The dumbest things you've heard from a provider

Nurses Relations

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The other afternoon an OB resident came by to check in with a patient, the OB doc seemed very perplexed as to why the patient was crying. "I don't know why she would be crying, that seems strange..."

Because postpartum women NEVER cry. THERE'S NO CRYING IN CHILDBIRTH RECOVERY!!

So what are some of the things a provider has said that just make you wonder?

Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

Since we're on a roll here- this is more of what the resident did, versus said. Had a 40 something year old Somali woman who had just had a c/s and was complaining of chest pain. Young, squeaky new male resident and the attending (a sharp, no nonsense young woman, of course) show up. We have the interpreter on the skype-type interpreter line, it's a male interpreter and if you know about Somali culture you know most of the population are Muslim, and most of the women are very modest and private. So this dweeb of a doctor comes in, faces the interpreter and begins talking to the interpreter as though the lady (and a bunch of her female family) aren't even there. Asking the questions to the interpreter, with his back to the poor woman. He then turns and proceeds to unbutton the snaps from her gown, pulls down the collar of her gown exposing her breasts and starts touching her chest all over: "does it hurt here? How about here?" I'm just looking at the ground, feeling horrible for all parties involved- you could clearly tell (unless you were young doctor clueless and his boss) that the women in the room including the patient were mortified- and he CONTINUES to just jabber away to the interpreter "does she have any dyspnea, is she tachy? Does she know she got a few liters of fluid in the OR and she had some pulmonary edema?" Using just nothing but a string of fluent medical speak to talk to a patient through an interpreter who at this point is looking like he'd rather be having a root canal than be privy to this spectacle!

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Grandma's IV went bad last night and had to be restarted. The nurse wouldn't attempt a restart and called the IV team. Grandma was going to OR. Never did the nurse once attempt to restart. She said "Oh I guess we don't have the IV team tonight. They can restart it in the OR." Really sending a pt to pre op without and IV? It isn't like she has bad veins or is a hard start.

There is one hospital in my city that the IVs are all started in the OR by the anaesthesialogist.

It just depends on the circumstances. If she didn't need the fluids, no harm no foul. I'd rather have my line started by an expert than someone who might take 2 or more tries.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

She did need the fluids. She was NPO and on a colon prep. I was tempted to start it, but I know it is a no no to do that. I work somewhere where I am the IV team LOL as rapid response. There is no promise the IV nurse would get it on the first try either.

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Specializes in Peds ED, Peds Stem Cell Transplant, Peds.

When I first moved to my area and was trying trying to find a pediatrician (My experience is that I have been a peds nurse for 5 years including working in a PEDS ER level 1 trauma center and PICU).

1 Pediatrician scolded me about giving motrin, 10/kg/ q6-8h to my 6 year old daughter, because it will cause her to go into kidney failure. (My daughter normally healthy).

2. Took my daughter into his partner for a spider bite on her toe (you could see the bite marks, toe was purple, and swollen, and 9 years later still purple). The doctor informed there was no spiders in January (I live by a wooded area that is a national and state park) and the purple and swelling was due to her shoes being too tight. I had to work the next 3 shifts and by the time I got her back in to her regular doctor she could barely walk, due to the cellulitis.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Sweet but somewhat befuddled FP doc who'd been seeing walk-in patients between appointments to very prim lady with scheduled pelvic pap and breast exam, "What happened? Do you know?"

Different doc same place while doing pelvic "It looks like a cottage cheese factory in there."

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
She did need the fluids. She was NPO and on a colon prep. I was tempted to start it, but I know it is a no no to do that. I work somewhere where I am the IV team LOL as rapid response. There is no promise the IV nurse would get it on the first try either.

It could also just be the nurse didn't know how. I have worked many places that because they have IV teams floor nurse's don't really get much experience with IV's and so they would rather not stick you.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

I was working psych when a fresh new resident came after I paged him about a patient who had been having uncontrolled episodes of vomiting and diarrhea that had simply gone on too long. I had asked him to come because he wasn't understanding why I had paged him. I was concerned about severe dehydration beyond what Pedialyte could solve.

several patients (and I) had recently had a wicked GI tract bug and I was concerned that he might have it.

So in walks young Marcus Welby Jr. who spoke with the patient for all of two (or so) minutes, then said to me, "He seems oriented to time and place to me.":arghh: "Uh... That isn't why I called you. He's very severely dehydrated from having the RUNS and PUKING nonstop for hours!"

Says Welby Jr. "But this is a PSYCH hospital!":specs:

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Patient in triage complaining of contractions, and since the doc is standing there,.nurse fills him in on the pertinent details as he was going to perform the vag exam. He is trying to figure out who the patient is through the nurses explanation (it is his patient after all) to no avail.

Goes in to the room and as the patient spreads her legs in preparation he says "OHhh! Now I remember you!"

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New doc: Place SCDs (sequential compression device- wrapped on lower legs that squeeze and promote circulation to prevent DVTs). Nurse: Are you sure? Doc: Yes- we don't want him to get a blood clot in his legs. Nurse: Come here. > takes doc into room, removes covers from end of bed to reveal the bilateral AKA of the patient he had just done an H&P on. Doc: please don't tell anyone. Nurse: Ha! (We love this doc now!)

Another doc: MRI STAT! Nurse: Are you sure you want to do that? Doc: Yes! We need an MRI right NOW! Nurse: But doc- Doc: Stop arguing. Nurse: OK then you can explain to the patient's family why his pacemaker got ripped out of his chest during the MRI you ordered. Doc (very quiet). Cancel the MRI.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.
It could also just be the nurse didn't know how. I have worked many places that because they have IV teams floor nurse's don't really get much experience with IV's and so they would rather not stick you.

When I worked in the same facility before we had to try before we called the IV team. I can't understand not wanting to be able to get an IV, or not trying so if in an emergency you could get an IV.

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Specializes in ICU.

When I worked in the same facility before we had to try before we called the IV team. I can't understand not wanting to be able to get an IV, or not trying so if in an emergency you could get an IV.

My first hospital didn't allow nurses to start IVs- so only the older nurses who had been there forever were even trained in it. I think they said it was an infection control issue (which makes a whole lotta sense, right? Bc who was maintaining these IVs, anyway?: Us!)

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One was from my own provider and it really ticked me off. It was before I was in nursing school. I had a sharp pain for about 5 minutes and then light bleeding for about 30 days but I hadn't had sex in 8 months. She insisted I could be pregnant and therefore needed a pregnancy test before she would prescribe me birth control that I had been on for ages before due to pain and heavy bleeding related to my periods.

I switched to the other NP and I've had no issues. My mom decided to try the NP because she was jealous of how quickly I can be seen and unfortunately didn't let me know otherwise I would have told her to make sure she got the NP I liked. She got the other one and my mom was looking up other doctor offices to switch to because she was so angry because of the first NP.

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