NOW does the public understand?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

This news item made it to the Keith Olberman show yesterday and got curious. I picked this up from the local newspaper called The Journal.

Particularly sad is the reported statement the doctor made at the time of his arrest... ""I am a (expletive) medical doctor and you are below me,"

Nurses put up with this attitude every day. Perhaps now the public will understand just a little what we put up with.

http://www.journal-news.net/news/story/0516202006_new03_DUI_051606_n.asp

Specializes in Long Term Care.

After an incident, out of patient hearing, as a student, I once told a Doc I now work with to, " Bring it. I was in the Army for nine years, I will hand it back to you three fold in ways you have never dreamed of." He never again talked down to me, cursed in my presence, or yelled in my hearing. I was supposed to be observing a picc line removal. I told my Instructor about him handing me a bloody picc line he had removed, when I had NO GLOVES then when I turned to get gloves he yelled at me and started to tell me how stupid I was, she patted me on the shoulder and said, " good girl".

Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
I'm a nursing student now.. I still have at least a year and a half left, and haven't started clinicals yet or anything.. so I haven't had to deal with doctors yet. What do you do when doctors treat you like this?? Just take it?

I am finishing up my nursing school and I have to say thus far I havent met any doctors with god complexes. For the most part they are either very nice or they just ignore you. Ive been lucky to know quite a few who want to teach me things and let me observe. If a doctor was rude to me I don't knowk that I would just "take it" but I would use the kill them with kindness....be professional about it....we learn so much about therapuetic communication in nursing school, im sure it will come in handy:)

Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
To stand up for yourself is VERY important. NO ONE should take abuse in the workplace (or anywhere else for that matter.) To act passive aggressive though, I would feel no better, maybe even worse then the abuser. I don't think that helps at all with gaining respect. I would not respect someone that acted that way, to me or anyone else. It's revenge, and not a solution. It may just add to the problem for you and others.

I totally agree. Assertiveness is the key here. You're on a mission to be treated with respect- not to get revenge. Passive-aggressiveness does not gain you respect, and it's not professional. Keep the focus on the patient, and interrupt the tirade.

It's part of The member Principle. It comes from centuries of women being a man's property (chattel) and being subject to severe punishment (divorce, physical retribution, ostracism by other women for being defiant or "different") for disobeying her husband, who was her Lord and Master. This is common still in some cultures, subtley so in our own.

The males don't really fare so much better. They are expected to be strong at all times, they don't get to explore their softer side. It's a mess.

Not quite sure if it's that or the fact the type of men who do this are bullies. If they behaved the same way to a man, even if he was the janitor, the man might just give him a thump. It's unlikely that a woman would do that.

Specializes in floor to ICU.
I had a Dr. go off on me over the phone once using language that would start a fire. I politely informed him I did not use that kind of language and I would not listen to it from him. I then informed him the purpose of my call. He was very quiet and then politely apologized and answered my questions about his patient. I never had any trouble with him after that.

I agree. You can't sink to their level. One went off on my charge nurse and she replied, "I don't care for the way you are speaking to me and I don't have to put up with it." She hung up the phone.

I am fortunate in that I only have a few docs that I have to interact with. This lessens the distractions and trying to learn little foibles for larger numbers of Docs... Most of them are okay to work around, some of them are as bad as or worse than two year olds who have not had a nap.

Anyway, I digress. I was looking at the whole Nursing vs Doctoring argument. Nursing is the study and treatment of the individual and family response to the treatment of illness. Doctors plan the treatment, Nurses implement the medical treatment and monitor for the patient response. It is important for a nurse to be well educated so that if she sees something ordered that is inappropriate for that patient, she can say something so that the patient's health and best intrests are preserved.

Docs do not recognize this. As I have heard from a cousin who is in med school, the attitude is that nurses don't know/understand all the rationals for the things that the Docs do and that "they shouldn't worry their pretty little heads about all that stuff, they just report vital signs and test results and leave the rest to me." I have never wanted to slap a person in my own family so badly!

If my cousin's attitude is reflective of the broader attitude, it is little wonder that the shortage of nurses is not even shorter.

Med students are among the worst offenders. They're often wonderful and sweet but are sometimes so damned arrogant. Unfortunately, they don't know their butts from a hole in the ground yet. I asked one today, not realizing she was a student (thought she was a resident or would have gone directly to the Res) what the plan was for a pt with a + PPD and neg CXR. She panicked, told me she was just a student, and said she'd check with the Res, which I thought sounded good. She never got back to me but, hey, at least her thinking was reasonable and intelligent.

The danged Res a few days ago was asked for something to help a pt who c/o no BM x a week and no results from a suppos the night before. He pulled out his palm pilot, consulted every reference he could find, discussed it with 2 people, asked me what I thought (I said MOM, maybe Mag Citrate if poor results after 2 doses of MOM - I figured she needed something from the top), then proceeded to order an oil retention enema. Ya gotta love it.

Another Res a while back ordered 200 mg Motrin q8h for a 250# woman with menstrual cramps and no other known med problems. Uh, gee, do you think maybe you should go a little lower?

So the idea of leaving everything up to your Cuz, the aspiring brain surgeon, is a little scary. Maybe he will realize what a jerk he is and how insulting his attitude is before he does any real damage.

I hope you enlightened him. Maybe he'd take your counsel to heart. Maybe not but maybe he would. I hope so, for the sake of his future coworkers and himself. His attitude is really very, very insulting and provincial. Very disrespectful.

It has something to do with the fact that doctors are expected to be perfect or else they get hit with a lawsuit

If we dont want doctors to have god complexes, lets STOP putting them up on pedestals and demanding that they be perfect 100% of the time.

And nurses are NOT expected to be perfect? And nurses DON'T get hit with lawsuits?

And nurses are NOT expected to be perfect? And nurses DON'T get hit with lawsuits?

Nurses do get hit with lawsuits, just not as often.

Specializes in Long Term Care.
Nurses do get hit with lawsuits, just not as often.

SO what is your point?

SO what is your point?

:smackingf I missed the Sarcasm. My mistake.

Specializes in Long Term Care.

I have lost my focus... what were we talking about?

Docs with God complexes....??? Was someone trying to excuse their bad behavior by BLAMING it on the expectations of the public at large?????

I thought people were in charge of themselves....

The abuse that Nurses (ALL of US) take from them and everyone else....and how not to take it anymore...??? Vengence, threats, and passive aggressive behavior are not appropriate... satisfying but inappropriate... some times very funny but very inappropriate...Sometimes they work, but still it is better to respect YOURSELF and be forthright and straight forward out in the open, speak up and defend yourself.

Lawsuits and whether or not Nurses are lawsuit prone too??? Until there is a frivolous lawsuit reform of some sort, until we begin owning up to mistakes, the public will continue to be sue happy and it doesnot matter the size of your pockets, only that you have pockets. I vote for the Loser of a jury trial is liable for the legal expenses of both parties.

Sorry it has been a long day.

My boyfriend's getting ready to start med school in August. Over the past year and a half he would sometimes get uppity about his future profession. As the daughter of an RN I've heard maaaaany stories about jerk doctors, so I shared them with him and informed him that not only is keeping your attitude in check important for colleague interactions but for PATIENT CARE as well. I let him know how proud I am of him but at the same time how he is NOT above non-MDs. As long as I'm by his side he'll be kept in check through med school, residency, and beyond. :-)

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