Thanks to all who read my other er thread re: strep throat. I was wondering about something that happened while I was at said ER for the allergic rxn to the abx I was given. So the doc who came in to see me was a little odd, slightly twitchy, and I thought maybe he was at the end of a really long shift or maybe an odd duck in general. At one point we were discussing the original throat infection, and okay, I was being a little whiny about how much it hurt. I told him that Tylenol, ibuprofen, and Vicodin had had little effect. Okay, fine, maybe he thinks I'm drug-seeking, even thought I never asked for any pain meds, he asked if anything worked, and I honestly said no. Then he says "Well, have you done anything bad you think you're being punished for?" WHAT? I asked him if he meant he thought I was on drugs/drug seeking, and he said no, he just wondered if I thought I was being punished with this awful pain. I'm thinking about mentioning this in the pt survey the hosp sent me afterwards. It made me really uncomfortable. Was this as inappropriate as it seemed???
He is just a little cracked around the edges. Sometimes they just hate to let patient give the information they need to complete their job. I would not automatically think you wanted drugs because you explained what had not worked with throat. Now if you had demanded Demerol or Percodan, then I would be suspicious.
At one point we were discussing the original throat infection, and okay, I was being a little whiny about how much it hurt....... It made me really uncomfortable. Was this as inappropriate as it seemed???
well, how much were you whining?
sometimes we get tired of whining, no offense. maybe you were the last straw for him. do you work in the er? if so, think about some of your nights. :angryfire does this give him the right to be rude to his patients? no it does not. maybe he is not crazy, just rude. i have met many like him.
were you seen at the hospital where you work? if so, maybe report him to your nurse manager, if not, fill our your survey like you said you would and let them know exactly his tone and how he made you feel. how people make you feel seems to go a long way in those poles. :) :)
Apparently some cultures believe that pain/illness is punishment for bad deeds. Maybe that's what he was trying to get at - a psychosomatic something or other.
That's the only (legitimate) reason I can think of to ask that question, as this is taught in medical school. Are you foreign/ethnic in any way?
If not, than he was either joking or is a complete weirdo.
Thanks, everyone. I'll try to clarify all these points-
It wasn't a hospital where I work, um, actually, I start nrsg school in 20 days. So I didn't know this doc or anyone in the ER.
I wasn't being super-ultra whiny, I just know that a sore throat, even one where I'm spitting all my saliva out because it hurts too much to swallow it, is far from the end of the world. So I sort of felt like complaining about it AT ALL was being whiny.
The impression I got from the whole situation, frankly, was that he was making fun of me. I'm lily-white, so I don't think he was trying to get at a cultural issue. He was chuckling as he said it, and used a pretty condescending tone. Heck, I appreciate the fact that he even tried to address the original complaint, given that I was there in re the aftermath.
The issue, really, is this: I have a pretty dry sense of humor myself, so I was only kind of offended. The thing is that I don't know if he would have said it if I had been older or if my mum or SO had been with me. This is the hospital where my brother and I were born, where my father went for his heart surgery, and where my family has had all its acute medical care for 30+ years, so I feel pretty loyal to it. It's not even about getting this doc in "trouble", so much, because yeah, he might have been frustrated with me, tired, just weird, etc. But had he made this comment to someone else who doesn't a)have a sarcastic sense to them and b)love the hospital to their bones, in our litigious society, I could see an actual problem coming out of it. So I feel like I should make them aware, so they can perhaps let him know to watch it. Not like the doc is really going to get in trouble anyway, based on a comment card.
Thanks, everyone. I'll try to clarify all these points-
It wasn't a hospital where I work, um, actually, I start nrsg school in 20 days. So I didn't know this doc or anyone in the ER.
I wasn't being super-ultra whiny, I just know that a sore throat, even one where I'm spitting all my saliva out because it hurts too much to swallow it, is far from the end of the world. So I sort of felt like complaining about it AT ALL was being whiny.
The impression I got from the whole situation, frankly, was that he was making fun of me. I'm lily-white, so I don't think he was trying to get at a cultural issue. He was chuckling as he said it, and used a pretty condescending tone. Heck, I appreciate the fact that he even tried to address the original complaint, given that I was there in re the aftermath.
Come on, June 1!
don't take it personal, but he was making fun of you.
don't start your career out this way, lighten up. in about 10 years you may find yourself doing the same.
Personally I think he likely had a dry sense of humor and was trying to coax a smile from you. Sore throat pain has never been on the list of severe pain, and he may have been commenting in a humorous way regarding that.
I probably would have looked him in the eye and asked him what he was trying to say. Probably would have cleared things up rather than you feeling so put down that you want to report him.
maybe you were the last straw for him. do you work in the er? if so, think about some of your nights. :angryfire does this give him the right to be rude to his patients? no it does not. maybe he is not crazy, just rude. i have met many like him. 
barefootlady, ADN, RN
2,174 Posts
He is just a little cracked around the edges. Sometimes they just hate to let patient give the information they need to complete their job. I would not automatically think you wanted drugs because you explained what had not worked with throat. Now if you had demanded Demerol or Percodan, then I would be suspicious.