Mean Doctors....

Guest717236 · May 19, 2011

Have your ducks in the shortest, most straight forward row possible, but include all important details.

In some cases get ready to duck. :sofahider As a student nurse I politely asked a Dr. if I could have the chart after he was finished as we both

reached for the same chart. Although I was respectful, the Dr.

threw the chart at me after he wrote his notes and it hit my arm hard.

As this was a large teaching hospital , he disappeared into

the unit and beyond. My lesson that day was to establish my parameters for when I became an RN.

Listen, be respectful and helpful, but do not take physical or inappropriate emotional abuse ever.

(That includes other nurses or staff as well..)

Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN · May 19, 2011

In some cases get ready to duck. :sofahider As a student nurse I politely asked a Dr. if I could have the chart after he was finished as we both
reached for the same chart. Although I was respectful, the Dr.
threw the chart at me after he wrote his notes and it hit my arm hard.
As this was a large teaching hospital , he disappeared into
the unit and beyond. My lesson that day was to establish my parameters for when I became an RN.
Listen, be respectful and helpful, but do not take physical or inappropriate emotional abuse ever.
(That includes other nurses or staff as well..)

No, I wouldn't tolerate that. I would be taking that up and reporting that to everyone onward to the tippity top of the the chain of command until something was done, no excuse for throwing things at people. I don't care if hes the worlds highest neurosurgeon or a pre-schooler. If it was pre-school and he threw something at someone, consequences would be following.

I'd be Miss Drama Queen on purpose about it too.

Florence NightinFAIL, BSN, RN · May 20, 2011

The only reason someone would even THINK about doing something like that is because they got to get away with it before. No person, in their right mind, who is worried about consequences would do that.

I hope you did not let him get away with it.

AOx1 · May 20, 2011

In some cases get ready to duck. :sofahider As a student nurse I politely asked a Dr. if I could have the chart after he was finished as we both
reached for the same chart. Although I was respectful, the Dr.
threw the chart at me after he wrote his notes and it hit my arm hard.
As this was a large teaching hospital , he disappeared into
the unit and beyond. My lesson that day was to establish my parameters for when I became an RN.
Listen, be respectful and helpful, but do not take physical or inappropriate emotional abuse ever.
(That includes other nurses or staff as well..)

No. This was a physical attack. Start patameters early. When attacked, I would call security, same as I would for any coworker, patient, or family member. Nurses =|= punching bags.

Aeterna, BSN, RN · May 20, 2011

We have at least one "mean" doctor on our floor but we all know he's always snappy and touchy so we know not to take it personally. He never outright says anything rude or is physically aggressive, but his tone of voice always sounds impatient, angry, etc. no matter the situation. But like I said, we all know he's like this with everyone so shrug and deal with it as best we can.

We have another doctor who always looks grumpy. I haven't had many chances to talk with him but I found the one time I did, he spoke professionally and so I answered his questions professionally and the conversation went well.

Still, the VAST majority of doctors are great. Sometimes, even the "nice" ones can be grouchy but they are allowed their bad days, too, and most often, they're grouchy because something is not right with a patient and they just want what's best for the people under their care.

jmqphd · May 20, 2011

In some cases get ready to duck. :sofahider As a student nurse I politely asked a Dr. if I could have the chart after he was finished as we both
reached for the same chart. Although I was respectful, the Dr.
threw the chart at me after he wrote his notes and it hit my arm hard.
As this was a large teaching hospital , he disappeared into
the unit and beyond. My lesson that day was to establish my parameters for when I became an RN.
Listen, be respectful and helpful, but do not take physical or inappropriate emotional abuse ever.
(That includes other nurses or staff as well..)

Oh, yeah? I know for a fact that a nurse (of my acquaintence back when I lived in Dallas) called the police when a doctor zinged a chart past her head (he'd been on thin ice for a long time) and he got hauled in for assault and battery. As I recall, it clipped her on the side of her head and I am not making this up. She called the police on the spot... didn't wait till the end of the shift. Didn't file incident reports, didn't involve the HR department... she had witnesses right there when the cops came. The supervisors backed her up because, they had no choice. (I believe her husband was a cop and that might have had some influence on the outcome.)

rumwynnieRN · May 20, 2011

Sometimes that only makes them angry.

It's funny when they can't say anything back and realize they're being jerks. I can see the steam already=D

MoisesRN · May 20, 2011

I don't think you should worry about it right now. Your goal when you become a RN is not for MD to be nice to you.

You'll be respected even by your peers when you know your job; reason as a scientist and present and project a professional appearance.

In contrario if you want Drs to like you just because you show your curves and paint your lips, then you'll look unprofessional, stupid thus the door will be wide open to be yell at by MD's.

I'm really not sure why Nurse always waorry about Drs attitude; they don't have to be nice to us...so long that they do their job.

In my personnal experience, MD's that are portrayed to be "bad" are those that I end up liking the most because they usually ask pertinent questions before issuing an order and I like that.

Teleflurry, DNP · May 20, 2011

Ignore. Look at them blankly and play the sound of music in your mind.

Bhavana · May 20, 2011

Treat them like anyone else. I think the problem with some doctors, old and young, is that there is still this certain breed of nurses out there who do everything but bow down when the doctor walks by. I witnessed one the other day who had an important question about a patient, and here is the way she put it "I am sooo sorry to bother you, doctor, I really am so sorry, I know how BUSY you are, really, I apologise, but do you have a second to to talk to me?" HELLO!! It's his JOB to deal with the patients. Stop talking to them like they deserve so much more respect than everyone else. I don't care how long they went to school, they are no better than the rest of us, and it is the way some nurses and other people still treat them that makes them think they are above it all.

Guest219794 · May 20, 2011

How can a nurse deal with mean doctors at your place of employment. I have worked as a unit clerk for 10 years. I am currently in school for my BSN, and one of my biggest fear as a new nurse is how to deal with mean doctors. I have seen first hand how these doctors speak to some nurses where I work and see how some of them get very upset.
future nurse.......

This subject comes up quite a bit, but it is really the wrong question. The real question I how to deal with mean people in general. In the case where the person being mean is in a percieved position of power, that is called bullying. Ideally you have life experience that has helped you deal with bullies in the past. If it happens in a work setting, you are helped by the fact that there are actually rules about this sort of thing.

I think that much of the traditional dr-nurse relationship has to do with male-female relationships. In other words, how men deal with women, and visa versa. While the relationship between these two professions were deveoping, one was overwhelmingly male, and the other was overwhelmingly female. The two professions also draw from two different socioeconimic groups.

I am a 190 lb 47 year old man. Dr's aren't mean to me. Every now and then, I'll encounter a doc, who is a jerk, and I will deal with him/her the same way I would deal with any jerk. The only difference in my dealings is that I have a profesional/moral obligation to my pt's, and I won't let my personal feelings about an individual jeapordize their care.

The next time you see an abusive encounter between a dr and nurse, picture a different nurse in that position. Picture a 6'4" ex military man who took up nursing as a second carreer. Would that encounter still be taking place? Alternately, picture the most self confident, competent, experienced nurse you know regardless of size and gender. Still unlikely for that person to be a victim of bullying.

It's not really about gender or size, it's about self perception. It's not like I am going to beat somebody up in the workplace. There are plenty of 5 foot tall women who don't get bullied. Not at home, not in the community, and not at work.

Dr's being mean to (bullying) nurses is truly about self perception. If you think about other bullying situations, there is a true power imbalance. In the school yard, a bully can beat up his victims. In most work bullyng situations, the bully has some control over the victim's job. This just isn't the case in the hospital. Nures don't work for Dr's. in the hospital, dr's have no power whatsoever over nurses.

Good luck in your new career.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 20, 2011

I simply consider the source and realize it isn't worth my time nor energy!!!!! :smokin:

Never let them see you sweat.....:)