I filed a complaint about two respiratory therapists and a doctor who came to visit my ICU patient and were dressed unprofessionally. One therapist was wearing scrubs with the pants too low and the shirt too high, leaving his red boxers visible. The other RT had on street clothes and a lab coat (which he only put on after I asked him who he was.) The on call surgeon came in wearing flip flops, khaki shorts, and a white t-shirt. He didn't have a lab coat, name tag, or stethoscope or any other item identifying him a a medical professional. I know him from another hospital, or I would have been asking him the same "who are you" question when he waltzed into my pt's room and started pulling back blankets. I told all this to our charge nurse, who naturally was upset at the RT's and left a message for our unit manager. When I got to the doctor part, she said that they play by a different set of rules and they can do whatever they want.
It's a rhetorical question, but why is it that MD's are not held to the same accountability the rest of us are? He still has a responsibility to my patient to look presentable, whether he's a surgeon or not. How hard would it have been for him to throw on a lab coat (at the very least) on his way in the door? There are so many instances where doctors can get away with stuff that we "grunts" never could. If I talked to doctors the way they have talked to me, I'd be fired. If I was as abrupt and rough with patients as I've seen some doctors be, I'd be written up. When are we going to hold our doctors accountable for their actions?
