Warning: Rant enclosed

[JZ_RN]

I want to write self-righteous doctors prescriptions for "get over yourself" ATC AND PRN. If you're all so smart and better than the nurses who actually do everything for the patients except write the orders (which, 99% of the time I could do this without your input were it legal, come on NP...) please explain to me why I have to spend 20 minutes clarifying with radiology that you mean you want xrays on a right arm, not a left arm when the fracture is on the right, because you can't read the history or look at the patient to see the cast on the right side... or why you take a patient, whose allergies you know and have a list of, and give them a medication they are allergic to and then get mad when I have to waste my own time to call to have it changed. a good doctor will ask me what is going on with my patient and usually gives the orders I ask for. Just saying, you're not above anyone else, and maybe try not to make stupid mistakes if you're gonna act like a pompous donkey at least. Have some respect for the people who actually know what's going on with your patients, 'cause I could easily let your mistakes slide, and your paycheck would be a better one to sue for.

[minnymi]

yeeeah....some people suck...some don't. that's how it goes.

when i started out working in a hospital as a student, i thought pretty much all the nurses treated me like crap. most of them did.

now it's the doctors who treat the nurses like crap (i dont have this problem a lot personally, but i have before).

people become complacent in their jobs. they feel entitled that they are in the top position and if there is something they don't want to do then they shouldn't have to do it. afterall, someone else is getting paid to do that stuff. they put in the time, money, etc. to get the education and therefore there are certain things they shouldn't have to do.

i've come across just as many rants about nurses treating aides/students like crap as there are doctors treating nurses like crap. and you know housekeeping and clerical (even lower paid) thinks nobody has any respect for them.

i think SOME of it (not all of it, but some of it) is a "walk a mile in my shoes" thing. as a student nurse the housekeepers sometimes would vent to me about all the plastic pieces on the floor that cover clamps and flushes, etc. it would sound like this:

"why can't people throw these in the trash? i guess they think i'm just going to be sweeping anyway and that's my job so they'll just throw it on the floor!"

my response: "yeah, i don't get it either. some people are just lazy! the trash is right there...it's not that hard."

okay....that was BEFORE i actually started needing to use five hands to open all the packages to flush/inject/etc and keep it all sterile. i would hear a "clank" and oops....it's under the bed, under a chair, somewhere i can't even see or reach. granted, some people just leave the packaging and all lying around on the bed, bedside table, counters, etc. and there's no good reason for it. just like i'm sure there's no good reason for some of the things the doctors say/do. but i bet if we were to become doctors even if we're the nicest, most considerate people in the world....SOME of the things that annoy us today would make sense. just my opinion after being at the bottom of most every food chain and at the top of a few.

[JZ_RN]

I can relate to that, some nurses treat aides like crap, etc. The point is that any decent person shows respect for their coworkers and doesn't treat people like they're idiots just because they aren't MDs.

[minnymi]

well...they don't see you as a "co-worker." they see themselves as your superior and in a way they are. that doesn't mean they're better than you or anyone else, but some people behave like they are when they're in any position of power over someone else. it's not just doctors, and it's not all doctors.

[OnlybyHisgraceRN, ASN, RN]

Preach on! Just like yesterday I requested fa bolus for my patient that is clearly in septic shock after receiving surgery and prbc. Dr. do-little didn't believe me until pressure dropped to 60/30.... I requested fluids when I first noticed the drop in arterial BP.... along with increasing pressors.... After being a patient advocate, BP and MAP went up.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Gotta love know-it-alls of any profession, but docs, given their authority and responsibility, seem to be the worst. The military has its benefits, though. My OIC (nurse manager equivalent) is the same rank as the attending physicians. Interns are either a rank above or at the same rank as I am. Nothing like a direct order to get the ball rolling in the right direction!

[tewdles, RN]

This is part of the reason that I love hospice...the physician is a member of the team, not the leader.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

These are the kind of docs where it comes in handy being a smart donkey. :)

[JZ_RN]

minnymi- They are not superior. They have a higher position than me but don't mistake that for "superior." Maybe, "egotistical" and "misinformed" as to what's really going on but don't think for one second they are "superior" as I'm an autonomous professional. I just can't write my own orders. eventually though. I respect them as people and what they do, their education and skills but they don't get to treat me like an underling or be rude to me.