Years ago while working acute care psychiatry. A patient had a consult order for IM ( internal medicine) This consult doctor was the one of the best. He was always kind and respectful with our patients we all just loved him as did his patient.
He had rushed over to our unit, grabbed the patient's chart off to the pt's room. I saw him enter the patient's room and followed.
He asked all of the usual questions, it was when he started asking the usual questions about when was last menses and such I had to start holding my breathe.The patient answered all questions as best they could.
The doctor then began his physical examination of the patient. Within moments he asked me to step outside so we could discuss further care of the patient.
Once alone he said" why didn't you tell me she was a he? etc. etc." To which in between my laughing at this point I said " Doctor so and so, I assumed you read the history and physcial"
We both ended up laughing. Went into the black humor as a means of coping with what was potentially a very uncomfortable situation.
I could tell he was embarassed that he had not taken the time to read the H & P which he most often always did. I will say he went back into that room and continued to treat this patient with the up most respect.
Never a time that I think back on this don't I bust out laughing remembering " what the heck are you doing asking about menses and such, this is a guy who looks like female and not a pretty one at that"
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
Do pharmacists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, chaplains, dieticians, social workers, housekeepers, secretaries, occupational therapists, speech therapists, maintenance and all the other people we interact with in order to provide care to our patients get their own thread or is it only the almighty, Godlike physicians we are supposed to gush about? Just curious.....
I think as nurses our interactions with the doctors are often the most scary and intense, for WHATEVER reason that is.
Like it or not, doctors often ARE seen as being more or less than human, and sometimes it's of their own doing; meaning that they TRY to make themselves come across as superhuman, and better than the rest of us are.
It's really nice to read positive stories that only serve to remind us that they ARE human just like us. But anyway, stories about positive interactions with ANY staff members are welcome, as stated before. Especially respiratory therapists, as they always seem to have a little chip on their shoulder, in my experience.
My own most memorable story was the night that I had an infant, about two months old, with a diagnosis of fever of unknown origin. I had had a horrific evening so far and then, oh sweet wonder of wonders, I was going to get to help the pediatrician on call do a spinal tap on this baby! Wheeeeee!
So anyway, so the doc and I take the baby into the exam room. The doctor was very nice and very good about talking me through the procedure and being gentle. And, I had NEVER known until that day that you could just bend a baby RIGHT in half like that!
Well, the baby ended up getting sent to a bigger teaching hospital about 30 minutes from us. Later that night the ped called me and said "That baby had 30,000 (or SOME large number) white blood cells in his spinal fluid! We may have save a life tonight; good job!"
Like it or not, doctors often ARE seen as being more or less than human, and sometimes it's of their own doing; meaning that they TRY to make themselves come across as superhuman, and better than the rest of us are.
I know and we should know better. By constantly focusing on them, good or bad, we contribute to that. How often do we complain about how our contributions are ignored by patients, family members, the media in favor of the almighty physicians? OFTEN And yet, we're guilty of the same thing. It's perplexing.
It's really nice to read positive stories that only serve to remind us that they ARE human just like us. But anyway, stories about positive interactions with ANY staff members are welcome, as stated before.
Like I said, at least lpninflorida's post was entertaining. The thing is, we never hear about any of the specialties, good or bad. Perusing this board, if I didn't know better, I'd think that the only people who work in healthcare are RN, LPNs, aides and docs. Tsk, tsk.
Especially respiratory therapists, as they always seem to have a little chip on their shoulder, in my experience.
:)
You noticed that too?
I'm just kidding, my cousin was a RT before she ran off to be a teacher.
I am feeling like suzy sunshine today. Perhaps it as I am on vacation. Not having to worry about work for the moment not having to do any balancing acts. , Now back to happy thoughts, and looking forward to more postive postings and looking for someone else to start a positive threads for all the other people who work in health care.
this october will be the 9th anniversary of my cabg. the day of that very unexpected surgery went like this; i was at the local hospital to have my very first heart cath done. i was extremely nervous because i had a 9 month old micro-preemie at home that had just come off her home apnea monitor and o2.
the morning of my cath, my cardiologist came in to see me before taking me to the cath lab to re-assure me i would be fine.
during the cath, he very calmly told me that i had a blocked artery and would have to be transfered to another hopsital to have a stent put in and that if he didn't have to be on call , he would drive down and do it himself.
he helped puch me back to my room while transportation was being arranged. he came to stand at the side of my bed and saw the tears streaming down my face, reach over picked up the corner of the sheet and wiped my tears away saying that everything was going to be all right.
the doc stayed right there with me wiping away my tears unitl the emts arrived to take me 2.5 hrs away to another hospital.
i have since then worked at the hospital where i my heart cath was done and when i would see this doc, he would always stop and give me a hug and ask how i was and if i needed anything.
needless to say he has been my cardiologist for 9 years and i still share this story because never before have i seen another doctor do this.
yes there are nurses, respiratory therapist, house-keeping and many more healthcare people that have helped me along the years, but this one doc still out shines them all!
One of the neonatologists at my place got about a million cool points with me when I found out he once sat for well over an hour with a dying micropreemie and rocked him til he died because his parents couldn't/wouldn't. He didn't want that baby to die alone.
Nothing on a personal note really stands out at this point. Maybe after I think for a while....
Heh...I just thought of one. Our medical director is the best guy around. He's always on the ball, and he's always making sure that the nurses know that he respects them. Anywhoo....one day I took him to see a patient in the patient's home. He was getting all ready to go when the patient's daughter said "Wow, you're tall. Will you change that lightbulb for me?" She pointed to her modestlly high cathedral ceiling. The look on his face was priceless, but he didn't even bat an eyelash. He very calmly asked for a ladder, and he proceeded to change the light bulb.
Although I'm still a nursing student once when I was in clinical I was taking care of the patient who fall right before he was assigned to me.The doctor who came to assess him explained to me what was he doing to the patient and also answered all my question about bed sores,patients bruises etc.It was really cool that he took the time to explain to me all the medical stuff.
But of course there are plenty of stuck up,plain rude doctors or doctors who are quick and brief.
This is a story about a fourth year resident that I had worked with for about a year on the unit I work on. We get a lot of GYN post ops on our floor so the GYN residents now us well. One night I got a post op and i *just* knew something didn't feel right. Her vital signs were fine (not great, but not bad) but I just knew something wasn't right. The patient had been through a bunch of surgeries as well and could sense that something wasn't right. The resident came up to see the patient but thought nothing of the situation and left. I called her a few more times that night for boluses and whatnot as I just knew something wasn't right. Come to find out, about an hour after my shift, they did a cbd and saw that her crit was in the toilet so they had to rush her to the OR and removed 1.5 liters of blood/blood clot from her. When I came back that night I was fearful that the patient and her husband would be angry at me for this matter not being attended to in the 10 hours that I had her the night before but they were so nice and could see that I was doing all I could and checked in on her very, very often and kept track of her vital signs very closely.
BUT, also, that next night... the resident that I'd been talking to the night of this incident came to the nurses station in front of about six other nurses and CNAs to apologize to me for not listening to me when I knew that something just wasn't right. She said that she should have better assessed the patient and obtained a CBC at the least.
I can think of so many interactions with doctors and residents but this one sticks in my mind due to the resident (and not even a new one at that!) admitting that she had dropped the ball and should listen to the pateint and nurse better. her and i had a fantastic relationship during the remainder of her residency and i hope she is doing so, so well as a doctor!!:)
I don't have story near as neat as most of the other posters...
I was working as the manager of a group home and one my residents was hospitalized for pnuemonia. While I was visiting him, his doctor came in and assessed him. After the doctor was done with his assessment, he asked my resident (a gentleman with moderate MR/DD and limited communication skills) if he had any questions. He really listened and gave answers that my resident could understand.
The doctor as ked me if I had any questions, and as usual I did. The doctor commented I had some medical background and I told him I was an EMT. The doctor grinned at me, handed me his stethoscope and challenged me to find where the pnuemonia was localized.
I really could tell the doctor genuinely cared about his patient and enjoyed being a doctor, especially the educational aspects. A year in or so later, I read an article in the newspaper about this doctor doing some missionary work - I wasn't surprised.
Do pharmacists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, chaplains, dieticians, social workers, housekeepers, secretaries, occupational therapists, speech therapists, maintenance and all the other people we interact with in order to provide care to our patients get their own thread or is it only the almighty, Godlike physicians we are supposed to gush about? Just curious.....
Feel free to start your own thread regarding the good deeds of pharmacists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, chaplains, dieticians, social workers, housekeepers, secretaries, occupational therapists, speech therapists, maintenance and everyone else we interact with on a daily basis in our jobs.
I work nights so my interactions with the above is very limited. Small hospital, so no pharmacists, therapists, chaplains, dieticians, social workers, housekeepers, secretaries, or maintenance are working. The only ones that are there that you listed are respiratory therapists.
So, do you have a memorable story to tell about any of the above?
LOL, I love these stories. My favorite is from when I was first working in a rural hosptial ER. One of our docs was known to have a hot temper. I was in the "pelvic room" assisting with an exam. Doc was sitting on his stool, patients legs were in the dreaded stirups....and he wanted the overhead light pulled down closer. Now I'm short......and I kept trying to reach it, he was rapidly losing his cool......and I kept trying. He finally yelled at me to jump up and reach the d!@# thing. So, being a good nurse, did as I was told. Un fortunately the lamp came down fast. Right on top of his shiney bald head. "WHACK"........lol, left a mark. He jumped up cussin' and I, being nervous, giggled, the patient almost feel off the bed laughing. Now days, years later, my husband and I are personal friends with "doc" and laugh about this together occasionally.
NurseCard, ADN
2,850 Posts
I think as nurses our interactions with the doctors are often the most scary and intense, for WHATEVER reason that is.
Like it or not, doctors often ARE seen as being more or less than human, and sometimes it's of their own doing; meaning that they TRY to make themselves come across as superhuman, and better than the rest of us are.
It's really nice to read positive stories that only serve to remind us that they ARE human just like us. But anyway, stories about positive interactions with ANY staff members are welcome, as stated before. Especially respiratory therapists, as they always seem to have a little chip on their shoulder, in my experience.
My own most memorable story was the night that I had an infant, about two months old, with a diagnosis of fever of unknown origin. I had had a horrific evening so far and then, oh sweet wonder of wonders, I was going to get to help the pediatrician on call do a spinal tap on this baby! Wheeeeee!
So anyway, so the doc and I take the baby into the exam room. The doctor was very nice and very good about talking me through the procedure and being gentle. And, I had NEVER known until that day that you could just bend a baby RIGHT in half like that!
Well, the baby ended up getting sent to a bigger teaching hospital about 30 minutes from us. Later that night the ped called me and said "That baby had 30,000 (or SOME large number) white blood cells in his spinal fluid! We may have save a life tonight; good job!"
:)