Rude Medical Interns

Nurses Relations

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Hey y'all. I work in a teaching hospital and we have many medical students who practice in our facility. Most of the time, I notice that the most rude doctors in our hospital are the interns (mostly female interns to be exact) while the residents and attendings are usually nice and respectful. One time there was an order to transfer a pt to ICU, so we prepared the patient in the gurney and he was ready to go, but had a diarrhea episode in the gurney. so we had to clean him up first before we sent him. When the intern came in and saw us cleaning the pt, she screamed and said that we were just wasting time. Then her attending came in and she told on us. Her attending told her (in front us) that it was nice of us to do that so the pt looked presentable and comfortable upon going to ICU.

I have more stories about these interns. But my question is how do you respond to people who act this way? Somebody needs to put this people in place.

Specializes in ER.
Hey y'all. I work in a teaching hospital and we have many medical students who practice in our facility. Most of the time, I notice that the most rude doctors in our hospital are the interns (mostly female interns to be exact) while the residents and attendings are usually nice and respectful. One time there was an order to transfer a pt to ICU, so we prepared the patient in the gurney and he was ready to go, but had a diarrhea episode in the gurney. so we had to clean him up first before we sent him. When the intern came in and saw us cleaning the pt, she screamed and said that we were just wasting time. Then her attending came in and she told on us. Her attending told her (in front us) that it was nice of us to do that so the pt looked presentable and comfortable upon going to ICU.

I have more stories about these interns. But my question is how do you respond to people who act this way? Somebody needs to put this people in place.

oh where to start. You can't change a zebra's stripes. That's all I got.

Ha!!! There are those types of women everywhere. Whether they're doctors, nurses, secretaries, the check out person at the grocery store, bank teller, etc. You get the idea. Work around it. Don't let it get you irritated - since they obviously have no qualms with their behavior/attitude's effect on you.

Specializes in ER.
I have more stories about these interns. But my question is how do you respond to people who act this way? Somebody needs to put this people in place

Usually I love them like they were my own kids. But when their ego rears is ugly head and they become abusive. I go up one side and down the other and talk to them like they were misbehaving little kids. I don't allow them to ever talk to me like that. Their attending and their residents know it too. One Intern in ER was a really bad jerk one night to me and I mean rotten. I have too say, now , it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. He had already yelled at me once and I told him then to watch his mouth. Then I was standing in the hallway It was busy, lots of goings on. He called me a stupid cow because I didn't run when he called. Everyone heard him and it became dead quiet The attending Doc said "UH OH" and backed away from the intern. The nurse that was helping him started laughing and backed away from him

I am short and round btw, I pulled a stool up and stood on it and stuck my finger in his face. I did not touch him but by the end of his manners lessons he was bright red. No one came to his aid. From then on I made him call me Ms. so-n-so.

Later I heard he went to his boss cuz he wanted me fired. I had worked at that facility for 25 yrs. I knew his boss when he was in highschool. He was told I would never be fired that I would likely die working in that hospital and if any of his family needed nursing care he wanted me to take care of them. In fact I did take care of his mother when she died.

Later on in the year the intern was fired, for many reasons concerning nurses and then a couple of patients. This guy was a really bad apple. Do you know how hard it is to get fired from an internship?

Moral of the story is that these guys go thru several years of internship and residiency to learn medicine but also to weed out the reallys bad eggs. if they are just nasty characters or if it is just a bad day, it is going to show eventually. Don't let anyone treat you in a way you don't want. Be it verbal,mental or even physical.

picturing that is absolutely hilarious. I would have been cracking up. You make your bed, now lie in it. Good for you! Good that the intern was canned. Serves him right.

Specializes in Women's health & post-partum.

Thirty years or so ago, when we had rotating internships and all the interns had to spend 20 days in OB, for example--we got some really nasty ones. Interestingly, as I recall, the most condescending, holier-than-thou ones were from one or another of 2 east coast medical schools.

Of course, being on 24 hours (which was really more like 36 hours) and then off 24 (12!) doesn't help anyone's disposition, I'm afraid. The ones who stayed after their intern year warmed up and were pretty decent people. By that time they were concentrating on their specialties instead of servng time in areas where they had no interest.

Specializes in ICU, Home Health Care, End of Life, LTC.

I have to agree that effective and open communication between disciplines is essential to patient safety and proper care. If you have an experience that you feel clearly demonstrates behavior that interferes with communication bring it up to your charge and then up the chain as far as necessary to have the UNDERLYING issue addressed. I was doing my share day in ICU the other day and the the RN I was shadowing heavily emphasized the need for nurses to double check doctors orders. THIS SAVES LIVES EVERY DAY. If you feel your initial discussion is not being treated seriously do a little research and bring in the literature with evidence. In many places it is the nurse who must give the final OK for a surgery to procede and the circulating nurse is empowered to bring up any problems/errors immediately, this makes for safer operating rooms. My state requires a circ nurse for every operation. You are responsible for the safety and appropriateness of ALL medications and interventions you do. If your institution does not empower you make some changes. As for general rudeness and crappy behavior just give em a look to kill and keep doing your job better than they do theirs. When you do wind up saving their ass by catching an error be a true professional and use it as an opportunity to promote teamwork not to put them down. When they are overly rude take them aside and tell them you will not tolerate it and report the SPECIFICS of the incident to thier boss.

Specializes in Cardiac.
Speak to her boss.

Speak to her boss??? No, speak to her directly. I don't let attendings speak down to me, let alone interns!

Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

Tell her that it is not any of her business and to find something else to do. If she keeps on, just tell her that nursing care is not her job and she is not in charge of the nurses.

Tell her that it is not any of her business and to find something else to do. If she keeps on, just tell her that nursing care is not her job and she is not in charge of the nurses.

Except that it is her business. She was likely afraid for the patient's welfare. Unfortunately, she expressed it angrily instead of in a concerned yet courteous way.

Don't forget, too, that interns are learning to be doctors. They've just finished med school. They're younger than many nurses yet they are supposed to be the boss, the most knowledgeable, the one in charge. Don't let them talk down to you but do try to understand their fear, their exhaustion, their lack of confidence. Think back to when you were a new nurse, dealing with seasoned aides.

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