I job-shadowed some Hospitalists/MD's/Providers over the last couple of days...

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

...and as an RN of 20 years (I graduated young), I can say my eyes were opened, even if only a little. Here are some rudimentary observations, because I am still soaking it all in:

1.) When the poo hits the fan, the biggest plops land on their heads.

2.) They not only need to make diagnostic calls, they need to diagnose and prescribe keeping in mind all the future unkowns... and the threat of what can go wrong goes so much further beyond our responsibility. Really.

3.) You know how we RN's only "wish" we could sit down and dig into a patient's medical history and presentation as much as we'd like? Guess what? So do they.

4.) They cry, too.

5.) They all dictate and chart during lunch.

6.) Cantankerous, uppity nurses really suck up their energy.

[amoLucia]

Is it any wonder why their malpractice insurance is so many times more costly than ours???

And many are opting out of traditional practices. I believe it's being driven by their dissatisfaction with practice-by-insurance mandates.

Insurances dictate what they can or cannot do and I don't believe there is enough profitability for them any more.

Healthcare is not what it used to be!!!!

[Cobweb]

I used to be a doctor-cusser Then I started a job as the Clinical Documentation PITA, hehe. I see doctors charting sometimes from 4 am to 11pm. I really had NO IDEA how much crappy paperwork they have to do. And you are right about the insurance thing. I have heard, time after time, doctors talk about quitting or moving to another field because they signed up to be the physician, not the insurance company's flunkie. The kind of person who becomes a doctor really HATES being second-guessed by some paper pusher 5 states away, and I don't blame them!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

And this is even without the added frustration of switching over to ICD-10... which has an enormous impact on physician documentation requirements. Stay tuned for the tsunami of whining and discontent. But, my level of empathy is tempered by the fact that they are paid for the work that nurses do (reflected in CPT codes)