This is an article posted on psychology today by Peter Edelstein, a medical doctor and surgical director about his experience at a hospital, that has caused a lot of controversy. Thoughts on this? Should this type of verbal abuse not only be tolerated by also encouraged??
... My mom suffered several temporary mini-strokes†last weekend. Medically, the term is Transient (meaning temporary) Ischemic (meaning inadequate blood flow) Attack (meaning, well, attack). Known by the acronym TIA, these terrifying events can represent a warning of a coming big danger: a major, irreversible stroke that can occur at any time. So I simply said, Get dressed. I'll be right over. We're going to the E.R.†...
I was yelled at by a doctor when I worked stepdown. It made the other doctors uncomfortable, they mentioned it and asked if I was OK. I think yelling is rarely warranted, especially in a busy ED. I've never seen it lead to better outcomes or do anything except irritate other staff.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
So a surgeon with anger issues and the social status to have a column in Psychology Today gives us his opinion.
This only proves that jerk offs are in every socioeconomic group.
Physician, heal thyself.
The article was already gone by the time I tried to read it. But judging from everyone else's posts, I also get the idea he might suffer from Guilty Family Syndrome. That is, he uses obnoxious and demanding behaviours to prove to everyone (and himself) that he really is devoted to his mother.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
This is an article posted on psychology today by Peter Edelstein, a medical doctor and surgical director about his experience at a hospital, that has caused a lot of controversy. Thoughts on this? Should this type of verbal abuse not only be tolerated by also encouraged??
I clicked to the link, and all I found was the article explaining what he was thinking when he wrote the article about yelling. I tried searching the site, but got six pages of hits, none of them the right article. Can you post a better link?
The article was already gone by the time I tried to read it. But judging from everyone else's posts, I also get the idea he might suffer from Guilty Family Syndrome. That is, he uses obnoxious and demanding behaviours to prove to everyone (and himself) that he really is devoted to his mother.
So, Dr Edelstein has guilt issues related to his mother? Maybe he needs to talk to Dr Freud?
I was yelled at by a doctor when I worked stepdown. It made the other doctors uncomfortable, they mentioned it and asked if I was OK. I think yelling is rarely warranted, especially in a busy ED. I've never seen it lead to better outcomes or do anything except irritate other staff.
If anything, it will lead to staff either intentionally or instinctively avoiding that patient's room. Nice patients with friendly visitors are more likely to have people stop on to check up on them.
I'm not saying don't advocate. And even be a fierce advocate when necessary. But 8/10 times your advocacy can be well mannered, and 9.99/10 times it doesn't need to involve yelling.
Thanks for posting the links. I've read the article, and I still think the guy was wrong. Yelling was not necessary AND if he were that interested in his mother's care, he should have stayed with her.
He reminds me of the physician who dropped his mother off at his father's bedside "to visit" and then drove four hours back to his home, leaving his mother at the bedside. Dad wasn't doing well -- was ventilated and sedated. Mom had dementia and was left all alone at the bedside of an unconscious patient on a ventilator and in the same room with a conscious patient who was upset by Mom's behavior. (Mom crawled into bed with the other patient at one point, ate off the other patient's tray, peed in the corner of the room and got lost looking for a visitor's bathroom. She was completely overwhelmed and unable to cope. After a day of this, the nurse who was caring for the two patients AND Mom was frustrated, overworked and at her wit's end. Then I came in to relieve her. After an assessment of both patient's AND Mom's mental capacity, I called her physician son to come get her and take her home. He said "I have office hours tomorrow. I'll get her next week." And then he yelled at me for bothering him and for allowing his mother to wander.
Our hospitalist called Dr. Dick and said "You have three hours to get here to pick up your mother before I call Adult Protective Services." He came and got his mother, but yelled at our hospitalist for "being inflexible" and "providing poor customer service." Really?
Specializes in Med Surg, ICU, Infection, Home Health, and LTC.
Thanks for posting the links. I've read the article, and I still think the guy was wrong. Yelling was not necessary AND if he were that interested in his mother's care, he should have stayed with her.
He reminds me of the physician who dropped his mother off at his father's bedside "to visit" and then drove four hours back to his home, leaving his mother at the bedside. Dad wasn't doing well -- was ventilated and sedated. Mom had dementia and was left all alone at the bedside of an unconscious patient on a ventilator and in the same room with a conscious patient who was upset by Mom's behavior. (Mom crawled into bed with the other patient at one point, ate off the other patient's tray, peed in the corner of the room and got lost looking for a visitor's bathroom. She was completely overwhelmed and unable to cope. After a day of this, the nurse who was caring for the two patients AND Mom was frustrated, overworked and at her wit's end. Then I came in to relieve her. After an assessment of both patient's AND Mom's mental capacity, I called her physician son to come get her and take her home. He said "I have office hours tomorrow. I'll get her next week." And then he yelled at me for bothering him and for allowing his mother to wander.
Our hospitalist called Dr. Dick and said "You have three hours to get here to pick up your mother before I call Adult Protective Services." He came and got his mother, but yelled at our hospitalist for "being inflexible" and "providing poor customer service." Really?
Wow the comments to his articles by his peers are awesome and putting him in his place.
cocoa_puff
489 Posts
From the two articles I read, it sounds like this guy has serious issues.