I pretend to suddenly develop a hearing problem. Sorry, what did you say " What...what, can't hear you? Can you speak up? â€
Has to be done with a straight face!
I also mimic whatever they are doing. That depends on the Dr of course. Some idiots simply haven't got a sense of humor.
Psych consults are the best. They're intimidated by medical jargon and think medical nurses are crazy anyway, so you can get away with murder sometimes. Ask them a good cardiology or metabolic D/O question or autoimmune and watch them flounder. You don't even have to know the answer.
Ask them about hearing voices and pretend you've just heard one. Did you hear that ?"
I see your point but don't find your examples as being humorous or convivial. I have an ability to pull a smile out of the most cranky physician while still being professional. Yes I joke with the doctor's but not in a disrespectful way. The current facility where I work is acute psych and I am one of the few nurses there who has med-surge background. I have found the doctor's to be open and appreciative of my insight into physical problems the patient might be experiencing. I worked a year in a SNF and on my first day a patient was sent to us for rehab after heart surgery. It became obvious to me that the patient was in active Alcohol detox. I said so to the charge nurse and DON and said I was going to call the doctor for orders. They both gave me stricken looks and said "Don't call him he is an airhole."
I picked up the phone and called the doctor and said what I thought was the issue. He said "Who the H#ll approved his admission?" I calmly said "You did." He blustered a bit and then said "Well what do you think we should do?" I suggested a routine set of detox orders which he approved and we got started. When the doctor came in he asked who I was and told me that I made a good catch. A couple of days later when the patient was detoxed and comfortable the doctor asked me "So how am I doing?" We developed a great working relationship over that year and when I decided to go for my BSN he wrote me a fantastic letter of reference.
I find being confident and professional the best way to deal with cranky doctors. I would never resort to such immature antics as practical jokes.
Hppy
I am going off the original topic but I have to say that it is really terrifying and I feel angry that nurses let fear of doctors keep them from calling doctors when a pt needs the doctor to be involved.
At least this doctor was able to do right by the pt when a good nurse called him about a very serious problem.
For Avid - Girl, you are really out there. I must say I am totally stumped by you. Forgive me for saying so but I think you might need a vacation. In my earlier post I definitely did not mean that we should be cruel to doctors or anyone else. I thought you meant we should engage in some camaraderie, some harmless kidding around sometimes. But I think I feel a sense of cruelty in your posts and I can't deal with that.
The thread is correct I have actually amused myself such. Not really interested in attention either. How about highlighting that with a few well chosen words, just how frustrated others are without actually knowing someone. You were the only one to figure it out. Nurses shouldn't be lashing out like that. There is so much fulfillment in helping others and I think that aspect is forgotten. We are nurses foremost. Consideration and understanding is what we do, right?
You actually do not know how many have figured you or it out.
Just curious - do you know your IQ? I am guessing it is up near genius level. I could be wrong but I sense frustration in you - you would like to be able to do more challenging things than you are presently doing. You learn fast and have lots of energy and are frustrated by not having a higher rank.
Davey Do
10,666 Posts