He/She Said What!?

[BritBSNRN]

We (nurses) tend to think we ARE the best profession.

However, other healthcare professions don't always think like we do.

Once, I had overhead a physician tell another nurse,

"I can train monkey's to do what you do."

Can I say Ouch! Not cool....

Leading to my question: What is the meanest insult you have heard a healthcare professional say to another professional or about another professional?

[emmy27]

"You work under my license. Remember that. I am not willing to risk my license for foolishness. So do as you are told. It would have been cheaper to just get your CNA. Ya'll are the same thing, anyways."

(This from a nurse who didn't understand I had my own patient assignment, and that I could not drop everything to bring 4 of his 6 patients to the shower.....Sigh.)

Whaaaat? Yeah, he's responsible for any decisions he makes to delegate to an LPN, but you work under your own license... it's RIGHT THERE IN THE NAME.

I'd point that out to him if you ever get a chance.

[Jensmom7, BSN, RN]

"Don't ask her, she's just a nurse". (Yeah, been one longer than that MD who was just here has been alive.)

And did Doogie still have training wheels on his bright, shiny stethoscope?? 😈

[TheGooch]

The comment wasn't directed at me because I am a BSN, but one of my classmates made a very crass comment to an LVN student. I cant remember what was said verbatim, but it was something along the lines of "What purpose does an LVN even serve? An LVN is just a glorified CNA and isnt even a real nurse." I thought it was a really mean and negative thing to say.

But you're not a BSN yet.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I would quit. And tell him that he is insulting your intelligence and is acting like an arrogant person.

Have you not learned yet that that is how most MD's operate (with arrogance)? Quitting a position just because a doctor acts arrogantly in one small way would be silly in this time of 100 applicants for every position. Apparently the person to whom you're responding gets some measure of satisfaction from his/her prn position, despite the "insult" to his/her intelligence.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

"You work under my license. Remember that. I am not willing to risk my license for foolishness. So do as you are told. It would have been cheaper to just get your CNA. Ya'll are the same thing, anyways."

(This from a nurse who didn't understand I had my own patient assignment, and that I could not drop everything to bring 4 of his 6 patients to the shower.....Sigh.)

And besides: you weren't working under his license. Everyone has an individual scope of practice and is responsible for knowing what that means. So I wouldn't spend ten seconds caring about his attitude about nursing practice when he didn't know the minimum basic information relating to licensure, student status, delegation, and the scope by which he had better be working every day.

[SleeepyRN]

Calling to get comfort orders for patient who was actively dying. The doc told me to "Do whatever the hell you want! Call me again once the patient dies, other than that do not call me again!"

I was shocked. Jeez I just wanted some comfort orders. I have never had another doctor speak like that to me ever no matter what the reason for calling was.

It seems like some doctors want it both ways. They don't want to give us any autonomy, yet at the same time are annoyed when we LEGALLY have to call them for an order. Yes, it may be a simple order. If I have to wake up a doctor for an order for Tylenol for a fever, you bet I'm going to wake that doctor up.

[SleeepyRN]

Have you not learned yet that that is how most MD's operate (with arrogance)? Quitting a position just because a doctor acts arrogantly in one small way would be silly in this time of 100 applicants for every position. Apparently the person to whom you're responding gets some measure of satisfaction from his/her prn position, despite the "insult" to his/her intelligence.

Yep. I keep the job to have it on my resume for applications for other office positions. Meanwhile, my "bread winning" job is bedside.

[IsabelK]

The unit clerk at the nursing home I used to work at referred to LPNs and "little peon nurse" and she needed to talk with the RNs (real nurse). I was an LPN at the time and was floored by that, since the majority of staff were LPNs.

Mmm....bet the woman wouldn't have known a Coumadin from a Telfa pad.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

I once had a BSN new grad who was shadowing me on the unit and who had not yet passed her NCLEX solemnly inform me that the difference between ADN and BSN RNs is that "ADNs know what to do, BSNs know why to do it."

I was an ADN RN at the time, but I somehow knew both what to do: to tell the manager that I didn't think she'd be a good fit on our LPN/ADN/BSN-mixed unit and why: because she was a pompous little so and so.

I have heard this more times than I care to count but it was spun a different way.."LPNs know what/how to do, the RNs know why.' I have heard it from RN school professors as well as RNs talking to or about LPNs. It always played in my head as the dog (LPN) fetching the ball, the dog knows what to do, but doesn't know why the human/master (RN) wants it done.

I have a tough time with this. As an LPN I totally understood WHY I was doing things..I wasn't a trained dog who just did what she was told and not worry about why I was doing it.

This former LPN finally made one of the new RNs (who made the comment to a patient family at one time in ear shot of me) realize that letters after your name didn't make you know the how AND why of things. She came to me asking why such and such was being done..imagine her horror when this LPN was the one who knew the how AND why of the treatment plan.