Rude Doctor!

[ohioRN09]

So...here's what happened. I work a 7pm night shift at a large hospital. I had to call a Dr. who was covering for another doctor for the weekend. My patient was very sick and had some medicine ordered to help with nausea that was not helping. At about 4:30 in the morning she was feeling awful she said she needed another medicine because that is what she takes at home when nothing else helps. Unfortunately, she didn't tell us that when we were getting her home medicines addressed earlier that day. So I called the covering Doctor to get an order. When I called he cussed, gave me the order, cussed some more, told me not to call him again and hung up the phone. I was really mad but glad that I at least got the patient what she needed. I didn't really "forgive" him but I just continued with my night and went on. Then when I went back to work they told me that he was complaining about the phone call to other nurses the next day! This is ridiculous and we should not have to deal with this kind of stuff!!!

[caliotter3]

Some doctors have reputations for acting like that. We had one who was such a doozy, that no one but the DON had the cajones to call him. Once a nurse called him because she had no choice in the matter and she wrote down everything he said, word for word, including the profanity, in the patient's chart. Wonderful to read that "you only called me to cover your ........, blank, blank, blank" etc. The DON let the charting entry stand on its own merit.

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

Immature little brat. I wouldn't worry - he is only making himself look bad. Next time, I'd hang up on him, then call back and tell him to give me the order when he can restrain himself from swearing.

[HeatwaveRN]

Nursing notes:

notified MD of patient's request for nausea medication; per MD "f*** you, don't call me at night".....

Oh yeah, don't forget to write the MD up

[nursel56]

Some doctors have reputations for acting like that. We had one who was such a doozy, that no one but the DON had the cajones to call him. Once a nurse called him because she had no choice in the matter and she wrote down everything he said, word for word, including the profanity, in the patient's chart. Wonderful to read that "you only called me to cover your ........, blank, blank, blank" etc. The DON let the charting entry stand on its own merit.

AND

Nursing notes:

notified MD of patient's request for nausea medication; per MD "f*** you, don't call me at night".....

Oh yeah, don't forget to write the MD up

What they said.

[abreezies]

UGH.....working at the hospital was a BIG wake up call for me. I used to have one idea about doctors, but now I know the truth....lol. Had one ortho doc yell at me for wanting an order to hold/decrease coumadin considering PT/INR was too high. He yelled at me, didn't give me the order, told me to call gen surg doc. The gen surg doc then yells at me not to bother him with the responsibilities of the ortho doc, granted neither one of them let me get a breath in before they hung up on me to let me tell them that they were both telling me to call the other one. I just explained PT/INR to patient- who thankfully was familiar with taking coumadin- refused the med. When ortho doc came to nurses station.....he started talking to my charge nurse about the "stupid nurse that called him for coumadin order", I was sitting right behind them! At this point.....i grabbed the chart.....stood up........told the doctor that I was the STUPID nurse, flipped to the original coumadin order which had HIS SIGNATURE and explained to him that this was the reason I called HIM. He gets this dumb look on his face.....explains to me that he forgot that he wrote that order.....and that was it....no apology! UGH!!!

[RNKPCE]

Definitely write the doctor up. Certain doctors have reputations for being this way. Depending how your institution works these write ups do make a difference.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I've mentioned previously that, ultimately, we train people on how to treat us. Nurses who outwardly appear to be soft or overly meek through weak body language, subordinate postures, and low voices are easy targets since they exude an aura of passivity. When passivity is sensed, some people dive in for the kill.

I've noticed many times before that these doctors target specific nurses, while magically leaving the others alone. It is all about the way in which we are perceived. If you are viewed as someone one who will not stand up for oneself, you'll be treated rudely by the doctors. If you're perceived as someone who will resist and not permit outrageous behavior, then these same doctors will quickly catch a clue to leave you alone.

Rude doctors go for the most opportune targets: the nurses who are unlikely to respond in a defensive manner to the maltreatment. Also, if nothing is done, they'll continue being rude and obnoxious because they feel have been given implied permission to get away with it.

[Lucky0220]

For the most part, I agree with those who say that if you stand up to these rude doctors, they will leave you alone. But, we have a doctor at our hospital who loves to argue, as well as being rude. Standing up to him just fuels his behavior because he has to get the last word! So most of us just walk away from him or hang up on him. Nice, huh?

[Shauni-RN]

I am so sorry that you had to put up with that. I am sure it made you feel unappreciated and disrespected I have been in that sort of situation before and I cried I am still a fairly new nurse and so things like a doctor coming down on me sometimes still gets to me. One time a doctor told my charge nurse that I didn't know what I was doing and that new nurses are pretty much untrustworthy. He was upset with me because I couldn't understand him over the phone. He has an accent that is tough for me to interpret. Anyway, I continue to tell myself that I am here for the patient. If I go home at the end of the shift and I did everything I could for the patient I know that I did a good job. You absolutely did the right thing by calling the doctor because you were advocating for the patient. If you keep doing your best for your patients you will end up on top :) One thing that my instructors taught me when I was in school was to say the following when calling a doctor at those odd hours of the day, "Hello, this is Shauni and I am calling on behalf of your patient..." Saying that may remind the doctor that they have a patient that needs them and it isn't just the nurse making calls because he or she feels like it.

Also, if it gets to the point where you start to feel hesitant to call the doctor it might be a good idea to say something to your nursing manager so he or she can speak with that particular doctor. The doctor that was rude to me actually was spoken to about how he treats the nurses and he has been MUCH nicer and respectful ever since.

Good post :)

[homedoc]

As a physician myself, I am embarassed and angry when I see a colleague being disrespectful to a nurse. There is no excuse for this type of unprofessional behavior. They should be "written up" and if necessary reported to their state licensure board. I agree with the nurses who document in italics exactly what the physician said. Rude doctors should not be in the healthCARE profession if they do not care enough to treat nurses with the highest respect. Don't let these jerks get you down. You did the right thing for the patient. Keep up the good work. God Bless, homedoc.

[RNKPCE]

I recently got to hear a doctor speak about nursing where he worked and he said he practiced for 40 years and never had a law suit and he said you know why" because those nurses had my back, when I was home sleeping or out to dinner with friends I could rely on the nurses to call me with problems or to notify me when I ordered an antibiotic a patient was allergic to"

It was so refreshing to hear it gave me shivers.