So this incident was not really even a comfrontation, more of a bizarre occurence. I was having a one on one discussion with a colleague regarding time off. I was telling her that I wanted to request 4th of July off and that i hadn't requested time off since the beginning of the year . All of a sudden the attending jumps in on my conversation from behind me railing. "If you think you're going to get any time off on a holiday your head must be so far up your rectum" "if your are going to get that holiday off you have to work memorial day or some other holiday" " Ive worked every holiday in here and if i was your manager...on and on he goes...and I'm going to be in a really bad mood because I have to be on call every day next month" Then he goes on to say that he has to take extra call because another attendings family member is sick and how unfortunate that is conversing as if he wasn't just a huge jerk 30 seconds ago?????
I was beyond shocked and blindsided to say the very least. I have never had any conversation with this man at all and even the resident who he was on rounds with looked confused and shocked. Thankfully I didn't react in the manner he came at me with.
I know my co-workers don't like this doctor and now I have experienced why. I work nights so I've never really been around this guy.
I left work more confused, disrespected and shocked as this is someone who has no say in nursing whatsoever. Furthermore my manager will work the schedule to staff needs the best he can even if he can't approve special time off. But again why this attending thought that was any of his business I really don't know.
At first i was going to let it go due to the sheer weirdness and obsurdity of the entire incident but now the day after I feel i shouldnt let it go. That was beyond rude. I've never even had a nurse colleague speak to me like that... No one ever, especially with such language, there was staff and patient family all around. So now I'm wondering what course of action should I take?
(the bitter truth is that many of them do not have an idea of what real life implies almost to the end of the residency, when the financial support brought by you and me the taxpayers starts to get loose. But this is an entirely another subject).
Anyway, his or her own cup of coffee for any of us. It was the way I got some of the very malignant attendings listening and appreciating myself and other nurses, eventually (and yes, one of them eventually brought us that Keurig machine, although I would not touch the junk it makes out of good coffee).
I don't know about other nurses - but I would not want to be appreciated because I accept attendings that have no manners and be liked for serving coffee to them... reminds me of the "old days".
Granted - when I was in nursing school years ago they still had some special floor for private payers in the University Hospital. And, no joke, in the morning the whole procession with the depart head surgeon went from room to room. The charge nurse had to man the cart with paper records /charts and upon clue take out the right chart, open it to the right order page so your highness could write orders without delay that nobody but the charge nurse could read..
As a nursing student I had to carry a full size hand desinfectant bottle and position myself at the entrance to the room and my main job was to squirt the desinfectant into the doctors outstretched hands - of course nothing verbal was exchanged - it was my clue to serve the desinfecting solution.
Thinking back I sometimes laugh so hard as it was really the strangest thing but very normal back than.
However, as a nursing student at the end of the second year I felt that I should actually learn something with those "rounds" and spoke up to the close to retirement surgeon. And - to my great surprise - he started to call out in the mornings "where are the nursing students" and did bedside teaching with us about things pertinent to nursing and medicine for women after surgery and OB.
By the way - I did not serve him coffee, only desinfecting solution ....
I think you need to address this issue with your manager. Calmly and without emotion explain the situation and state although patient care was not immediately compromised you are concerned about outbursts like this as it may lead others to not want to approach this physician. State that others, older and newer staff may be afraid to approach this attending due to the outburst. If this attending responds this way to something such as a vacation conversation, if there is something bigger, or the attending's judgement comes into question, how would they responds?
You want to have a paper trail, as you stated your co-worker has seen this reaction, this might be an issue that needs to be addressed to prevent a potential compromise in patient care.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I am confused. This attending physician is not your boss, correct? Since he's likely not employed by the hospital, he is not your manager. Therefore, he has absolutely no business dictating which holidays you can and cannot take off from work.
Sounds like it wasn't really about you at all, that he was angry about his own situation and just blurted all of that out when he heard you talking about asking for time off. Does that make it OK? No, but I don't know what action you should take regarding him. At least put in for the time off you want.
My response would be: "Well that sounds pretty rough for you. I'm sorry to hear that. But that's why you get the big bucks and why I chose nursing over med school."
For everyone who is saying let it go, it didn't affect pt care,etc let's look at this scenario. OP stated others on night shift don't like the attending, that they have seen behavior before. How comfortable is one going to be addressing an issue if this attending is screaming about vacation that doesn't even affect him? By not addressing this issue it gives this doctor permission to continue acting this way, what will happen when it is pt care related and someone is now afraid to approach him because of his reactions to other things.
For everyone who is saying let it go, it didn't affect pt care,etc let's look at this scenario. OP stated others on night shift don't like the attending, that they have seen behavior before. How comfortable is one going to be addressing an issue if this attending is screaming about vacation that doesn't even affect him? By not addressing this issue it gives this doctor permission to continue acting this way, what will happen when it is pt care related and someone is now afraid to approach him because of his reactions to other things.
So, do you think TPTB will do anything to change Dr. Sphincter's errant ways if its reported to them?
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nutella, MSN, RN
1 Article; 1,509 Posts
I don't know about other nurses - but I would not want to be appreciated because I accept attendings that have no manners and be liked for serving coffee to them... reminds me of the "old days".
Granted - when I was in nursing school years ago they still had some special floor for private payers in the University Hospital. And, no joke, in the morning the whole procession with the depart head surgeon went from room to room. The charge nurse had to man the cart with paper records /charts and upon clue take out the right chart, open it to the right order page so your highness could write orders without delay that nobody but the charge nurse could read..
As a nursing student I had to carry a full size hand desinfectant bottle and position myself at the entrance to the room and my main job was to squirt the desinfectant into the doctors outstretched hands - of course nothing verbal was exchanged - it was my clue to serve the desinfecting solution.
Thinking back I sometimes laugh so hard as it was really the strangest thing but very normal back than.
However, as a nursing student at the end of the second year I felt that I should actually learn something with those "rounds" and spoke up to the close to retirement surgeon. And - to my great surprise - he started to call out in the mornings "where are the nursing students" and did bedside teaching with us about things pertinent to nursing and medicine for women after surgery and OB.
By the way - I did not serve him coffee, only desinfecting solution ....