Yelling Doctors, How do you handle them?????

[Danielle7]

The other night at work (I work 7PM shift), I admitted a new patient. She was seen at her doctors office a couple days before and was started on PO antibiotics TID. She did not take her antibiotic all day. At my hospital we are to clarify meds upon admission and she could not remember the dose perscribed. So I had to page her doctor, which has a reputation of being mean at 11PM (not that late). He interrupted my question by yelling/screaming at me, asking me how he would know the dose (he prescribed it), demanding I answer why it couldn't wait till morning while huffing and puffing on the phone!!! I know if I didn't address it, the charge nurse or someone would of had my neck due to policy...Can't win!!

I've only been a nurse for 8 months and I haven't had much experience with this.

My question is... How do you respond to a doctor who talks to you this way- I mean screams at you this way?

[miko014]

Honestly, Danielle, I would not have called the doctor for this. He should not have yelled but I do understand his frustration. Why not find out if your policy actually requires that you call a doctor under this type of circumstance. If so, maybe wait until 5:30 or 6 a.m. next time. Let the doctor try to sleep.

It just was not that urgent, as it was p.o., she'd already not been taking it. The admitting doc could certainly prescribe an antibiotic if warranted.

If your Charge nurse tells you to call, well, I guess you have to. Ask, though, if yu could call in the morning.

I thought she said the doc she called WAS the admitting doc.

[miko014]

Ah yes, I found it.

Yes the doctor was on call AND admitted the pt.

I'm all for discussion on this topic, but it seems like we are talking about 2 different situations. Half of us are talking about the above quote, and the rest are talking about calling a PCP who has nothing to do with the hospital admission and is not on call.

Also, she said it was NOT 2300 yet, so it wasn't exactly the middle of the night. I'm all for not calling at night unless it's absolutely necessary, but there is a difference here between what happened and what some of us are talking about.

And also again (haha), some of the docs I work with have a cell phone or pager that is used for work only, and do not give out home or personal cell numbers. That way, they can just turn those off when they are not on call. If they don't answer, the nurse calling should be able to figure out that they are calling the wrong person. Might help if it's at all possible and this is a frequent problem.

[caddismt]

"Excuse me for a minute, I need to have a bowel movement."

-Laura Gasparis VonFrolio

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

She cracks me up! I love her joke about the "black testicles". If you haven't heard it, it goes something like this:

An ICU nurse is busily packing up a stable patient to be transferred to the floor, as she had just been informed that she has an admit coming who needs an ICU bed yesterday.

As she's piling all the patient's things onto the bed in a hurry, the patient, who is wearing a simple mask, says "Are my testicles black?"

"No sir, your testicles are not black," she says, thinking to herself that she doesn't have time for this.

"No, really, I need to know! Are my testicles black?"

"Sir, I am quite sure that your testicles are not black! Now, I have to get you to your new room on the floor."

"But I really need to know right now! Please! Are my testicles black?"

"Fine," she huffs, lifting up the blankets and gown to peek underneath. "Like I said, your testicles are not black!"

The patient removes the simple mask and says.......

"Thanks, but what I really wanted to know is are my test results back?"

Ba dump dump!

[marmsgirl]

Remember being a new nurse and getting yelled by dr at for the first time?

I work nights so i can identify with dealing with difficult drs. Here's one that still makes me giggle when i think about it..

When i was a new nurse and new to nights... i had a patient who was yelling out in pain with a headache for what seems like hours (not that long in reality). I look in MARS:NO pain medication not even tylenol. so i get all my information together cause i am going to call dr for pain medication (vitals, history, everything dr could ask for) -- first time calling dr.

((It was really busy night, all nurses and charge nurses busy with their patients))..So I call dr and tell him all information and patiencely wait for an order.. his response "I have a ******* headache too what do you want me to do about it?" I was quiet then said first thing that came to my mind "Can I have some tyenol or something?" I got my order and also learned what night shift nurses love and saved me making lots of middle of the night phone calls ...standing orders!

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

People yell at people if they know they can get away with it. Everyone in a hospital it seems can yell at a nurse and get away with it.

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

People yell at people if they know they can get away with it. Everyone in a hospital it seems can yell at a nurse and get away with it.

Except for the male nurse. lol

I can give so many examples of people walking right past me and targeting the new grad female nurse. Its..........just pathetic and hillarious at the same time.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Where do you guys work where all this yelling is going on? I've had doctors rant a few times, but have never actually been shouted at. I've seen doctors get really ***** about things, but they haven't yelled. Maybe they would if they knew they could get away with it. I don't know....

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

Where do you guys work where all this yelling is going on?

Nightshift

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

Where do you guys work where all this yelling is going on? I've had doctors rant a few times, but have never actually been shouted at. I've seen doctors get really ***** about things, but they haven't yelled. Maybe they would if they knew they could get away with it. I don't know....

One place I worked, I was yelled at once. I was new new nurse. I followed the instructions on how to reach him. He did not answer his cell. So I called his home. He was not happy, but I do understand why he was angry. I would be unhappy if my spouse was routinely woken up, too, for orders. However, he should have answered his cell to avoid that. He shouldn't have yelled. It was no big deal, though. He ranted, then went on to give orders and was fine the next day in person, no hard feelings either way.

The other place I worked, the one doctor ALWAYS yells and curses you out if you call after 11 pm, no matter the reason for the call. He is just cranky at night. He is the one I like putting on speaker phone, it is sort of a joke with co-workers who will call him to get screamed and cursed at. It is rare he doesn't yell at night. He does not hold it against us the next day, though. He is normally cranky guy but doesn't yell the next day. I am not saying it is ok for him to yell at us, but I think he would yell at the Pope himself at night if he were to call. I learned to let it roll off of me after a few weeks.

All of the other doctors have been very polite when they have been woken up. I had only one other issue with a doctor yelling a bit. He was frustrated with the situation. Pt complaining of pain. I really assessed them well and found nothing to be wrong with this surgical young teen patient. Mom was a bit of a drama queen, demanding to see the doctor "RIGHT NOW", even though I reassured her the vitals, incision, bowel sounds, etc. all seemed perfectly withing the patients normal limits. Being that I was not a doctor, I was not going to blow this mom off in case there was a hidden issue. I called to let him know this, and my assessments. And I charted this. I guess the doctor felt pressured to come in for something not an emergency at 9pm. I think he was just frustrated, knowing he HAD to come in, as I was frustrated that I HAD to call him. Again, no hard feelings were after that incident.

I have not had an encounters with doctors where they were completely nasty and held a grudge the next day or whatever.

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

Nightshift

Yes, all of the yelling I listed occurred on night shift. :zzzzz

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

Where do you guys work where all this yelling is going on? I've had doctors rant a few times, but have never actually been shouted at. I've seen doctors get really ***** about things, but they haven't yelled. Maybe they would if they knew they could get away with it. I don't know....

Any time of day or night in OB. I worked with several docs...OB and Peds....who would blow when stressed. I think sometimes they were tired when stretched thin especially when they were on big call and running back and forth to the ED, OR, the hospital across town. And some just had poor dispostions period. I also worked with so many docs where the roof could be caving in and they remained calm and even tempered regardless.