"Yelling"

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

So, I noticed that a lot of posters describe other staff members (CNAs, Charge Nurses, fellow nurses, MDs, etc.) as "yelling". Do you literally mean "yelling", as in using a very loud voice, or are you exaggerating?

The reason I ask, is that the other night, we had an orientation session. Two RNs were leading the session, and occasionally, one of them would remind everyone to get back on track. She never raised her voice or did anything that I would consider "yelling".

Yet, the next night at work, another staff member who had been present at this orientation was gossiping about the RN, saying that she had been "yelling". This was clearly an exaggeration.

So, when you describe being "yelled at" by a doctor or a family member or a co-worker, do you mean "yelling" in the literal sense, or are you exaggerating to make a point?

Just curious.....I have never been yelled at by patient, family member, physician, or colleague. In fact, yelling would absolutely not be tolerated at my facility. We can even write up doctors for yelling at us. It surprises me that so many posters here claim to be getting yelled at so frequently. Am I living in a fantasy world?

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Specializes in ICU.

I got yelled at literally the other morning, but the doctor I called had just woke up after two hours of sleep on a crazy weekend. We've had a couple of family members get into shouting matches with nurses. But mostly, it's just speaking harshly, not necessarily yelling.

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Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

I've been yelled at by patients a few times and a couple of times by a member of staff, would tolerate neither of them.

The patients I told to cool it before I call security and if they would like to tell me what the problem was I would do my best to deal with it.

The member of staff I walked away from and then later took into the office to discuss the issue informing him I would not tolerate being shouted at for any reason, I told him if it happened again I would seek HR advice and take it further, he did it again a few weeks later and she was given an informal disciplinary warning. Never happened again.

Never been yelled at by a doctor but as soon as they look like they may be getting a bit shirty with me I tell them to drop the attitude, if they speak to be professionally I am far more likely to be helpful and it always works.

I understand that some patients either don't know what they are doing due to medical problems or are so anxious that normal manners go out of the window so I do my best to difuse that, but there is absolutely no excuse for staff to be abusive to each other and I won't put up with it.

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I'm lucky because the vast majority of nurses, doctors, and CNAs I work with are all great. I have never heard any of them yell as of yet and chances are I won't as it just isn't that type of environment.

I have however heard patients and their families yell but not all too often. I got yelled at the other day about carrots. That was the first time it's happened to me. The patient's family member said her mother was "devastated" that her carrots weren't round as she likes them but came in baby carrot form instead. I kid you not. This patient will be going home in less than 24 hours and will be absolutely fine.

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Specializes in NICU.

I think they're just mistaken as to the meaning of "yelling" and they're using it interchangeably with "oral reprimand".

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Specializes in ICU.

I've had lots and lots of patients yell at me with lovely colorful language, but those don't really count.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I've often asked on this forum, "do you really mean yelling?" because that's not acceptable under any circumstances. To me yelling is shouting in a loud voice, making a scene. To be honest, I've never really seen it by a doc or a coworker. Patients, for sure, on a daily basis. LOL

I think people do exaggerate. I had a doctor come up and ask to speak to the nurse and she very nicely said "no one documented blood pressures, this is very important to me because I need this....blah blah blah.". As soon as she left the nurse was saying "did you see how she yelled at men, when I'm not the one responsible?". I said...."um no, she wasn't yelling". But the story got around that this doc yelled at this nurse for no good reason.

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I'm just a student--starting ABSN this fall--but I have also been surprised by how many people on these forums have said someone "yelled" at them... But, then I started noticing at the school where I work that a number of people say that.

Like an earlier post, I think it is exaggeration in order to make a reprimand, or a stern correction seem out of place--sorry, but sternness is sometimes necessary. Our culture needs to grow up a bit, I think, and value truth and actions and stop thinking that just because our "feelings are hurt" the person who "hurt" them is the bad guy...

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

A lot of people, probably myself included, use "yelled at" to mean reprimanded.

I've literally yelled at someone exactly once. Burn ICU, and we were suctioning an intubated, ventilated patient. I was suctioning, the tech was bagging. We were chatting as we worked (he was a nursing student). I pulled the suction catheter out; the tech wasn't paying attention and didn't hook the BVM up to his ETT immediately, just kept talking to me. I did yell "Bag him!"

He jumped, "OH!" and realized what he was doing, started bagging him, we finished, I apologized for yelling, he apologized for getting distracted, we were good.

Expressions like "he chewed me out" can convey the same idea without being overly dramatic, which "yelled at" can be. A lot of the use of "yelled" is probably not deliberate but sometimes it probably is purposeful dramatization.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
So, I noticed that a lot of posters describe other staff members (CNAs, Charge Nurses, fellow nurses, MDs, etc.) as "yelling". Do you literally mean "yelling", as in using a very loud voice, or are you exaggerating?

The reason I ask, is that the other night, we had an orientation session. Two RNs were leading the session, and occasionally, one of them would remind everyone to get back on track. She never raised her voice or did anything that I would consider "yelling".

Yet, the next night at work, another staff member who had been present at this orientation was gossiping about the RN, saying that she had been "yelling". This was clearly an exaggeration.

So, when you describe being "yelled at" by a doctor or a family member or a co-worker, do you mean "yelling" in the literal sense, or are you exaggerating to make a point?

Just curious.....I have never been yelled at by patient, family member, physician, or colleague. In fact, yelling would absolutely not be tolerated at my facility. We can even write up doctors for yelling at us. It surprises me that so many posters here claim to be getting yelled at so frequently. Am I living in a fantasy world?

The fact that you all can write up a physician for yelling at your place of work is a dream job to me. Where is it??:yeah:

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When someone here says they were yelled at I take it to mean "spoken to harshly" unless it was a pt or family member. A few on here, however, who have the "It's everyone else's fault" mentality, will often describe a person as literally screaming at them, when it's extremely difficult to picture someone actually doing that, and being stupid enough to do it in front of witnesses, which is also often claimed.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I'll admit, it is usually an exaggeration but not always. =) From my end, anyway. I mean, I have quite literally been yelled at over the phone by an MD. Quite recently, actually.

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