When physician's act up/out

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So what do you all think is the best way to deal with a doc who starts up with a negative attitude and starts yelling of he doesn't get what he want's? DO you walk away. Do you say "I will not put up with you bad mouthing the nurses..." or what? We had a surgeon come in and start demanding things of us(which we had nothing tho do with and were unaware of) and started telling us how difficult we were and we were just being this way on purpose(yada yada)... No matter what we said we couldn't placate him so we just let him rant and called our manager(while he continued to rant at the air since we all walked away from him). Now this guy has been an A-sole but we never met him before so we had no clue. I am sick of these guys pulling this garbage so I walked away. There was no patient present yet by the way. He acted like we were obstructing justice or something.

After our manager(a male) talked to him I heard he was sweet as pie to my co-worker(I always miss this stuff)

I saw him a few years later when he was rounding at the hospital & he says..."oh, you're still a nurse?" I could only respond with, "oh, you're still a psychotic a**hole?" Professional on my part, god no, but it felt good to say. I saw him again, 2 months ago.... He actually stopped his conversation to say hi to me & ask how I was. Guess he got those meds adjusted after all....

Reality therapy in action. How refreshing! :chuckle

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TracyB, I might have walked over to the phone, dialed 911, and had the police called for violence. See how he likes having that written up in the paper!!!!!

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I have a plan of action that I always use when I get a physician irrationally ranting and raving over nothing...

I cut them off and say, "Look, I have to get back to my patients, the Manager's office is over there"...pointing. And walk off. Love to send these raving idiots to her...she is such a piece of work herself... Double whammy! :chuckle

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Being a male nurse, I have never had that experience. I have however come to the assistance of my fellow nurses when the less than professional physicians throw tantrums. I've even been asked on several occasions to be the nurse to call Dr. @*%&$@!! at 3 AM for orders, primarily because he won't act like a jerk to me. I feel the most effective way to deal with these immature Dr.'s is to matter of factly tell them in a calm manner that you are not going to be addressed in that manner, and when they can speak to you in a professional manner you will be happy to help them out.

There is no reason to treat anyone that way. I'm sorry that it happened. The "code orange" is quite an ingenious way of getting his attention, though :)

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Specializes in LDRP.

i believe i read in teh most recent issue of the American Journal of Nursing (which of course, b/c i am talking about it, i can't find it to reference!!!) an article about nurse friendly hospitals. one, which was in cali i believe, mentioned that if a doctor gets hateful with the nurses a few times he'll have his priveledges suspended.

love, rose

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I'm in OB at a teaching hospital so am generally regarded as a good resource for residents since I've been here seven years. Occasionally have the med student or resident who doesn't understand their rank in the scheme of things. I am usually able to defuse whatever comes along, but when I can't, I defer to a staff doc who I've made very good friends with. I think the key is to cultivate colleagues who have power of one sort or another, who can back you up when that is needed. We need to demand more interaction with the docs and more education for them as to what we do. I think it would also be a good idea to educate nurses about what docs do. The more we know about each other the better we will get along, and the better patient care we will deliver...and that is the main thing, after all.

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Hi everyone!!

I'm someone who has recently made the switch from Pre-Med to Nursing. Once I saw how little patient care is involved in being an MD, I'd much rather do nursing.

One of the sites I had been visiting recently is www.studentdoctor.net. Last night, I saw so many "nurses are trained monkeys" and "nurses are our worker ants--i let them run around and scuttle, while i play golf and pick out my phat car," and "nurses know their places and i won't even let them step in the physician's lounge even if it's to pour my coffee." things of that type it made me sick (This was mainly in the Anesthesia forum). :angryfire :uhoh3:

How do you guys put up with that, and ARE we expected just to take that in the workplace?

Sorry, I know this is a touchy topic, but I've been so excited about the switch, and finally felt that I have made the right decision for once, but if the majority of doctors are like that, I'm not sure I can survive!!

Thanks for any input!! Have a great Sunday!

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Specializes in ICU, ED, Transport, Home Care, Mgmnt.
Hi everyone!!

I'm someone who has recently made the switch from Pre-Med to Nursing. Once I saw how little patient care is involved in being an MD, I'd much rather do nursing.

One of the sites I had been visiting recently is www.studentdoctor.net. Last night, I saw so many "nurses are trained monkeys" and "nurses are our worker ants--i let them run around and scuttle, while i play golf and pick out my phat car," and "nurses know their places and i won't even let them step in the physician's lounge even if it's to pour my coffee." things of that type it made me sick (This was mainly in the Anesthesia forum). :angryfire :uhoh3:

How do you guys put up with that, and ARE we expected just to take that in the workplace?

Sorry, I know this is a touchy topic, but I've been so excited about the switch, and finally felt that I have made the right decision for once, but if the majority of doctors are like that, I'm not sure I can survive!!

Thanks for any input!! Have a great Sunday!

Welcome aboard Peachy 720, we need nurses who want to do patient care. :p I once thought about Med school, figured I would do a better job than some of the docs I was working with, then I figured out I like spending time with my patients. You can't spend much time with them if your a doc. I'll havae to check out the student doc forum, seems like they have a lot to learn. For you others who are dealing frequently with these jerks, does the term"HOSTILE WORK ENVIORNMENT" mean any thing to you?? Check and see if your hospital has a compliance officer you can complain to or go to your HR office and file a complaint. Your supervisors should deal with these problem doctors. Personally I won't use a doctor who acts out like that, if he/she is having a hissy fit then they aren't concentrating on my medical needs. They are a liability for the facilities that tolerate that behavior. :angryfire

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.
if the flogging is not too bad i will just shut up and take it.................................

not on my life would i ever let a doc get away with mistreating me...as a nurse or as a patient! :nono:

act like a donkey, get kicked like a donkey as i see it! :rolleyes:

i've dealt with some rude and hostile docs before, but i always stand my ground with them. they must be aware of me as a person first...nurse second. disrespect does not birth respect, and i am their own worst nightmare if they think they can belittle me, yell at me, or any other hostile behavior they may think about dishing out. :stone

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Shar

If this medic behaved like that here in UK he would be done for bullying. No one should tolerate that sort of behaviour. :angryfire

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Shar

If this medic behaved like that here in UK he would be done for bullying. No one should tolerate that sort of behaviour. :angryfire

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Touche TracyB! Awesome post!

I think the code orange is tooooo funny... I used to work for a office doc that was having a hissy fit b/c "you nurses didn't tell me how bad this pt was wheezing." After we had been trying to get him off the phone (talking golf with one of his buddies ....so important) I wrote on a piece of paper with black marker, pt in rm 4 needs you NOW". He slammed the door in my face. The other doc came back from lunch & treated the pt. When doc # 2 went to tell doc #1 he just took care of his pt, the real rage started.... we were all B&^(#es & didn't know wtf we were doing, so I opened my mouth & said, if you would have gotten off the phone, you would have seen how bad off this pt was. He grabbed my hand, got in my face & dared me to say that again, so I politely told him to take his F*$&* hand off me, & said it again. He did let go of my hand & proceeded to throw a chart at me. I told him I expected that behavior from 2 yr old & not a board certified MD who had been practicing 20 years. I picked up the chart & told him that I would not tolerate that behavior from him & if he ever threw another chart at me, I would shove it up his a**, gave my 2 week notice right then. He ignored me for a few days & then begged me not to quit. His partner finally asked me on my last day why I was leaving, also begged me not to quit. I told him when his partner got some help readjusting his meds for his bipolar disorder, I would stay. His jaw dropped & he asked me how I knew.... I was like Doc, isn't it obvious??? I saw him a few years later when he was rounding at the hospital & he says..."oh, you're still a nurse?" I could only respond with, "oh, you're still a psychotic a**hole?" Professional on my part, god no, but it felt good to say. I saw him again, 2 months ago.... He actually stopped his conversation to say hi to me & ask how I was. Guess he got those meds adjusted after all....
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