Ok, I am a nursing student in an RN program and we are currently on rounds at a local hospital. I am also the daughter of a physician and RN, who was taught from a very young age to speak up about things, in a professional manner.
Scenario in point, I was on rounds at the hospital and we were at the nurses station setting up meds and a conversation is starting between 2 doctors who involve us in the conversation. My senior nurse instructor is standing with us doing the meds and hears the whole thing transpire.
Doc 1 says, "Nurses around here have it easy." (my ears burning, mouth is shut)
Doc 2 says, "Yeah, I don't know why they don't prioritize better. If they did they would not have so many complaints about so many things and tasks would be completed." (mouth still shut, face red, glaring at my instructor who is giving me the "PLEASE don't say anything or I will kill you look.")
Doc 1 says, "I should come down here and do my own rounds." (I laughed out loud thus involving myself into a now volatile situation)
Doc 2 turns and says, "Young lady are you alright" (now I could take the moral low road and just lie and say I was talking to my friend) Not me, LOL.
Nursing student (me) says, "I heard your conversation and was little surprised is all." (Nursing instructor is now bright red and praying I am not going to say what she already knows I am)
Doc 1 says, "Oh, what about our private conversation was surprising"
Nursing student says, "My dad went to med school and is a physician and he didn't tell me they had nurse training while they were there" (Nursing instructor slaps her forehead, blinks 400 times, and runs off to find a body bag for me)
Doc 2 chokes then says, "Well I went to medical school and I can surely do any nurses job. Besides you're a student you can't possible know things as of yet.
Doc 1 is standing with his mouth gaping open, speechless.
Nursing student says, "I am sure these nurses would appreciate some assistance. BTW I have to give meds out, would you like to help"
Thus resulting in both of them shaking their heads and walking away.
Now, I realize this conversation could have, and probably should have went a different direction, but it gives me sunburn on my ass when I hear doctors say things like that. Of all places, in FRONT OF the nurses station. That is adding insult to injury. Most of those nurses standing around weren't going to say anything, for obvious reasons, but the idea that they have to put up with that nonsense is enraging to me. I am a foolish nursing student, but I don't believe what those docs did was right, professional, or even tolerable. The fact they BELIEVE the things they were saying was a laugh.
Anyways, do you all have to listen to Docs speak that way on a regular basis?
Well done! Those docs deserved an earful for degrading nurses in the nursing station. Most nurses i know unfortunately would have done nothing and stewed about the incident all day instead of speaking up about it.
[Learn to be subordinate, pleasant and as less visible as possible.
I'm not being sarcastic - just some survival tips for the future.]
That sort of comment annoys me. No wonder docs get away with bad behavior if nurses believe they are 'subordinate' and behave like good little slaves. The nurses who have my respect (and prob the docs as well) are those who are professional but speak out and make themselves a bit more visible.
She actually did pick her battle wisely. I think her approach was perfect for the situation; they were looking to goad, anger and humiliate the nursing staff. A 'professional' aka serious discussion or complaint about their attitude would have done nothing more than validate their asinine comments and also given them exactly what they were looking for... with her sarcastic humor and somewhat flippant comments, she showed them for the fools they are and let them know they weren't getting under her skin.
What would you have done? Nothing, but steam away the rest of the shift, o be a matyr to their earshot degrading conversation about nurses whom you are a sister nurse.......
personally i kind of agree with Sharon H. I am a nursing student. I currently am a liaison at a company and i manage an attorney network. i dont catch two much flack from my firm's being that i am the person who hires and fires them for my company, but i do hear several very nasty things from my boss, our company's vice president. two wrongs dont make a right and i am at work to work. most of the people who enounter him thinks he is an idiot, so why do i have to respond when he says things that just makes himself look worse. i ignore people like that becuase they want you to get rowled up or they wouldn't say or do the things they say/do.
in this case i think the student probably made them feel even more justified in what they said by what she did and said. yes they were being pompous, but she gave them the satisfaction of getting a rise out of what they probably consider to be "one of their subordinates." you cant win every battle and some are just better to let go of. i have learned that the hardway throughout life. trust me, what goes around comes around, so you dont have to waste your time making a point to an ignorant person who is not going to care about your opinion anyway...
1. I was addressing SharonH as to here prioritizing skills and how that comment might sit with her or not....that's why I asked her, a floor nurse.
2. Your duties as it seems to appear written in your post is that you would rather get hammered on or let that happen to your employees or in your office to anyone and become embarrassed by your boss(es) every day rather than speak up. This is your perogative. Respect is a two way street. I am not intimidated to address injustices and rudeness that is directed at me or my professsional duties.
3. Either way, two differnt prioritizing techniques needed to get the job done. It can be done with respect or intimidation.
4.It is your opinion to react to this situation, but please use my quote in the context it was delivered. I understand SharonH's perspective and respect it; however I was addressing a specific comment made to her about prioritizing and how it would personally effect her work or affect her.:trout:
Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.
Personally, I think the OP is a pretty sharp cookie and as long as she keeps her collected wits she is going to do quite well in this profession. I don't think she was unprofessional, as this was not a verbal attack, she just addressed their ignorant butts and moved on. We need a whole lot more nurses like her. Maybe then the tide will turn for arrogant, disrespectful MDs.
If life has a lesson in store for her then she will learn it. It just seems that a lot of people are making this out to be bigger than what it really is. Predicting all sorts of dire consequences because she dared to open her mouth to a couple of doctors.
I can't even imagine them reporting her, what are they going to say.
"We were talking about how lazy and stupid we think nurses are and this student had the nerve to laugh and then we were stupid enough to ask her why she was laughing and then she said....blah, blah, blah"
The whole thing would sound so juvenile and immature they would end up looking like dummies.
What would you have done? Nothing, but steam away the rest of the shift, o be a matyr to their earshot degrading conversation about nurses whom you are a sister nurse.......
None of the above. I would have simply walked away, not because I'm a martyr but because I would consider myself above responding to such a petty, immature "discussion" especially if they did not address me directly.
I would love to see some middle ground in these never-ending discussions on this forum about physicians. On the one hand, we had a new nurse crying because a doc she thought was her friend gave her her "first butt-chewing" and on the other hand, we have nursing students engaging a couple of morons who had nothing better to do other than to try to bait the nurses.
Be an advocate for yourself, be professional and do not allow others to denigrate you or our profession. This does not mean you have to walk around with a chip on your shoulder, defensive and ready to slay the first person who says something you don't like. Make it count. That was my only point.
Maybe it's time to change "the nursing culture". Change is never easy.
Step 1: Get over this obsession with physicians.
By constantly talking about them, analyzing them, scrutinizing them, worrying about them, we give them so much power! For goodness sake, it seems like every day there is a topic on this board about physicians: what they think, what they say, how they act, how they dress, their home lives, how they raise their children, how they treat their wives, how they treat nurses, can we date them, can we marry them, do they approve of us, do they accept us, if they don't do it, believe it in it or accept it then why should we and on and on and on.
You would think they are the only discipline we work with. On an individual basis, they are really not that fascinating. The only other discipline that seem to get as much attention are the poor nursing assistants.
Giving them so much attention be it positive or negative gives them so much power. Yes, they have power.....but not nearly as much as so many of you think.
If you want to change nursing culture, then start by NOT defining yourselves by the way physicians perceive us.
It would never have flown at my workplace. Administration actively recruits Docs but nurses are standing in line to work there. Anyone who tries to stand up for themselves or their profession to a Doc is gone. End of story.
There is definitely a pecking order in healthcare. If 2 nurses had this discussion and a tech chimed in the nurses would have a fit. 2 CNA's would crucify a housekeeping staff member who dared to challenge them.
Every workplace has a heirarchy. Lawyers are subordinate to judges, teachers are subordinate to principals and principals to superintendents, police are subordinate to detectives.
Having said that, NO ONE should be disrespected for their work no matter how much higher on the totem pole the other party is.
Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.
SharonH,
I don't think anyone on this board is obsessed with doctors. I have worked with MANY wonderful docs down through the years (probably 80% are). The other 20% need a reality check. The opinions of we nurses who seem to be "negative" are only reserved for the jerks who qualify.
Scrubby
1,313 Posts
Well done! Those docs deserved an earful for degrading nurses in the nursing station. Most nurses i know unfortunately would have done nothing and stewed about the incident all day instead of speaking up about it.
[Learn to be subordinate, pleasant and as less visible as possible.
I'm not being sarcastic - just some survival tips for the future.]
That sort of comment annoys me. No wonder docs get away with bad behavior if nurses believe they are 'subordinate' and behave like good little slaves. The nurses who have my respect (and prob the docs as well) are those who are professional but speak out and make themselves a bit more visible.