"A monkey can be trained to do what you nurses do"

[angel337]

yes. that is exactly what i heard a cardiologist tell a cath lab nurse when i took a patient having an acute MI to the cath lab. i was completely and utterly floored by his comment. apparently the room was not prepared to receive the patient and the doc had a fit. one nurse looked like she was near tears. another just walked out. we all were in front of the patient so i think the nurses did not want to confront the doc right there at that moment. when he was out the patients view he slammed down the charts and slammed doors. i coudn't believe the behavior. i know some docs can be nasty, but i just can't see myself putting up with such humiliation. people do what you allow them to and apparently this doc hasn't run across the right nurse yet. if a monkey can do what nurses do, then why isn't he doing it? i mentioned the incidence to my nursing sup. and she was angry and promised to look into it. since i only work ED i felt uncomfortable getting directly involved. how have you guys dealt with situations like this?

[mariedoreen]

When I was working as a pharmacy tech I once (well.. more than once) saw a pharmacist totally lose it under pressure. On one occasion, he absolutely SLAMMED a huge bottle of vicodin down on the counter (pills went everywhere) and then proceeded to yell and throw a fit about how pressured he was. He capped it off by stomping to the bathroom and slamming the door. About 15 patients and 5 techs witnessed this meltdown. All the techs began to scramble to pick up the pills while I instead walked away to take care of the patients. My feeling was that in my house a child is expected to pick up his own mess when he throws a tantrum.. why should work be any different?

Of course, I later wondered how many of those techs were actually returning their finds to the bottle... but that's another thread.

Anyway, you find rudeness and immaturity in every profession.

[BaboonRN]

I used to work on a very busy and poorly staffed post-partum unit. And when I said something to the nursing supervisor about the workload/staffing I was told that a monkey could be trained to be a post-partum nurse. I come from biomedical research, and have since returned to it....my reply to her was " I have worked with monkeys and I know for certain that's not true" Got a dirty look, but another nurse was called in.

[zenman]

You could try some Monkey Kung Fu on him...behind closed doors, of course!

[imenid37]

One of the OB docs I work w/ is a really egocentric goof. He told his office staff that he could go to Hardee's (fast food restaurant) and train the counter people to do their jobs. So when Halloween came, they all got Hardee's hats and came to work in them. He was not amused, but apparently was a little more reserved about making these idiotic comments to them in the future. The OP should've informed dr., primates are much more sophisticated than jackassess. (away from the pt. of course).

Un fortunately doctors do not have a monopoly on obnoxious tirades. Sad to say, I have been verbally abused by the OR nursing staff on more than one occasion at my present job. Once I was berrated by a woman w/ a chronic frown because the off-going OR nurse did not tell her the D&E pt. I brought her was allergic to latex. I did inform her when she called for the pt. She met me at the OR door and yelled in my face. The pt. had been bumped several times during the day and the OR knew her history. She had already set up the room. Not my fault and I told her so. The pt., a hospital employee, was appalled and reported her. If they are one thing, jackasses are versitile, I have known them to be in a variety of professions.

[hipab4hands]

Just another A--hole, in a long line of over inflated egos.

Personally, I would have filed a written complaint for verbal use.

[TexasPoodleMix]

That is a very mean thing to say

[Repat]

I agree, a very mean thing to say. Don't you just wish you could think of come backs right there and then? Like "good thing we have a j***a** at the helm!". Might even take the pt's. mind off their chest pain.

[mattsmom81]

Wow...so this 'trained monkey' stuff is being taught in medical school as well as baccalaureate nursing programs, eh?

Once the patient was out of earshot, I would have been sorely tempted to make comment similar to yours, Repat! And a few guy nurses I know would be inviting the doc outside for a comment like that. I bet nobody looks forward to working with this guy, eh? Actually know more than a few specialists who think its OK to be abusive. Sadly the facilities frequently turn a blind eye to it, because the docs are more important and bring $$$ into the facility.

[KacyLynnRN]

If it were me, I would have written down everything about the incident as soon as I could get away from it, such as exactly what was said, witnesses, etc... then ASAP written a letter detailing the incident and given it to my manager, charge nurse, and practice facilitator. Anyone directly above me that I could give it to, I would. Then keep a copy for myself for future reference. Probably not much would have happened to the doc, but if another incident occurs you already have the first incident down in writing, and if the hospital still didn't want to help, there would be a lawsuit. Verbal abuse/harrassment at work, no matter if it is the doctor or the janitor, should NEVER be allowed! JMO.

P.S... I agree with what others have said, if he treats nurses he works with that badly, I shudder to think of how he must treat his wife and children.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

bit of google levity located at the bottom of this thread:

classic monkey

sock monkeys & monkey socks. unique. collectible. go bananas!

[Katnip, RN]

For some reason, I've always been afraid of sock monkeys. Irrational, but they terrify me for some reason. Maybe it's those weird mouths.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I agree with the report for verbal abuse. I doubt he would want anyone talking to his mother like that, perhaps he should use that kind of courtesy.