Yes your highness...I mean doctor!! rant!!!

gr8rnpjt, RN · Nov 7, 2006

There is this one consultant in the hospital, he has a major reputation around the hospital as not being the most pleasant person to deal with. He treats the nursing staff like dirt and we have to have everything perfect for when he makes his rounds or he completly freaks out.
Yesterday it was my lucky duty to do his round. Anyway I go in and stand next to my patient while he discusses the pt with his team, he then states that he is going to examine the pt, proceeds to walk into me and says "kindly move to the other side of the bed like a good girl, didn;t they teach you in nursing school to always stand on the left hand side of the bed, its very important you know" so I move, and he's says to me ok I'll see the foot nowtheres a good girl... so I remove the dressing while he stands there tapping his foot. He goes out to wash his hands after the examination, and starts screaming at a random passerby about how there is no paper towel for him to dry his hands and that this is outragous where is the sister in charge etc...
so after his little tantrum he come back in, shouts for a certain referal form and when one of his docs goes to get it he trys to call em back saying oh no the nurse will get that for you, you dont have to get it! anyway doc gets form, consultant shouts more demands, turns to me and says "ok you can dress pt up now like a good girl....well done you did ever so well!!
aaaahhhhhh!!!:angryfire I thought the days of obeying the docs like they were God were well gone yet everyone practically falls to their knees when this guy comes around!! anyone ever experienced this? more importantly was anyone very taught to only stand on the left hand side of the bed when docs make their rounds!!!

Maybe you need to try genuflecting when he is in your presence. He may take the hint.

Altra, BSN, RN · Nov 7, 2006

wow! so im not alone then:) hehe....why do we let fellow professionals treat us like this, we are not their subordinates nor are we their slaves right!!

This is the question you need to answer.

This physician, or the next arrogant fool to come along, can't treat you like dirt unless you allow it.

A consulting physician called my ER not long ago when I happened to be at the desk to answer the phone, said he was on his way down to see a patient "so there needs to be a consultation sheet on the patient's bed when I get there." I could have gotten upset, wrung my hands over being treated that way, etc. etc.

I didn't. When he arrived, someone pointed out the drawer where he could obtain a consultation sheet, like every other consulting physician who comes down to see a patient.

He glared, saw that his glare was being ignored, then went & got the flipping piece of paper out of the drawer.

It's only a power game if you play along.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 7, 2006

this kind of behavior has been around for years, and is actually much better than it used to be! it used to be, we let this stuff go; nowadays people are more likely to report it.

i've seen a physician hit a nurse in the face with a metal chart, throw contaminated sharps at another nurse, and early in my career, saw a surgeon chase my preceptor down the hall attempting to throw a (full) metal bedpan at her. this sort of behavior was tolerated in those days. to complain was to risk your job. i've seen nurses fired for complaining.

now, if a physician treats you inappropriately in any way, you have the option of reporting him or her. please do so -- stand up for yourself and your co-workers!

slou! · Nov 7, 2006

Another dr. threw a phone and it hit the face of a nurse. You can believe she made a big deal out of it (don't blame her).

Was the doctor's name Russell Crowe?

He got arrested for that, too!

kittagirl · Nov 7, 2006

Am known as the BIGGEST pain in the ass by all our doctors, but was given a huge compliment today by one, she is one of our senior regs, (not sure what the equivalent is in the US sorry)

She introduced me to one of the locums as 'Kitta the royal pain in the ass, but if any of my family come in to this hospital she's looking after them '

I have to admit I got a little teary, but don't tell anyone it would ruin my rep as a hard ass!

I personally believe that if you don't take sh*t from the docs they won't give it.

I know it's very hard as a student or a newly qualified to feel that confident and if they have been allowed to get away with that attitude in the hospital for years you are going to find it very hard to change it.

Thankfully within the NHS that attitude is now been seen as bullying and been tackled (to some degree, there is always going to be the old boys network, but they are more aware) we also have integrated learning in a lot of unis where the baby docs/ nurses and physios take certain lectures together and it encourages more socialising and acknowledgment of learning between the different disciplines.

I have encountered a H/O (very junior doc) insist that he be called DR so&so, so all the nurse on the ward insisted on been called Staff Nurse Smith etc, he had the pi** severely taken out of him by the rest of his team, was begging us to call him by his first name in a week. As if!

angelcharm · Nov 7, 2006

would it be healthy to confront a doctor about his ill conduct?!

what more if he's belittling nurses like calling them names... such as "stupid" while you are in the or? :idea:

nrsang97, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2006

I would not put up with anyone especially a Doc calling me "good little girl", " stupid", or anything other than Nurse or my name. I would pull this doc aside and very politely state that he is either to "Call me nurse or by my name". And if that didn't work then I would go to the charge nurse (or I guess "Ward Sister" in Ireland).

This kind of behavior is unacceptable.

I was working once and a nurse asked a MD not to use his cell phone on the unit and he called her a "Fu***ng B*tch" and not to tell him what to do. I was on the unit across the hall and heard VERY clearly what he said. Not only did her unit make a incident report, ours did too.

I have don't let anyone treat me like crap. I always treat docs with respect and believe we are their eyes and ears. What would they do without us?

GeminiTwinRN, BSN · Nov 8, 2006

I have encountered a H/O (very junior doc) insist that he be called DR so&so, so all the nurse on the ward insisted on been called Staff Nurse Smith etc, he had the pi** severely taken out of him by the rest of his team, was begging us to call him by his first name in a week. As if!

hmm, so are you saying that the practice where you are is that the docs are called by their first names then? that's interesting!

oh, and as to the OP, i definitely woulda reported that bozo. good little girl? i'd have had to show him my good little behind as i walked out of that patient's room and out to the charge nurse where i made my complaint known.

ugh. :uhoh3:

Sue Damonas, BSN · Nov 8, 2006

A CV surgeon who was well known for being rude and condescending sat down in front of our callbell system and proceeded to dictate a consult and became very angry when a callbell came on and ordered me to take care of it immediately because he was trying to dictate(It had just come on, not like it was ringing forever), so I shut it off and checked the patient. When I came out of the room he was still there and this overwhelming desire to make more callbells ring came over me. So I went into a few empty rooms and pushed the callbells and into a bathroom and set off the bathroom alarm. My coworkers laughed their heads off when I told them.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 8, 2006

hmm, so are you saying that the practice where you are is that the docs are called by their first names then? that's interesting!
:

most places i've worked (large teaching hospitals) call docs by their first names. in fact, it's well known that the only time you call them "doctor" is when they're either screwing up or peeving you off!

danissa, LPN, LVN · Nov 8, 2006

most places i've worked (large teaching hospitals) call docs by their first names. in fact, it's well known that the only time you call them "doctor" is when they're either screwing up or peeving you off!

same here, all the docs are known by their first names (aren't we all adults?) this is apart from the two most senior consultants, (even these are called by their first names by the long timers in nursing, but for these two, i can't seem to get my mouth to say anything but dr----! ) totally respect them, but feel more of a team effort with the ones where we all know each others names, backgrounds etc. some of the med staff on rotation know virtually zilch about neonates, so it would be ludicrous if i felt, (whilst i was teaching them!!) that i had to bow down to them. respect is a two way thing, and especially in the case of rotational med staff as opposed to permanent nursing staff, we know our area/ speciality inside out, they are visitors who often have no interest/ intention of furthering their knowledge or participating with any effectiveness in our area. so i be nice, tolerating and hope that in the next bunch in four months that someone will be truly interested! agree that peeving you is a good reason for saying dr so&so! but, i have found that a few are so not there & the sarcasm just washes over them: :uhoh3:

PMFB-RN, RN · Nov 8, 2006

There is this one consultant in the hospital, he has a major reputation around the hospital as not being the most pleasant person to deal with. He treats the nursing staff like dirt and we have to have everything perfect for when he makes his rounds or he completly freaks out.

*** First, what in the heck do you care if he freaks out? If he wants to have his little tantrum walk away from him.

Why do you tolerate him talking to you like that? I would not put up with it at all. I have offered to take a doctor outside and kick his ass when they are acting like morons.

We as nurses should NEVER tolerate being treated like that doctor treated you.