I got written up by a surgeon for contacting the primary medical practice instead of the surgical practice. The pt is okay, no bad outcome. I talked to my charge nurse and another more senior nurse who takes charge several nights a week to get their input on which to call; both suggested I call the primary.
I'm new, only licensed 6 mos. This is my first time getting written up, and I'm dwelling on it heavily. I even had a dream in which the surgeon asked me, "Why did you call Dr. X instead of me??" I need to let this go!
This happens, right? We pick ourselves up and learn from it and go on, right?
I'd like someone to tell me that getting written up is just part of the job and that I shouldn't let it eat at me.
That doctor must have one big ego, and on a power trip. Don't even give it another thought.
And you had your charge nurse and another nurse giving you advice so this shouldn't go anywhere.
I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
I agree with this poster. Some doc's think they're more important than the rest of us do. I take issue when they act like that and tell them to "get a grip. I'm busy here so what are you ordering....." My dad's a doc. I vent to him most of the time about his "friends". I get so annoyed when they waste time complaining rather than just getting to the issue and ordering what's needed.
Specializes in L&D, Antepartum, ER obs. telemetry.
I would write more about what it takes to be a nurse, but I have to get ready to go TEACH A NURSING CLINICAL. Hey, maybe I could just email them all and tell them what I did at work yesterday. That would save me 80 miles of travel and 8 hours of time. What a concept!!!
i disagree - i know many folks whop are NOT in nursng who have a cllue about nursing - they are good friends and listeners and learn a lot from me and others who are thier friends that are in nursing. i have two friends who are "running" docs offices the head honcho in the offcie - are NOT nurses and can do any procedure or tell you any educational advice better than any nurse i know - its not just because you have a license that makes you a nurse- i know many nurses who should not even be called nurses as they are that dense. so dont go generalizing that only nurses know nursing - that is just a falicy.
I had a problem in a dr office due to a staff member who thought she knew alot about nursing and made it her job to perform procedures and hand out advice.
The board charges a $1000.00 dollar a day fine for every day they can prove that you were working in the "nurse" capacity.
Your friend needs to be careful and leave patient teaching to the nurses. The doc and other licensed persons are not going to put their license on the line to back up these people. They will say she was acting on her own. Take it from experience.
I would suggest calmly, coolly and intelligently describing the steps you took and why-on paper and typed. Make sure it's dated and signed by your hand. Then submit it to your supervisor with the express request that your response be attached to his "write up." The fact that no harm was done is indeed the most important thing, but it is not the only issue. The reason it bothers you, I believe, is that although you exercised sound judgment, the surgeon elected to take out his frustrations on you and your professional reputation. This rendered you helpless (seemingly) to his assault. More nurses should feel what you are feeling. If they did, others would not feel as free to take this kind of license. In other words, he had other options. Particularly, he could have taken his issue up with the PCP. You not only responded properly by calling the PCP, but you followed the advice of said physician. And, you asked for and got feedback from two other nurses, who supported your decision-making. You are functioning at a high level. That nonsense deserves a response in my book. By the way, I have 36 years of healthcare experience, and 29 as an RN. Good luck to you.
I always used to get upset when I got "written up" or corrected for basically doing my job and took it very personally until I realised that they're the one with the problem, not me. As long as I do my job to the best of my ability and can can sleep with a clear concience, then to hey with them.
If you know you did nothing wrong, then calmly stand your ground... briefly explain your actions... then let it go. And then of course, you should vent to those who understand.
I work with a very difficult doctor that runs off to the practice administrator every time he thinks we did something personally against him (which is often). I was used to working with a doctor that had a stronger self-image and who would confront me directly, listen to my side of things, resolve the issue, then drop it. I've had to learn the new skill of just shrugging my shoulders, shaking my head, and looking perplexed. ("Gee, I was just following procedure. He must have misunderstood me. Oh well, gotta bring in the next patient now.")
Sometimes a good eye roll or raspberry (out of view and hearing of certain people of course) helps.
i disagree - i know many folks whop are NOT in nursng who have a cllue about nursing - they are good friends and listeners and learn a lot from me and others who are thier friends that are in nursing. i have two friends who are "running" docs offices the head honcho in the offcie - are NOT nurses and can do any procedure or tell you any educational advice better than any nurse i know - its not just because you have a license that makes you a nurse- i know many nurses who should not even be called nurses as they are that dense. so dont go generalizing that only nurses know nursing - that is just a falicy.
Your friends should be very careful. I'm a Certified Medical Assistant and the laws are very clear about what I can and can't do even with my training. There have been times that I have been asked to do something that I know I could physically do, but I had to put my foot down and refuse to do it. I am not a nurse and I don't want to get sued if something goes wrong. I've even corrected the front office staff when they refer to me as "one of the nurses" to the patients because of the potential legal problems.
In medical assisting school I learned alot of skills that aren't always obvious to others. I'm sure the same is with nursing school. By the way, most office manangers I've met are not nurses, but they also leave the clinical work to the clinical staff.
If this happened to me I would talk directly to the doctor. I would approach him/her and say "listen, I know you filed an incident report (or whatever you call it) and I really think we need to talk about it." You could allow the Dr. to express their concerns. Above all except responsibilty when speaking to the Dr.
I had a similar experience when I was a new nurse and my charge nurse insisted I track down the doctor (and he was a real jerk) but I am so glad I did it. You will also be surprised at the reaction you will get from the Dr. Whenever I am precepting I encourage new nurses to do this when a doctor gets upset about something.....to date it has never failed.
call him each time your patient needs parecetamol...each and every time, and don't bundle the calls either, just one every ten minutes after Midnight...
i disagree - i know many folks whop are NOT in nursng who have a cllue about nursing - they are good friends and listeners and learn a lot from me and others who are thier friends that are in nursing. i have two friends who are "running" docs offices the head honcho in the offcie - are NOT nurses and can do any procedure or tell you any educational advice better than any nurse i know - its not just because you have a license that makes you a nurse- i know many nurses who should not even be called nurses as they are that dense. so dont go generalizing that only nurses know nursing - that is just a falicy.
Your good friends may be "running" an office, but if they are NOT licensed to be nurses...they really DO NOT know nursing.
Your statements are as ludicrous as me saying I have a clue about veterinary issues, because my dog is sick alot! We visit the vet alot and I have friends who are veterinarians. So, I could totally understand their issues and how it all goes down, right?
What about the "white shield"? You can give it another name if you'd like. I'm talking about the "blue shield" that the police have.
I'm not saying that you cover for your colleague for gross neglect, wrongdoing, or other serious matters. I am saying that I VERY seldom write up people because I, for the most part, trust the people I work with and think they are great in their field.
If a nurse forgets to unclamp a piggyback on an IV and it doesn't get infused, I am not going to write him/her up. I will probably talk to the person and just mention it in a non-attacking way; the how of communication is so important. If it was the 3rd time and I've talked to him, I would probably write it up but I've never come upon that situation.
In nursing I believe this "white shield" as I call it is not blindly protecting one another from outsiders, but rather respecting each other as colleagues who share our nursing status. They understand what we go through, what we know, and what we need to do. The idea is to assume (not wrong in this case) that each and every nurse is acting how a reasonable, prudent nurse would act in such and such a case. Even prudent nurses make mistakes so while we help each other learn, we never forget their humanity.
I currently find this environment in my employment setting and am greatful for that.
I've been written up twice and both times the NM said "forget it, the doctor is an a** and he'll get over it". Nothing happened and nothing ended up in my employment records. It was difficult for me after 30 years. Both happened to me last year. I'm sure that is greatly magnified for a new grad. Try to relax if you can. You did fine.
nurse_clown
227 Posts
I agree with this poster. Some doc's think they're more important than the rest of us do. I take issue when they act like that and tell them to "get a grip. I'm busy here so what are you ordering....." My dad's a doc. I vent to him most of the time about his "friends". I get so annoyed when they waste time complaining rather than just getting to the issue and ordering what's needed.