MD-RN Relations -- There is Hope

[Music in My Heart]

One of the things that I most like about working in the ED at an academic medical center is working with physicians-in-training (residents) and medical students. I find the vast majority of them to be smart, kind, friendly, and respectful. I try to remember at all times that I am helping to form the opinions of nurses that most of these nascent docs will carry forward into their "real" lives.

I was just approached by one of our soon-to-graduate residents who told me that the position that they're applying highly values a cohesive team and -- get this -- is asking for references FROM the nursing staff.

I hope that this becomes a growing trend which helps bridge the sometimes-wide gap which exists between the nursing and medical staffs.

[JBudd, MSN]

Preach it! Music to my ears.....

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Awesome! I have to say, I've found the same thing where I am, though they are not quite at the point of asking for reference from the nursing staff. Most of the docs are pretty easy to work with and most of the residents KNOW that they don't know a lot...so they are more than willing to let us teach them. By the time they leave us a few years later, they know we'll save their butts as often as we can and we know they'll listen to us when we need them.

You make an excellent point about the lasting impressions that we make on them. Good food for thought.

[annie.rn]

That's fantastic! I'm am particularly frustrated at the moment w/ the state of nurse/doctor relations at my workplace so I am happy to here that maybe times they are a-changing.

[annie.rn]

*hear*, not *here*. Couldn't edit.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Great!

I remember being told in 1971, by a supervisor, that I was "far too casual" with doctors! That was back in the 'bow and scrape' days. Seemed awfully silly to me that you could not approach doctors as if they were ordinary people.They were co-workers to me; I was not the doctors handmaiden type!

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

I was walking down the hall today behind a couple of MD's that didn't know I was there. They were griping about the nurses. :)

[klone, MSN, RN]

I definitely think that when you work at a teaching hospital that has students and a residency program, the culture is a lot different. There is very little hierarchical division.

The encouraging thing is that the place requesting the nursing reference is not a teaching hospital.

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

Agree with Klone- I regularly get asked to provide references for coworkers at all levels, from medical assistants to MDs.

[toomuchbaloney]

I worked for a number of years in a critical care setting in a teaching hospital. The nurses, by and large, worked hard to help the interns and residents understand how to work collaboratively with nursing professionals to achieve patient goals. It is a worthy undertaking. We are not servants or task doers for MDs, we are professional collaborators and colleagues.

[SubSippi]

I love the surgeons I work with...the other MDs...not so much. Which is weird, because I hear that at most places, surgeons are usually the most difficult to work with. I'm sure I'll be in for a shock if I ever work in a different open heart unit!

Asking for a reference from an RN probably deters a lot of jerks from even applying.