Rude Resident Physician!!

[RNbabe]

I have the distinct displeasure of working alongside the rudest resident physician I have ever come across! :angryfire I work in a surgical ICU. This resident is only 3 years older than I am, but treats me like a complete moron. He barely looks at me when talking to me or addressing me...is very dismissive of me. The only time he does make actual eye contact is to degrade me in someway. The other day I was following an order of his, and he came to me to ask why I did it that specific way. I told him it was the way we always did it in this unit. He then raises his voice and says, and I quote, "You nurses are all the same -- a bunch of trained monkeys!" And then proceeds to grab the chart out of my hands that I was holding. I've tried being nice to him. One time he prescribed my patient some morphine who was in pain. As small talk, I said, "I wish I could just whip out a pad and prescribe my patients what they need!". While he was still writing, he said "Well, if you did more than go to a vocational school to be a nurse, maybe you could" -- and walked away! I was stunned. Im a RN-BSN and worked my butt off to be where I'm at as well as now enrolled in NP school. People like him infuriate me! :angryfire Sorry, I just had to let off some steam. As you can probably tell, it's been a long week working with him!!

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

The guy does sound like a jerk, but at the risk of being unpopular here, I think you set yourself up for his comments. "Because that's how we always do it" should never be a rationale. A true rationale might be something like "Research shows that there is less risk of infection when blah blah blah...." or some such. The comment about prescribing was snarky on your part and set you up for a snarky response on his part.

As I said, the doc does sound like an unpleasant person to have to work around, but with these kinds of folks you can't always blame them for an interaction going downhill. If you say something stupid, you're more likely to get a nasty response.

[SweetLemon]

Eh, I think he is compensating for something. Ask him about the size of his........feet. lmao

I had a resident be rude to me once. I sent her packing back to her unit (she was visiting another resident, gossiping, off of her floor) steamed as all heck.

I was working with the resident on my unit, getting a very difficult pt's meds in order. I had the pt. up on screen, my notebook in front of the computer and went through the meds with the resident so we knew what the pt would be on the next day for D/C. Once that was done, I would be able to write up the entire D/C paperwork for the day nurse. This pt. had to leave very early so we wanted accomodate them.

My resident asked me to go ask the pt. a question, so I did (yes, yes, I minimized my screen while away). When I came back, the new resident was in my seat, chatting about..........whatever she had done the last night she was off. She gave me a half hearted giggle and said something to the effect of "Oh, I took your seat. Sorry, wont be long. Were you doing something?"

****** me off. So I sat near them and waited five minutes. She didnt leave. So, I did what every traveler who isnt concerned with what a resident thinks....we are leaving in a few weeks anyway........would do.

I played dumb, like I had never worked in a teaching hospital and didnt know what a resident was. Proceeded like this:

"So, what is the proper term/title when addressing a resident? I cant call you doctor, your not a doctor yet. I dont think the real doctors would appreciate me calling a resident a doctor. What do people call you?"

She was annoyed as all living heck but tried to hide it. Told me the proper title was indeed "doctor". I acted surprised, then feigned embarassment over not knowing:

"Wow, I learned at a hospital that was not a teaching hospital so I didnt know. We had the big time doctors there, not residents. I'd hear them talking about "bothersome residents with their stupid questions" and stuff so I figured you werent called doctors. See, I've only dealt with real doctors before so I didnt know the correct title."

She stormed off the unit, red faced. I never saw her again. The resident I had been working with finished the orders to the D/C paperwork. To this day, I think she knew the truth about what happened. She acted a little annoyed with me, but kept laughing for no reason and was smiling from ear to ear. Even said as she was leaving "I cant get work done with her around, guess that wont be a problem on this unit anymore. I might have to make this my home base".

Never had the incident mentioned to me again, except by a student nurse who apparently didnt get the joke/jab. "I cant believe you said that, you should have asked me or someone when they werent around. That resident is a firehouse. Watch out".

Watch out indeed. The review I got from that place still today is the best review I have.

Very clever and a perfect way to get your point across :bowingpur

[diane227, LPN, RN]

Dear Ladytraveler, What a great story. Have you ever seen such childish behavior. What a jerk. So immature, so controlling. We had a doctor the other day tell the nurse not to call him any more about the patient's pain. So she wrote in into an order. He as soooo angry when he came in the next morning. "Your setting me up for liability" . Well if your concerned about that, don't give that order. Sometimes I feel like I am working at a day care center.

[abbaking]

It help to be a parent. As the father of temper tamtrum prone kids, you get an education and the ability to develop the "PARENT VOICE" (deep growl, stern eyes). I dont tolerate any antisocial behavior from my family, I sure as heck aint gonna take it from a "Resident" ....IMHO not a real MD. Until you can practice independently and write your own prescriptions, you are still a student- Shut up, cut the crap, and LISTEN! Most of the time, the RN's have more hands on education than the residents.

It also helps to be a guy, 6'3" and 230 pounds......either we settle it here on the floor with your attending and my manager, or we go outside in the parking lot.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

The one thing you need when having difficult residents are attending physicians to back you up. I had a resident giving me a hard time one night so I told the attending what the problem was and he called up the resident, who was in the OR at the time, and ripped him a big one. Also, you can't let these rude docs demean you. And I for one, am not one of those nurses who submit and say "yes, doctor." The other night for me was rough and I was giving a bolus to a patient that was hypotensive and the resident from the patient's primary team flipped out on me until I flipped out right back on him after he demanded I go take another blood pressure which I refused to do since I had take three BPs on the patient and they were low. At the same time, I was trying to deal with my other patient who was hypoxic with sats in the 70s and no breath sounds on the right side. That resident was taking care of that patient also so when he saw what I was dealing with, he shut up and he sure didn't show his face back on the unit the entire night.

No one talks to me like that and gets away with it. I don't know if you have to evaluate the residents after their rotation, but we do. I don't know if you know any of the attendings that round with the residents but if you do, you could always talk to them OR you could pull the resident aside and say "I do not appreciate your rude remarks. I don't know where you think I was educated but it was not at "little nurse school", don't you ever talk to me the way you did the other day. It will not be tolerated". And leave it at that.

I wish we got to evaluate the residents on a monthly basis. Seriously. We have had some doozies lately. Not always rude, but not the brightest.

[mskate]

Some of those doctor-to-be's are real creeps. You should see the sh** they write about nurses on here... http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=19

ugh!! i started reading that forum!!!!!!!!!!! I want to shake them!!! Esp for all of their "Just wait until I am an MD and I will get my revenge and all the stupid little nurses will learn!" ideas.... saying we all have inferiority complexes and then talking about "landing" nurses.

gah!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FLmomof5]

I would say "we always do it that way", I would have said "this is the method we were trained to use".

But aside from that, I would look him directly in the eye, smile and calmly say, "Did they teach a special class in Med school on how to be rude or were you just born that way?" Then walk away.

I also in a meeting (when I was a Satellite Operations Planner Analyst), a senior PA said something rude and inappropriate. I stood up, slammed my pad on the table, said,"I don't let my husband talk to me like that! I sure as he// won't take that from YOU!" and stormed out. One person thought I was out of line. However, no one ever treated me like that again....and for me....that is what mattered in an office that was 95% male.

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

:sofahider

Oh my, I wrote about the first resident clash that came to my mind earlier. A friend my wife and I still keep in contact with from PA reminded me of another clash that I used............uh.....my unique charisma to resolve.

The friends name is Theresa. We worked on the same unit as CNAs before she moved on to massage therapy school. While in PA, my wife became a loyal customer of hers (as much to just help her out as for the massages, she didnt do that sort of thing before, doesnt do them now). Theresa sent an email last night saying she had a bully of a client and wishes she could have let me lose on him. Whoa did that bring back the memories.

We were working one day and a very new resident was trying to.....mark their teritory. It was 0710, our shift begins at 0700 and we were doing vitals. Thats how the day starts for the CNAs on that unit, you do everyone's vitals to begin the shift. A resident who apparently had written orders that a certain pt. was to be OOB with meals was starting rounds and entered said pt's room. The pt. was asleep, in bed. Apparently he thought breakfast was on its way or something cause when Theresa walked by (it was her pt., but she was going to bypass the vitals at that moment to let the resident finish) he grabbed the vitals equip. off her and started barking at her that she didnt know what she was doing and needed to learn to follow orders "as they are written, not how we would like them to be." Really got in her face and insisted she get the pt. up the second he was done seeing her.

I didnt know about it, but was passing by the nurses station to drop off the first set of pt. vitals I had finished. When I got there, Theresa was at the nurses station crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me the story. So, this is how we handled it:

First, we situate ourselves just outside the room, very sure the resident can hear us, he is standing at the door with the chart.

Me: "He said WHAT to you? OMG, I'd have punched him in the mouth. Wonder if he'd have done the same if I were the aid for that pt.? Next time he starts that stuff, punch him square in the chops, as hard as you can. Dont worry about who sees it."

Theresa: "But I'll get fired", still crying.

Me: "Oh, dont worry about that. You have an advantage in this situation. We are CNAs, what do we have to lose? If there is a fight, we can have new jobs tommorow. He on the other hand has an evaluation to worry about. Probably would have to repeat the whole rotation.......pffft....getting into physical altercations while working isnt resume material."

Theresa: "I cant do that, it wont even hurt him anyway."

Me: "Oh, it'll hurt more than you know. Come get me if you cant get up the nerve, I'm not happy about my paycheck, I'm looking to take it out on someone anyway."

Theresa: "OK, I just dont want yelled at for nothing is all."

Resident stayed in the room at the door for a good half hour after we were done. Then he just, left the unit.

He never bullied Theresa again. I was, about a week later, "tutored" on assertiveness vs. aggressiveness by a charge nurse. To this day, Theresa and I debate if it was because of that or not. Of course, now, as an RN, I'm not so quick to call people out like that.

[All4Seasons]

Just goes to show you that medical school may confer an MD,but not classiness...what a moron. Can you just imagine what he likely has (or will) cuttingly remark to patients throughout his career... it boggles the mind. :icon_roll

As for the other winner...that'd be the day I'd allow any doctor to usurp the seat at which I was working. And that's inclusive of everyone - residents to staffmen.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

ugh!! i started reading that forum!!!!!!!!!!! I want to shake them!!! Esp for all of their "Just wait until I am an MD and I will get my revenge and all the stupid little nurses will learn!" ideas.... saying we all have inferiority complexes and then talking about "landing" nurses.

gah!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have yet to realize that it will be us "stupid little nurses" who stop them from killing someone one day. If they were nice to us they could learn a lot from us. Things work better when we work together.

[Vito Andolini]

Eh, I think he is compensating for something. Ask him about the size of his........feet. lmao

I had a resident be rude to me once. I sent her packing back to her unit (she was visiting another resident, gossiping, off of her floor) steamed as all heck.

I was working with the resident on my unit, getting a very difficult pt's meds in order. I had the pt. up on screen, my notebook in front of the computer and went through the meds with the resident so we knew what the pt would be on the next day for D/C. Once that was done, I would be able to write up the entire D/C paperwork for the day nurse. This pt. had to leave very early so we wanted accomodate them.

My resident asked me to go ask the pt. a question, so I did (yes, yes, I minimized my screen while away). When I came back, the new resident was in my seat, chatting about..........whatever she had done the last night she was off. She gave me a half hearted giggle and said something to the effect of "Oh, I took your seat. Sorry, wont be long. Were you doing something?"

****** me off. So I sat near them and waited five minutes. She didnt leave. So, I did what every traveler who isnt concerned with what a resident thinks....we are leaving in a few weeks anyway........would do.

I played dumb, like I had never worked in a teaching hospital and didnt know what a resident was. Proceeded like this:

"So, what is the proper term/title when addressing a resident? I cant call you doctor, your not a doctor yet. I dont think the real doctors would appreciate me calling a resident a doctor. What do people call you?"

She was annoyed as all living heck but tried to hide it. Told me the proper title was indeed "doctor". I acted surprised, then feigned embarassment over not knowing:

"Wow, I learned at a hospital that was not a teaching hospital so I didnt know. We had the big time doctors there, not residents. I'd hear them talking about "bothersome residents with their stupid questions" and stuff so I figured you werent called doctors. See, I've only dealt with real doctors before so I didnt know the correct title."

She stormed off the unit, red faced. I never saw her again. The resident I had been working with finished the orders to the D/C paperwork. To this day, I think she knew the truth about what happened. She acted a little annoyed with me, but kept laughing for no reason and was smiling from ear to ear. Even said as she was leaving "I cant get work done with her around, guess that wont be a problem on this unit anymore. I might have to make this my home base".

Never had the incident mentioned to me again, except by a student nurse who apparently didnt get the joke/jab. "I cant believe you said that, you should have asked me or someone when they werent around. That resident is a firehouse. Watch out".

Watch out indeed. The review I got from that place still today is the best review I have.

Erik, you schlmiel! :yeah:She was flirting, dude! And why not just ask her to move so you can finish your work!!!!

For the OP: I think you need to have a heart to heart chat with this guy and just lay it out for him.

Also, I think he might be severely sleep deprived, going through divorce or some other major problem, he might be failing his residency and be in trouble with the boss, whatever. He also might be bipolar or have a personality disorder.

If he doesn't respond to your courteous but specific approach, discuss him with the Chief Resident or the Dept. Chief. In any case, let him know specifically what it is that irks you, hurts you and how you'd prefer to be treated instead.

Uh, if you're Negro, you could take advantage of the "monkey" remark. But you don't have to. It just would add to the drama.

[Vito Andolini]

Honey, you need to sit him straight. You need to take him aside and tell him in no uncertain terms that he will no longer speak to you in that manner. You tell him that they only conversation you need to have is when it has to do with patient care, otherwise he is to stay away from you. If you threaten to report him then you are going to have to follow up and do it when he does this kind of crap. I assume that you are working at a large teaching hospital. I used to call the Chief of Staff or the physician who was the attending over the service they were on, right then and make a complaint. I have had to do this on many occasions back when I worked at a teaching hospital. I only had to do it a couple of times before they all got the message and stopped fooling with me. I had a derm resident come down to see a patient once who had a rash throughout her body and she was doing her exam with the patient completely naked out in the open. I came by and told her I was going to close the curtain for the patients privacy and for some reason she just jumped all over me. Well, I sat down and typed a letter to the doctor who was the chairman of the department of dermatology and he took care of her. My point in the letter was not the way she spoke to me. I just ignored that, I just did not want her treating those poor patients in such a disrespectful manner. I had a GYN resident once who refused to come down for a second time to see a patient that I knew had an ectopic who was bleeding out. She told me that she saw the patient and she did not have an ectopic. She refused and I told her that she had two choices, either she was coming down to the ER and taking this patient to surgery or she was going to let the patient die. I told her that if she let this patient die I was going to call the chairman of her department and ask him why she had been in her gyn residency for 5 years and she still did not know what she was doing. I sent the patient to the OR and she finally came up there. The patient was dying but they managed to get her bleeding under control. Of course, she had a ruptured ectopic. I called the chairman anyway and he apparently had some kind of talk to her because after that I could have called her for a hang nail and she would have come up to see the patient. I had one resident who was a total A---. He was always rude to everyone. We got into it one night and he just kept yelling at me, following me all around the ED. I told him that he better get up off of me and I went into the restroom to get away from him. He followed me into the restroom and just kept on. By then the chief resident came in I was HOT. I told him that he better get this guy away from me or I was going to flush his head down the toilet. When I have a problem with a physician I take care of it myself. If not, I email the chief of staff. We know each other well and he takes care of the problem.

That's the way to do it. Speak the truth. About patients dying and all, I mean.