Hi everyone, my name is Eric and I am a 4th year osteopathic medical student. I have a question regarding communication with the nursing staff in civilian hospitals. I currently am finishing my clinical rotations at a large teaching hospital that is used for 2 medical schools (1 MD, 1 DO) and I believe at a minimum of 4 nursing schools from the area. It has been my experience that the general nursing staff regards the whole of the medical students in a less than optimal light. Coming from a family of nurses, and I mean a FAMILY of nurses, it bothers me that I have difficulty getting along with some of the nurses on the staff. I am a very easy going person, I do have my beliefs that I don't compromise on, but I am not arrogant or "unapproachable." So, I decided to go to the source and I thought that this forum may be a reasonable place to start. I understand some nurses, like all people, may have bad days or in general are just cranky, but this isn't always the case. My general experience has been this: I get along well with the male nurses and all of the nursing students. The critical care nurses are great, but the general ward nurses and the ER nurses not so much (at my institution). In the hospital environment, I have observed, the rules of civilization sometimes don't apply...politeness, respect, etc. I enjoy working in the hospital however, and want to make it more enjoyable for myself and the nurses that I work with, so...
My questions are: 1.) is there a general feeling of animosity toward medical students, and if so, why? 2.) what can I do to improve the relationship with the nurses I work with without compromising my dignity (i.e. not kissing up)?
Thanks for taking the time to read my questions. I enjoyed reading some of your other forums!
I think it speaks volumes that you asked for the opinion of nurses. That in itself tells me that you will more than likely end up with good physician/nurse relationships/collaboration in terms of patient care. I know that you've gone through more schooling than most nurses and I respect that. That being said, never take for granted that you just may be able to learn something from a nurse. The previous posts have summed it up pretty well. As a side note, there are people in every career field that aren't very good at their jobs, including physicians and nurses. In the event you come across a "bad apple", please do not make the assumption that all nurses are the same, just was we would not make that generalization to you as a physician. I think you are on the right path and am sure, based on your posts, that you will do well. Good luck with Anesthesia or where ever you end up practicing, your nurse co-workers will be lucky to work with such a conscientious physician.
Snuffy
24 Posts
I think it speaks volumes that you asked for the opinion of nurses. That in itself tells me that you will more than likely end up with good physician/nurse relationships/collaboration in terms of patient care. I know that you've gone through more schooling than most nurses and I respect that. That being said, never take for granted that you just may be able to learn something from a nurse.
The previous posts have summed it up pretty well. As a side note, there are people in every career field that aren't very good at their jobs, including physicians and nurses. In the event you come across a "bad apple", please do not make the assumption that all nurses are the same, just was we would not make that generalization to you as a physician. I think you are on the right path and am sure, based on your posts, that you will do well. Good luck with Anesthesia or where ever you end up practicing, your nurse co-workers will be lucky to work with such a conscientious physician.