deal with.
I have been an RN for just about 30 years,and while I have encountered a number of unpleasant,rude,arrogant doctors in my practice settings -I have not had the misfortune of experiencing what you have described,though many other nurses have by the sound of it. (I have,though,been on the receiving end of episodes of abuse from patients -similar,yet different!)
Your goal of becoming a professional nurse, and after which doing missionary work with your husband, is admirable in the extreme. :bowingpur
I do hope that with further reflection and the passage of a little more time, you will get back on track and decide to resume your study. The nursing profession,though already filled with wonderful people,could always use more principled people like yourself!
PACUJennifer :)