Dumbest thing a doctor has done/said to you

[WorriedNurse25]

I'm very curious. I'm sure we've all been there. We've dealt with doctors from all spectrum and mindsets. Most are very good at their jobs and have sound ideas!

But sometimes docs just say and do the craziest things

My example: at my last LTC facility I had one doctor seriously outright refuse/fight giving and prescribing pain meds (for patients who really, really needed it/were on vents/dying) because he honestly believed that these residents who had been stuck in a bed for years were going to get better and go out to buy/smoke crack cocaine.

According to him "prescribing narcotics leads to methadone and crack usage." These poor residents have been here for years taking the same medications and pain meds for years...just WHAT?

What kinda crazy stuff has your doctor done?

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

Not my patient, but when I was doing post op phone calls, I had a sheet for a patient that actually ended up admitted, and I only found out because I went to the progress notes section. The surgeon wrote a note on the admitted patient saying I am going on vacation, and if this patient is still unable to be discharged, consult with the hospitalist. I bet he never consulted with the hospitalist before taking off on vacation. The surgeon in question is an ENT surgeon, and he's a dirtbag in general. I will go to his partners before I go to him.

There is another surgeon, an orthopedist, who has figured out how to use nurses' best weapon to his advantage. The write up, or incident report. He is the only doctor I know that actually writes up petty incidents like nurses do. It kind of pisses me off, but at the same time I laugh, because it seems like he's figured out how to play the passive-aggressive game. Surgeons can no longer get away with yelling, screaming, and physical assault against nurses, and he seems to get it. He is a good surgeon, despite this.

[cdsavannah59, CNA]

During my Pap smear exam as we were talking, my doctor asked me " Have you ever had a hysterectomy" so I thought to myself he must be thinking because of some previous female issues I might of had a total hysterectomy. My reply to his question " Well I don't think so, isn't that what your working on down there" Me, the doctor and his assistant starting laughing so hard, that I'm sure he had to take a moment to control his laughter as he was still trying to do Pap smear.

[JerseyTomatoMDCrab, BSN]

This is definitely not the dumbest thing but it was the first thing that came to mind.

I had a resident (3rd year, PhD, extremely arrogant) write an order: RN to take patient in w/c outside hospital during daylight hours to assist with confusion.

This man was 1) advanced dementia 2) totally hoyer dependent to get OOB 3) combative when awake 4) asleep 90% of the time. NO amount of sunshine was making this guy oriented.

To quote Sweet Brown: Ain't nobody got time for that!!

[ScrappytheCoco]

I asked 3x for the in house OB/GYN to go and see an obs pt of mine because I just had a feeling something wasn't right. She kept saying she would and then went to bed without seeing the pt while I checked in a triage. I had no idea, since she agreed, I assumed she would actually go see the pt! 20min later the obs pt pushed out baby and had a huge placental abruption. The MD actually had the gall to say to me "You should have demanded that I go see that pt." WHAT?

ER MD-"Scrappy...you know how to intubate.

Just go drop the tube for me real quick and I'll be right there." Come again Dr?

When an ED physician ordered a d-dimer on a chick who was 3 days postpartum and then the subsequent PE chest CT because it was elevated. Duh...of course it was elevated...it's coag city in there!

When I got my butt chewed by the cardiovascular surgeon because the ED resident decided not to order emergent O Neg for my major trauma pt...ugh.

I could go on and on!

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

We had a resident order a bag of chips STAT for a pt with low sodium. Really? At 0600 I'll get right on that. How about 2% or 3% NaCl?

I had a pt who went into SVT (I am rapid response) and the MD ordered po lopressor after the adenosine didn't work (BP was completely stable, and pt was sitting in bed talking away) and his HR stayed down at his base of 120 for a while. Later it was back up to the 160 range, and ordered po lopressor again. This time I had the RN page cardiology who was on and got him some cardizem, and boom, he was back in SR. I asked for cardizem and was denied!

I also had a patient who was in AF w/RVR, and on cardizem, not working, dropping pressure, HR hitting 190-200, asked about amiodarone, and denied. Asked all night and was denied. (I was working ICU at that time), and I come in the next day, and he was on amiodarone. WTH?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Craziest thing a doctor has ever said to me? There are so many examples.

"Yes I DO want q 1 hour ABGs on this patient, even though she has no art line and you have to stick her and even though she's a DNR and we aren't going to treat the results anyway." And yes, he wrote that as an order -- word for word -- taking a whole sheet in the order book.

"Flower care q 24 hours."

"If the nurse is at lunch and you're watching her and you won't give her a shampoo right now, I'm just gonna call a code on her." And he did. (Our manager grabbed him by the lapels, swung him around and slammed him up against the wall. Her tirade started out with "Buck up, Buster" and ended with "and if you ever do such a thing again, I will have your gonads for breakfast." I don't remember the middle parts, probably because I was laughing so hard I nearly peed my pants.)

To me, from my (former) PCP: "Don't you worry your pretty head about your blood pressure. You let me worry about the big numbers." (Yes, he actually said this. I was 20 at the time. I was pretty when I was 20 -- everyone who is 20 is pretty. Even the boys.)

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Assault with a paper chart. I've seen a lot of interesting outbursts before but this is a new one. Watch out for that guy when he's carrying a laptop/tablet:blackeye:

Years ago, in the age of paper charts, we had metal chart backs. The pulmonologist and the cardiac surgeon were standing toe to toe in the middle of the CCU screaming at each other (which happened on a weekly basis). The surgeon was holding one of those charts, and as he swung it back to take a shot at the pulmonologist, he hit the nurse instead.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't trying to hit you. I was trying to hit HIM."

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

H and H of 1.9/7, HR of 140, RR 38, BP of there maybe - "No he doesn't need any blood right now". So do you want me to just get the death packet or what?

[sailornurse]

:Evil-Pumpkin:

Banana, stat! For a low potassium. On a pt with a peg.

OMG, I had the same order! STAT banana for low K+. Did you ever work in Phoenix area in the early 1980s?""":Emoticon-Devil:

[WKShadowNP, DNP, APRN]

We've used two competing drips in the cardiac OR, especially if we use a radial artery for a graft- nitro to help with vasospam and phenylephrine for pressure support.

Thank you.

[mercurysmom]

This was one of my Mom's stories, but since we both worked at the same LTC at one point and had "experiences" with the same Dr, I believe her 100%...

One night, Mrs. Smith, a pt who was DNR, comfort care, with family at the bedside, finally passed away. Mrs. Smith's Dr routinely wrote orders for "No RN Pronouncement" on all of his patients and refused to refer them to Hospice, either, no matter what their primary Dx was or their current medical condition. (Mrs. Smith was admitted 5 days earlier, with CA mets to everywhere, sub-q morphine pump, scopolamine, etc.)

So, Mom called "Dr. ImInChargeDontForgetIt" to inform him that's Mrs. Smith's respirations had ceased, no audible apical pulse, no BP, etc. and reminded him that she needed to be pronounced, since he ordered "No RN pronouncement." It was just before midnight, and the family wanted to call the funeral home ASAP. Dr. I said "what the h*** is their rush? I'll be there at 8am.

Mom politely reminded him that the policy of that particular LTC was that patients who expire before midnight need to be pronounced within 4 hours of the next day, which meant he had a four-hour deadline to come in and pronounce her. Otherwise, she would have to call to have her transported to the ER to be pronounced, since he specified "no RN pronouncement."

Dr. I pauses, then says...

"Are there any stab wounds?" "Any bullet holes?"

Mom says "Of course not!" So Dr. "ImInChargeDontForgetIt" says, "Then leave her in bed, continue all care, and open the damn window. I'll be in at 8!" And slams down the phone.

Mom called the DON, who came in, did her own assessment, and called to have poor Mrs. Smith transferred to the ER, where the hospital's medical director was waiting for Dr. I to meet her as soon as she arrived (which he did!)

I worked a few days later...all of Dr. I's DNR/comfort care patients had orders for RN pronouncement andHospice consults! [emoji6]

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

"Flower care q 24 hours."

So many things come to mind...