opinions, please

He was probably confused when you asked for a forehead probe, yet when he goes in, low and behold, the pt has one and is using it. Maybe you should have just told him "I have one , but not sure how well it will work" or something to that nature.

I did tell him before that I would be re-using the old one that dosent stick now.

Well, I have asked him previously for help and he has

always said, "not my are". I did ask him for a forehead probe and he said he didnt have one. H

e did say during this time that "You need to talk to Bob".

So by the responses, it is okay for a staff memeber to call you passive aggressive? In my book, it is NOT. That is verbal abuse to me.

OP, I have run into an RT or two who I KNOW like to sit at the coffee shop in the lobby a little too long... the whole thing about finding a hideout is something that happens too. Thing is, some NOT ALL act like they are running their own businesses, and just a little too much like they can pick and choose when they want to work and which patients they want to see.

I can sense where you are coming from, the only thing different I would have done is that, I would not have told him I was doing an incident report. Stealth is best.

Maybe some RTs lacking confidence feel like they are treated by some nurses as UAP. Maybe some RTs also have delusions of grandeur and feel they should be treated as if they are MDs. The whole MD falacy comes from the pager and the constant moving around the hospital aspect of their work. Both are bad, and both are reasons why conflict results. IMHO, you could say the same things about some RNs. IMHO the whole pecking order arrangement in hospitals really can cause so many problems, it's no wonder so many are unhappy.

We all are charged with the big time important task of keeping people alive, aren't we? So that makes us all important people.

It's a waste of your time and energy to be upset about this. Yes, this guy sounds like a real jerk. It's been my experience that some RTs are notoriously difficult to get along with. Maybe this is due to the more solitary nature of their job: nurses are used to working as a team with other nurses, but RTs don't usually work directly with other RTs, so they sort of work in their own private sphere.

Some RTs have very specific ways of doing things, and they expect you to accomodate them. For example, I work with one RT who will freak right out if you leave the suction button on the vent tubing in the locked position. Other RTs that I work with prefer it to be in the locked position. So I will be careful to leave it locked or unlocked, depending on which RT is covering my unit while I'm there. Maybe your RT has a specific idea of how you should communicate with him.

Don't get me wrong: the RTs I've known are for the most part great people, and I certainly appreciate working with them. There are a few, though, who seem to think they're doing me a favor simply by virtue of their existence. I don't let it get to me.

If I were in your place, I would try to talk to this guy (again, as you've already made one effort). Since you've already written him up, though, don't be surprised if he hates your guts. I've had good results from having a candid chat with difficult people like this; in every situation I can remember, I've been able to forge an understanding and mutual respect. Our patients then benefit from this improved professional relationship.

Writing someone up, or just threatening to do so, is the one sure way to destroy any hope of improving your working relationship with this person. I'm not saying you were wrong to do so (in fact, you were well within your rights and I can totally see how it was justified), but I'm afraid the results of your doing so will only make your life more difficult.

Thanks for your replies.

As far as writing up, I value myself more than I do that of this other guy hating my guts. I have tostand up for myself not to be abused while doig patient care. I dont go to work, and work my butt off, to be abused.

He dosent work "in my area"mas he has told me in thepast, so other than walking arond him to the kitchen while he is on the internet, that is the only contact I expect from now on. He dosent want to be bothered.

And I feel good that I did lay my boundaries....both with him, and with the hospital as a whole. I think we should be able to work together without name calling.

and BTW, I have NEVER in my life EVER been accused of being passive aggressive, so I dont think it is a character trait of mine.

PS sorry for my typing, the keyboard I am on is so tiny that I can barely touch the buttons.

I have never understood the phrase 'passive aggressive'. It's a contradiction in terms. It was probably coined by some psychology professor for a new paper he was working on or Freud maybe.

The RT was disrespecting you girl; putting you in your place. He was fobbing you off saying to talk to someone else, and yes you are right, it is abuse. People should never make personal comments to you in front of others; it's extremely rude and condescending. And 'shrugging and smirking' is rude too.

Ensure his manager knows and if nothing happens from that, make reports for the managers and CEO/head of your department and the hospital. The patient's welfare is what matters most, not his pathetic ego.

Remind him next time we are all supposed to be working together for the patient! Just keep all the documentation of what happened to back yourself up.

That RT is just a loser!

had severe hypoxia issues

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Not long after, she was desatting, and I couldnt get a good reading half the time.

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I asked him if he had another forehead probe, said my pt was desatting, and I couldn't get a good read. He said he didnt. So I went to re-use the previous one, and to turn the O2 up.

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He came into the pt room a minute later, and as I was describing the problem (I thought he was here to help) he said "And youre good at being passive aggressive...".

.

I broke down your post so you might be able to see where the passive/aggressive statement is coming from.

You have stated that the patient is "desatting" but you admit to not having a good reading or probe. Your whole post focused on "the probe". When calling a Respiratory Therapist, Rapid Response team or another member of the nursing staff, it might also be a good idea to give a brief clinical picture rather than "I can't get a sat". Sometimes we get hung up on numbers and from your post we don't even know what the numbers were that you consider to be bad. Some may be running per protocol to allow SpO2 to drift to 86% if they have a baseline Hb and ABG. This RT may have been expecting you to rely on more than just numbers from a bad probe. Next time you could say "patient looks/sounds like crap and I can't get a sat" but of course only if the patient looks like crap.

At what stage of the hypoxia issue was this patient?

What protocol were you using and at what stage to where the RT had to initiate weaning?