I was slapped by a doctor!

Nurses General Nursing

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I honestly can't believe it myself! I just graduated from my program on May 16 of last month. I am still in orientation at a large level 1 trauma center on a busy cardiac care unit. The hospitalist is known for having a horrible temper anyway. Well, he was on a roll all shift today. One of my pts BP was all over the place all day. It became very low suddenly. I told my preceptor (still on orientation) and she said to have the MD paged. He was not happy and screamed at me over the phone. I braced myself for when he got to the floor, already getting very nervous. Well, he came up fit to be tied. He slammed the papers he was holding onto the nurses station where I was standing with the health unit coordinator. I forgot to get the pts chart out for him to look at (as he requested on the phone...my fault i know :(). He asked for the chart and I said...hold on I'll have to get it for you. He turned bright red and said harshly (but not screaming) "You paged me and you're not even ready!".

And then thats when it happened -- he took his hand and hit my cheek. Now, it wasn't some soap-opera backhand where I went flying across the room or anything..but a little pop. Kinda like what a mom would do to a small child if they said a bad word or something. I was so shocked I couldn't even say anything. I just handed him the chart and he want to the pts room. The whole time I was fighting back tears. The HUC and I just exchanged looks of shock with each other! I think I am going to file a complaint tomorrow against him...and the HUC said she will back me up since she was the only one who witnessed this. I had no idea that doctors behaved this way..is this normal?? To say the least I'm dreading going back in on Wednesday. I had heard some doctor horror stories..but nothing like this -- what I consider to be assault. Am I overreacting? I don't want to be seen as a drama queen or a trouble maker being on the floor only 2 weeks in this unit :(. Ugh!

Thanks guys for the support. My preceptor had went home at 5 or I would have gone straight to her. This happened around 6 and I got off at about 1930. At first I thought this may be a cultural misunderstanding...he is from Pakistan, and I thought maybe he felt it wasn't unnormal to behave this way...but still I feel its intolerable! Now I'm thinking of all the things I wish I would have said or done and stewing!:angryfire I'll definitely be reporting it.

When my mom was a hospital volunteer in the early 1970s, she once saw an white American male OB backhand a nurse in the station because she didn't get him a chart fast enough. This doctor was just as cruel to his patients; how he maintained a practice defied explanation.

I once worked at a hospital that had a Bangladeshi doctor who didn't hit any nurses (that I knew of) but he treated them in a very demeaning manner. Not just nurses, really, but women in general. His first name was Anis (pronounced Ann-iss) but you can guess what he was called behind his back! :hpygrp:

One time, a nurse left him a note and at the bottom wrote "FYI". When he saw this, he stormed directly into the hospital director's :eek: office, slammed the note down on the desk, and demanded the nurse's immediate firing. The HD looked at the note and wondered why, and here's the answer.

He thought "FYI" stood for "F*** You Immigrant."

He didn't last very long in that town.

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Specializes in med-surg, telemetry,geriatrics.

:up::yeah::chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle

When my mom was a hospital volunteer in the early 1970s, she once saw an white American male OB backhand a nurse in the station because she didn't get him a chart fast enough. This doctor was just as cruel to his patients; how he maintained a practice defied explanation.

I once worked at a hospital that had a Bangladeshi doctor who didn't hit any nurses (that I knew of) but he treated them in a very demeaning manner. Not just nurses, really, but women in general. His first name was Anis (pronounced Ann-iss) but you can guess what he was called behind his back! :hpygrp:

One time, a nurse left him a note and at the bottom wrote "FYI". When he saw this, he stormed directly into the hospital director's :eek: office, slammed the note down on the desk, and demanded the nurse's immediate firing. The HD looked at the note and wondered why, and here's the answer.

He thought "FYI" stood for "F*** You Immigrant."

He didn't last very long in that town.

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Specializes in Homecare Peds, ICU, Trauma, CVICU.
Thanks guys for the support. My preceptor had went home at 5 or I would have gone straight to her. This happened around 6 and I got off at about 1930. At first I thought this may be a cultural misunderstanding...he is from Pakistan, and I thought maybe he felt it wasn't unnormal to behave this way...but still I feel its intolerable! Now I'm thinking of all the things I wish I would have said or done and stewing!:angryfire I'll definitely be reporting it.

I don't care what country he is from or what his culture is. This is the U.S. and what he did is completely unacceptable!! Filing a complaint with the hospital is not enough. He needs to have charges of battery filed against him with the police department. I really hope you do this, otherwise his atrocious behavior will continue, whether it be with you or another unsuspecting nurse. It's not too late, press charges!!

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Specializes in medical-neuro icu.

Ok, my first question is: If he treats co-workers this way, how is he treating his patients? Personally, I have a temper and probably would have cleaned his clock. However, he has physically assaulted you and you can (and SHOULD) bring charges of battery against him. He has made for a hostile work environment and that should be reported to the unit manager and the chief of staff. Follow the chain of command, document everything, get witness contact info. Just because he went to school longer doesn't mean he's better than you. It sounds like he's got a lot of control issues and if this isn't nipped in the bud now, it WILL get worse. I promise you.

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Specializes in med-surg, telemetry,geriatrics.

i think for assault and battery might be to much since there was no physical evidence. It wasn't hard just enough. but unacceptable and assault.

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Specializes in medical-neuro icu.
i think for assault and battery might be to much since there was no physical evidence. It wasn't hard just enough. but unacceptable and assault.

Pressure makes no difference, TOUCHING someone uninvited is by law defined as "Battery". The language and tone is verbal "Assault". And witness are all the evidence you need.

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hi there--this is definately assault and battery, and I agree with everyone that has responded. You must report him to the police, chief of staff, and anyone else that needs to be involved. You did nothing wrong. His behavior was like that of a beast....report his *a__ and please keep us posted on what happens!

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Specializes in med-surg, telemetry,geriatrics.
Pressure makes no difference, TOUCHING someone uninvited is by law defined as "Battery". The language and tone is verbal "Assault". And witness are all the evidence you need.

fair enough i didn't know, perhaps i shouldn't have spoken. I always thought battery was when you done damage

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Get his ass fired.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

No, you dont have to do damage to be charged with battery. We were taught in nursing school that any unwanted touching by a nurse would be considered battery. I hope the OP nails this doc to the wall. That was just unacceptable behavior. We all are professionals and need to work together as a team for the best outcome for our patients. We, as nurses, are not docs' servants, although some tend to think we are. We deserve respect, just as they do. Ive been slapped, bitten, kicked, and spit on many times by combative patients withdrawing or MR, but NEVER by a staff member. I still am in shock. I hope the OP updates us soon on what steps were taken against this physician.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.
fair enough i didn't know, perhaps i shouldn't have spoken. I always thought battery was when you done damage

You were just trying to help out. :) This is a great site, we all can learn alot from each other.

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Wikipedia sez: Simple battery may include any form of non-consensual, harmful or insulting contact, regardless of the injury caused. Criminal battery requires an intent to inflict an injury on another, as distinguished from a tortious battery.

I personally think humiliation should be counted as "injury."

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