Manager interrupting

The bottom line is.. All nurses would like to complete a task, before moving on to another. That is not the way nursing flows. OP wanted to "finish signing off on a patient". That task could have easily waited, while she addressed the physicians questions.

(my bold)

You say that as if it's some law of nature. My opinion is that we have the power to, at least in part, influence how people (and that includes physicians) interact with us. I choose to remove the elements of stress from my worklife that are within my control to remove. I'm happier for it and my patients benefit from it.

I swear, sometimes I feel that nurses are their own worst enemies.

Sound like the usual behavior in-regards to how physicians get given priority in most cases. It is always drop everything and help the MD now even if you are assisting another MD at that exact moment.

Hey, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you pick your battles. I have had experiences with a manager on a psychiatric unit that would come in and micro-manage within 5 minutes of entering the doors and have no report, no rapport with the patients, and basically been a milieu-killing machine. Multiple times the manager has stood in the middle of code situations like a lost puppy, has tried to do interventions which were not warranted and which led patients ending up on the floor...take a deeeeeeeeep breath and just remember that manger probably has no memory of it even occurring.

Had this happened last week. My pt was being transferred to the unit, I was putting together my paperwork to call the report to the unit. I see a shadow looming over me, it was a manager from another floor who was tasked with walking around the hospital asking nurses about a hospital policy, so she was taking a survey. I told her I couldn't at this very minute, and she insisted that it would only take 10 seconds. I told her I had a patient who was in crisis and she still wanted to get her job done first. Some people are just downright rude, selfish and only care about themselves. Nothing to do with the situation at hand, or any prioritization.

It is not acceptable but happens all the time You get interrupted while med pass or during pt. Care and the list goes on. What I do is I politely tell them I am doing so and so can hold off on that otherwise I will make a mistake , I have even told physicians but politely and respectfully. Some physicians are very understanding and some who are not you will know who they are and you shouldn't care either. Its about pt. safety nothing first.

You say that as if it's some law of nature. My opinion is that we have the power to, at least in part, influence how people (and that includes physicians) interact with us. I choose to remove the elements of stress from my worklife that are within my control to remove. I'm happier for it and my patients benefit from it.

I swear, sometimes I feel that nurses are their own worst enemies.

I agree with you 100%.

I wouldn't appreciate that I wouldn't make a big deal of one occurrence.

If you don't let someone know the very first time something happens it would continue to happen. The approach is what matters.

OP It is possible that the doctor approached the manager and said they were unable to locate a nurse or needed something specific. Not excusable, but I have seen something like that happen.

(my bold)

You say that as if it's some law of nature. My opinion is that we have the power to, at least in part, influence how people (and that includes physicians) interact with us. I choose to remove the elements of stress from my worklife that are within my control to remove. I'm happier for it and my patients benefit from it.

I swear, sometimes I feel that nurses are their own worst enemies.

unfortunately, you know it's the culture of nursing.

unfortunately, you know it's the culture of nursing.

Oh, I know.. But even if it's only on a small and local scale, I do what I can to change it. Only we can change how we're treated, it won't happen by itself. No one else will stand up for us if we're not willing to do it ourselves. Coming from a law enforcement background where we wouldn't put up with half the crap that nurses habitually accept. It was quite the culture shock when I started my new career.

I understand the need for flexibility and cooperation in the workplace and sometimes we have to adjust and compromise to achieve the best results but what I won't accept is the subservient martyrdom I've observed in some of my coworkers. The downtrodden yet strangely proud attitude of "this is how it's always been".

The situation that OP described was one where she tried to prioritize (and correctly so in my opinion), but that attempt was undermined by the nurse manager. We should aim to support, not sabotage each other. In the situation described the physician could have waited a couple of minutes in order to facilitate an uninterrupted hand-off.