Why do some Medstudents love to belittle nurses?

FLmomof5 · Apr 6, 2011

Put laxative in their coffee, that should get their head out of their you know what. Plus they will be in the bathroom all day and not bothering you.
When I was in the Navy we had a really obnoxious Chief. So the guys who worked for him put some type of vanilla flavored workout supplement/weight gainer in his vanilla coffee creamer for 7 months while on deployment. The Chief could not figure out why he kept gaining weight and had to buy new uniforms. He ended up failing weigh in for the physical fitness assessment.

Wow. So he was a jerk and it was OK to destroy his career?

Overland1, RN · Apr 6, 2011

I have been belittled by medstudents numerous times. the whole "You don't know as much" or "You didn't go to school as long as a doc" always comes up. what is is that they have to prove to me? why do they do this?
Where is the respect???
This is a direct quote i received from a medical student
"Ha! Most of you ***s are just registered nurses... which is what most people who can't aspire to anything greater or just can't handle medical school... I may be a student now and you might think high and mighty because youre registered... but one day i'll probably be your boss... so suck it..."
how do i deal with this? i just ignore it, but it sooo unprofessional
I am not in any way talking badly about medical students, i am just wondering if any of you have had this kind of behavior happen, over heard it, etc. and how i should handle this. please no rude responses.

Some will do this for one simple reason: because they can. Some hospitals do little, if anything to discourage such misbehavior, while others will not tolerate it. Those who belittle or denigrate others are usually folks who have some glaring inadequacies of some sort, and they are trying to cover them with arrogance.

I have had to discuss such behavior with a few of these misguided souls - I first offer them a gracious way out (i.e., suggesting a prompt and sincere apology to the recipient of their misdeed). If this does not work, it goes through higher channels.

RNSunny · Apr 6, 2011

Hello all,

Hmm...just wondering if that was a made up conversation? It is sort of strange that a medical student would say like that in an obvious manner, unless you both were throwing jokes at each other.

I remember the times, when I was on clinicals as a student nurse, that the medstudents seem to have found new friends in Nurses. I see them asking questions if they have done the things right. There was no time to exchange hard feelings between nurse and students.

Anyway, if that conversation really occured to you, then I would say it is not the kind of attitude that was expected of the med student, even if s/he had a completely bad day in the office.

However, if that kind of thing ever happened to me, I would certainly report him to his supervisor.

Catch22Personified · Apr 6, 2011

Sounds like the crap that goes on the student doctor forums, a lot of the people that aren't even doctors talk down on nurses.

lilhelper · Apr 7, 2011

LPNweezy, you are being the bigger person with your attitude when you say, "I am not in any way talking badly about medical students." I commend you. And since you won't talk badly about med students, I will! ARROGANT ARROGANT ARROGANT! Wow.

One guy I was chatting with (briefly) was so impressed with himself that I am pretty sure he did not realize he was still at a community college doing prereqs.

However, I don't really think they are really in awe of their abilities, but more likely, doubting them. Maybe they are trying to convince themselves that they can actually make it through a rigorous medical program?

Janit · Apr 7, 2011

I have been belittled by medstudents numerous times. the whole "You don't know as much" or "You didn't go to school as long as a doc" always comes up. what is is that they have to prove to me? why do they do this?
Where is the respect???
This is a direct quote i received from a medical student
"Ha! Most of you ***s are just registered nurses... which is what most people who can't aspire to anything greater or just can't handle medical school... I may be a student now and you might think high and mighty because youre registered... but one day i'll probably be your boss... so suck it..."
how do i deal with this? i just ignore it, but it sooo unprofessional
I am not in any way talking badly about medical students, i am just wondering if any of you have had this kind of behavior happen, over heard it, etc. and how i should handle this. please no rude responses.

I have NEVER experienced this situation because I can out dx any med student who crosses my path. I repeatedly slap down their arrogant 'tude by solving the pt's "puzzle". They actually ask me questions??!! Don't take their doody!

mike109810 · Apr 7, 2011

I have NEVER experienced this situation because I can out dx any med student who crosses my path. I repeatedly slap down their arrogant 'tude by solving the pt's "puzzle". They actually ask me questions??!! Don't take their doody!

Once again, as a medical student who is about to graduate in the next couple of months, I am SHOCKED that you seem to have experienced multiple students who were disrespectful to you. In ALL of my experiences, I have YET to see one medical student be disrespectful to a nurse. Like I said, the nurses were VERY helpful and would always look out for us, and in return we did our best to be very appreciative. I can honestly say that I remember more memorable nurses than doctors. The nurses were all a wealth of information.

Maybe it's your ultra-defensive attitude of "repeatedly slapping down" medical students, and your aggressive stance against " any med student who crosses your path" that is causing the students to be disdainful towards you. It sounds as if you are trying so hard to prove yourself. Lighten up! Trust me, the LAST thing that's on a scared med student's mind is to cross anyone's path, ESPECIALLY a nurse's path. We need all the love and support we can get! :)

armyicurn · Apr 7, 2011

The question to the OP would be WHY in hell do you let them do it??? :mad:

Two days ago I tore a new hole on this resident who was trying to teach how to place a RIJ to the new intern. The most senior resident flat out told him that he was wrong for messing with my pumps

The resident wanted to give the pt a bolus of fentanyl by setting the pump to 999 as a bolus! I should have let him do it so he could get kicked out and sent to jail. Luckily for him, the pump alarmed as the tube was kinked. The line was placed w/o issues and when he thought his huevos came back from where they hid when the SHTF, he tells me that I was cynical. Guess what I did? I tore him a new one and then called his attending who tore him another one.

Moral of my post? Do not let them get away with it on the first try. If you do, you will never win the battle. You can also apply the same universal rule with your own colleagues. Yes, we have them among us....

armyicurn · Apr 7, 2011

Put laxative in their coffee, that should get their head out of their you know what. Plus they will be in the bathroom all day and not bothering you.
When I was in the Navy we had a really obnoxious Chief. So the guys who worked for him put some type of vanilla flavored workout supplement/weight gainer in his vanilla coffee creamer for 7 months while on deployment. The Chief could not figure out why he kept gaining weight and had to buy new uniforms. He ended up failing weigh in for the physical fitness assessment.

I LOVE THIS ONE!!!!! I am thinking on doing this but with Golyte! I have a jug that I am itching to put in the staff room coffee pot.

armyicurn · Apr 7, 2011

I've never had any problems with med students either. For the most part, I don't really care anymore how MDs view me because I'm lower on the academic food chain. I usually can enjoy a good relationship with the majority of the residents. Last week I played basketball with the Residents at the park and I was the only RN there. No one said anything negative to me. Maybe it's cause I'm built like a linebacker tho...
Being a doctor is a lifestyle, and there's not much of a life outside of your work. I give them credit for that, and I can understand why they can be a little condescending, because of their circumstances. The majority of the physicians I see go through residency come in fit and then give a few years end up being overweight, stressed, and hating life. I am very happy that I choose this lifestyle of being a RN. Sure, I don't get paid as much or get much respect from the public (the majority of that comes from ignorance and the public not aware of what an RN actually does), but I do have a good lifestyle. I am physically fit, I'm active, and I get 4 days off a week! I can care for myself without relying on others, and I live within my means. After all of the negativity we endure as nurses night in and night out, I still find myself giving thanks to God for my job, and I couldn't see myself doing anything else, except maybe becoming an NP or CRNA. We truly do have a unique job. It is what you make of it. I love working critical care. Healthcare is all I've known since 2003, when I first started off as a CNA.

I like your statement so much that I am going to copy it and print it. Then I will place it in my locker for all my colleagues to read. Well done brother!

billyboblewis · Apr 7, 2011

I have always found med students to be insecure bewildered and needy. I offer them the same assistance and courtesy I would anyone else. If you are actually talking about residents, they get frustrated sometimes and more often than not when they do they are right. Like you and I they lose their temper now and then. I have to guess that the original writer of this may be insecure or starting conversations not really related to the work at hand. There is really very little reason to have interface with medical students anyway.

guest_57352 · Apr 7, 2011

Belittling others is human nature to make oneself feel good. A med student is at the bottom of the MD food chain - the doctors, residents, interns, etc are all more educated and constantly making them feel like they don't know what they're doing. An MD asks a student a question, he answers wrong and is humiliated, and he retaliates by finding what he perceives as a weak target and trying to humiliate them - an RN. Sad thing is, an experienced RN would likely know the answer to whatever question he just failed...

So, bottom line, it's no different then a school bully who picks on the weak, nerdy kids. He has a horrible home life, his parents make him feel bad, so he comes to school and makes himself feel better by beating up on someone he sees as weaker. In the end, though, the nerd is a happier person and the bully ends up a sad, pathetic, out-of-work drunk :)