The ER Doctor's Point Of View

smartinrn · Jul 12, 2012

I love the docs i work with. As long as you have your job done and things set up and ready so they can come in and do what they need to do they never harrass. Yes we all have bad days and snip but usually all is well in a few minutes. I've even heard one of the docs jump down other mds throats for getting attitude with his er nurses. Our docs have our backs because they know we have theirs.

FlyingScot, RN · Jul 12, 2012

As an ER nurse, I think that most doctors are good, hardworking and team players. I really appreciate doctors that include me in their plan of care rather than just assume that I'm psychic and know what they are thinking. It really irks me when you cannot write orders in a timely fashion and lie to the patient and tell them the nurse is being slow. You have 15 patients in your zone, I am responsible for the same 15 patients regardless of who is actually assigned to them. If something goes wrong, I am equally liable and more likely to be thrown under the bus. When I think a patient's life is truly in danger, then stop talking to your spouse on the phone and listen to me. As a physician you should be capable of addressing simple pt issues while you are in the room without lazily pawning them off on the nurse. If a patient askes for the head of the bed to be raised and you are right there I would appreciate you doing it rather than hunting me down and asking me to do it when I'm in the middle of something.Do not get mad at me when I ask you to go back into a patient's room after they are discharged because you turfed the notification that you aren't going to give them narcotics to me and now they are becoming abusive. Do not roll your eyes at me or grunt behind my back because you think I asked you a stupid question. Do not try to convince me that a pt is okay and just sleepy because you do not want to participate in an intubation at the end of your shift and miss your 5 year old's dance recital. Address me with the same respect that you expect from me and we will get along just fine! Here's the thing. You come onto a nurses forum, say one nice thing and them launch into a litany of complaints about us. This approach rarely turns out well and really doesn't garner much respect for you or your opinion. We know there are slugs who call themselves nurses but the vast majority of us match your opening description. You need to address those individuals who are doing the things for which you are complaining rather than painting the entire field of nursing with the same paint brush which is what you do when you post things like this on an open forum. Don't get me wrong. We really appreciate physician's opinions and their questions but you'll get a whole lot more sympathy if you change your approach. I'm sorry the relationships you have with the nurses at your facility are so difficult. It's not something I've experienced. Sure we annoy the heck out of each other at times but we have each other's backs and that makes for a very special working relationship that I would not trade for a million dollars!

Altra, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2012

Your points are all valid, OP. But depending on the culture and management expectations of the hospital where you work, please be mindful that the nurse may be expected to do just about anything short of standing on his/her head to make the patient/family happy, and that may include "badgering" you. Please also be mindful that some patients/families repeatedly ask to speak with the physician because they incorrectly assume that the nurse has no knowledge.

I'll give you an example. When a patient asks to see the physician, my standard answer is something like, "what questions do you have that maybe I can answer for you?" But at a hospital where I previously worked, I was counseled by the manager that such wording was "aggressive". Management culture varies dramatically from place to place.

Throughout my career the thing that I hear ED nurses say repeatedly is that one of the things they enjoy most about emergency nursing is the teamwork atmosphere. Here's hoping you have a better shift the next time you work. :)

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 12, 2012

Agree with flyingscot & altra. I also smell a troll. And if you are actually a doc, let me ask you how many times a nurse stopped you from killing a patient because you mixed names and orders?

ecerrn · Jul 12, 2012

First, I have respect for anyone that actually gets through Med school..second, since the advent of all the computor tracking, admin is constantly checking times...I've been in meetings where they actually tell you to push the docs by telling them when this and that is done, putting the chart in their face, and alot of other little 'tricks' to get the pt otd without even knowing what's going on. It also sounds like you got some gooey eye rns there and is it possible the male docs are telling them to set you up with the pelvics? In that case they should get all the impactions...the same thing happens to female RN like a male can't assist with a pelvic? Why can't they put in a cath when i cath male pt all the time? Don't get me wrong but there is still alot of prejudice floating around out there....I do remember a time when docs set policy, not admin, and somehow they are calling most of the shots all the time....er Dr take back your power! If a time delay is due to failure to get labs or an IV that is just incompetent. For some reason, there are nurses out there that think they can do a better job than the doc....I've seen it over and over, the grass is always greener...syndrome...and they are the ones that can't seem to get their own job done on time or make hideous mistakes...because they don't have the whole pic. I really do appreciate a doc who will grab a blanket for the patient occasionally though, or help me steer a stretcher, or even just let me know the plan so I can run interference for them...ESP the seekers. Of course it will be me who gets the two page complaint letter written in crayon that I didn't care and didn't give any narcotics for the awful pain and suffering they had while in the er. :-)

psu_213, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2012

I agree with the OP in almost all comments except for "the liability lies with me." Yes, it is true that the doctor assumes a large amount of liability but it is totally unfair to say they have all of it. If I make a med error, the liability lies with me....even if that error happened because I was distracted trying to make calls to the lab because the doctor was too impatient to wait for the lab or he/she was above making the call to the lab him/herself.

I have great respect for all the doctors I work with and I generally like them all. However, I have had isolated incidents with almost all of them where I felt they were being lazy, sitting on patients, etc.

Point is, it is a two way street. Doctors are working hard, nurses are working hard. Sometimes one does not meet the expectations of the others.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2012

The Dr.s I have worked with in the ED have been great and we have always worked as team. Sounds like you had a bad night.

I hope your next shift is better.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2012

One of the things I love about working in the ER is the close relationships you build with the doctors and mid-level providers. I RARELY feel anything other than that we are a team. There will always be doctors and nurses who are lazy and disrespectful and just not very good at their job, but in my experience they are the minority.

I did recently have a shift though where the ortho resident was called in from home for a reduction and arrived RIGHT as another patient decided to start circling the drain and required intubation and a ton of other emergency interventions before being whisked away to the ICU. This patient tied up two nurses, me (who was supposed to assist in the sedation for the reduction) as well as the patient's primary nurse (plus our charge nurse was in and out helping too). I appreciate that it sucks to come in from home to have to wait around, but the ortho resident decided that the best course of action was to hover around the super sick patient's bedside, ask us a few times if we were ready for his sedation when we were running to get more meds or supplies, drum his fingers and sigh loudly, just so we were aware that he was waiting and impatient. Talk about frustrating!

I work with some wonderful doctors and learn a lot from them. The few duds in the bunch don't color my feelings about doctors in general.

canned_bread · Jul 13, 2012

Umm... I have never seen ONE doctor get a patient a pillow or blanket, if the patient requests that they either ask or nurse, or if they ask a doctor then the doctor asks a nurse to get it!

The only time I have problems with a doctor is when the doctor continuously dismisses a patient's concerns, or if the doctor dismisses a nurses concerns.

I like and respect doctors that like and respect me, it's as simple as that.

Christy1019, ASN, RN · Jul 13, 2012

Agree with flyingscot & altra. I also smell a troll. And if you are actually a doc, let me ask you how many times a nurse stopped you from killing a patient because you mixed names and orders?

I've seen people say this a few times now, what the heck is a troll? I'm assuming its something computer generated vs human, but why would they post relevant topics vs spam ads?

Sent from my SPH-D700 using allnurses.com

LaughingRN · Jul 13, 2012

A troll is someone who goes on a forum or chat site and posts inflammatory items solely to encourage fights, anger and further inflammatory posts. A troll is not trying to start intellectual discourse or exchange of ideas, but is entertained by the ensuing insults that typically results from their posts.

Most trolls either dwell on controversial "hot" topic such as abortion, politics, religion and normally by posting in an inappropriate location.

Example: posting a thread titled "God doesn't exist" on a Christian site

OR

"Gay people should be sterilized" on a dating forum for the LGBT community.

So you can see the connection that can be made on a doctor coming to a nursing community.....