Worst Nurse Stories

[GoBuckeyes913]

I recently had a "tiff" with a nurse while on my OB/Gyn rotation that made me want to pretty much punch her in the face (I'm not even gonna lie, I totally fantasized about it). In all my rotations I've never had a prob with any nurses, so this threw me for a loop. Here's the story......

One of my patients I had seen twice in clinic was being admitted to L&D for induction and I went to her room to say hi, make sure her H&P was done, write orders, etc. So I walk into the room and begin to say hello, when this demon-seed nurse I've never met (who is charting on the computer in the room and not even talking to the patient) literally screams at me "You need to leave! This patient doesn't want to be bothered, and a resident-not a medical student- needs to see her". Whatever.

So I ignored the psycho and went up to my patient, who is now laughing and proceeded to greet me by my first name....clearly making it known to the nurse that she knew who I was. The nurse did not appreciate this and rolled her eyes at me. I got my stuff done, and left. Normally, this wouldnt be such a big deal, but it snowballed.

A few hours later, one of the residents and I were looking at her fetal strip and noticed some late decels (sorry to get technical), so my resident says
"Go check on her and see how she's doing, I think she's getting her epidural but make sure it's actually happening". I go to her room, and the "epidural sign" is outside of her room, meaning epidural was in progress. I didn't want to just go in if she was in the middle of the procedure, but then I thought "What if she isn't getting it and they accidentally left the sign on her door, and something is really wrong and i didn't even go in her room". Of course, I enter the room and the nurse screams LOUDER at me this time "Um, don't you know what anything means? Didn't you see the sign outside that she was getting an epi? ARE YOU BLIND?" (verbatim). I ingnored the bitch again and spoke to the patient and told her I was just checking in and making sure everything was okay. The patient again laughed and didn't mind at all, while my pissed off level is rising. Still not the worst part.....

2 hours later, I go to give her a routine cervical check, and now the patient does not want me to examine her anymore. I know I hadn't hurt her during a previous cervical exam because my resident was the one that did it. (Students aren't allowed to do CE until the pt. has an epi) I don't know what happened between the few hours since I had last seen her, but now my patient had an uneasy look on her face when she was talking to me... which was NEVER the way it had been before. I left the room bothered, and a different nurse pulls me aside and tells me how the bitch nurse was telling my patient how awful med students are. I'm sure she added in a few other things as well. I didn't go back into the room after that, and never did her delivery. I contemplated reporting the nurse, but chose not to pick this battle. seriously though.........WTF!?

Anyone else have any nurse-hating stories?

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[lankysudanese]

you should have told her right there and then (in front of the patient) that her behavior towards you was unprofessional, and that unless she had something to report to the team you didn't want to hear any "commentary" from her. I did it once and it worked like magic. Nurses can be mean/edgy, but as long as you cover your end and don't interfere with their duties, they can't hurt you.

 

[smq123]

I left the room bothered, and a different nurse pulls me aside and tells me how the bitch nurse was telling my patient how awful med students are. I'm sure she added in a few other things as well. I didn't go back into the room after that, and never did her delivery. I contemplated reporting the nurse, but chose not to pick this battle. seriously though.........WTF!?

Anyone else have any nurse-hating stories?

Report that nurse to your rotation director ASAP. That nurse is interfering with your education. At the very least, she owes you the ~ $125 that it costs for a day of med school.

At our school, there is a MONSTER circulating nurse who bullied and terrorized med students and interns routinely. Finally, a bunch of med students said something to the course director about her. The course director had a "talk" with this circulating nurse, instructing her to be civil when working with med students. It helped a lot, surprisingly. She's condescending, but nothing that makes you want to put your first through the wall. (I have contemplated smacking her a few times, but the moment passed quickly.)

** Some of the nurses at my current rotation site are just lazy. You can't find vitals on any of the patients. When I asked one of the nurses where they wrote down their vitals, she said to me, "JESUS. JUST RELAX! It's only 8 AM - it's still very, very early!"

On what planet is 8 AM "very, very early"? On surgery, the day is 25% over by 8 AM! And we round at 9 AM on medicine. Some nurses are disgustingly lazy, and then they complain about how difficult and busy their lives are.

 

[Tired]

Report that nurse to your rotation director ASAP. That nurse is interfering with your education. At the very least, she owes you the ~ $125 that it costs for a day of med school.

Don't bother.

Rude nurses don't spring fully formed from the womb. It starts off with subtle comments, taking control, and then progresses to full-fledged verbal abuse. Like an alcoholic or wife beater, there are multiple warning signs early, and behavior escalates unless it is stopped at an early stage. No doubt this nurse has been behaving badly for a long time, with zero consequences.

There are good teachers and bad teachers. Good teachers make it a point to protect their charges and promote a healthy learning environment. Bad teachers permit abuse. This department is run by bad teachers. Complaints will do nothing, and you can likely expect retaliation.

Do the smart thing: Duck and cover, hold your grudges, and take it out on other people when you finally have some power.

 

[SoCuteMD]

Just to balance the thread out:

I may have had good luck or good karma with respect to circulating and scrub nurses in the OR during my general surgery rotation, but I was treated poorly only once (by a circulator and scrub who I never encountered again). On the whole I was treated AMAZINGLY well. Most of the circulators had a warm greeting and a smile for me as I walked into the OR to add my name to the board for the case. If I was shivering they'd often hand me a blanket from the warmer (mmmm...blanket warmer ). During a case I was never once hazed by being made to rescrub unnecessarily. One of the circulating nurses would occasionally get a hard candy and pop it into my mouth for me to suck on during cases. After one particularly difficult case while the patient was recovering in room, the circulating nurse noticed how I was looking and asked me to get something (that we didn't need) that was all the way at the other end of the clean core - intentionally giving me a little reprieve from the OR.

The nurses on the floor made sure we got pizza when they had pizza during meetings (they even snuck in and grabbed us 2 pies!). Another nurse baked us 7 layer bars!!!

 

[Top Gun]

Just to balance the thread out:

I may have had good luck or good karma with respect to circulating and scrub nurses in the OR during my general surgery rotation, but I was treated poorly only once (by a circulator and scrub who I never encountered again). On the whole I was treated AMAZINGLY well. Most of the circulators had a warm greeting and a smile for me as I walked into the OR to add my name to the board for the case. If I was shivering they'd often hand me a blanket from the warmer (mmmm...blanket warmer ). During a case I was never once hazed by being made to rescrub unnecessarily. One of the circulating nurses would occasionally get a hard candy and pop it into my mouth for me to suck on during cases. After one particularly difficult case while the patient was recovering in room, the circulating nurse noticed how I was looking and asked me to get something (that we didn't need) that was all the way at the other end of the clean core - intentionally giving me a little reprieve from the OR.

The nurses on the floor made sure we got pizza when they had pizza during meetings (they even snuck in and grabbed us 2 pies!). Another nurse baked us 7 layer bars!!!

What hospital were you at??? I should have gone there for my clinical rotations, at least OB and surgery!

 

[AwesomO]

The nurse should not have yelled at you when you entered the room, it's unprofessional and gives the patient additional anxiety about being in the hospital. That said you can't antagonize a nurse especially an OB nurse. It's a battle you will never win.

So I ignored the psycho and went up to my patient, who is now laughing and proceeded to greet me by my first name....clearly making it known to the nurse that she knew who I was. The nurse did not appreciate this and rolled her eyes at me. I

Yeah the moment you did this it was over. She was going to get back at you some way some how.

2 hours later, I go to give her a routine cervical check, and now the patient does not want me to examine her anymore. I know I hadn't hurt her during a previous cervical exam because my resident was the one that did it. (Students aren't allowed to do CE until the pt. has an epi) I don't know what happened between the few hours since I had last seen her, but now my patient had an uneasy look on her face when she was talking to me... which was NEVER the way it had been before. I left the room bothered, and a different nurse pulls me aside and tells me how the bitch nurse was telling my patient how awful med students are. I'm sure she added in a few other things as well. I didn't go back into the room after that, and never did her delivery. I contemplated reporting the nurse, but chose not to pick this battle. seriously though.........WTF!?

Thats completely unacceptable. What if something had gone wrong with the delivery? The patient would blame the bad outcome on the fact a student saw her initially and I'm sure some tool lawyer would of made a decent case of it.

 

[zenman]

I contemplated reporting the nurse, but chose not to pick this battle. seriously though.........WTF!?

Anyone else have any nurse-hating stories?

This is one battle you need to jump into. I'd have called the director of nurses or supervisor down to the floor and let them know about the problem child..after I got in her face and ripped her a new one. Then the hospital lawyer might want to talk with her about her negative conversations about medical students with patients.

...and I'm a nurse

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Eh, best to let it pass by.

You're probably going to have at least 5-8 more years of dealing with nurses like these. Being so low on the totem pole, most course directors aren't going to take these complaints to any administrator because they don't want to stir the pot, and any complaints coming directly from you are going to have little effect.

An important fact to remember that "Bad" nurses (lazy, rude, incompetent) tend to have a posse. This makes it very hard to discipline or get rid of them. If Nurse Anne gets in trouble for being a jerk to med students/residents or slacking on her job, her equally incompetent friends Nurses Barbara, Carol, and Dana are going to make a big fit and make it worse for everyone else as a sign of solidarity.

EDIT: I just read about the above post. If you do want to throw a freaking atom bomb in this conversation, you CAN contact Hospital Risk Management/Corporate compliance. They're the people who keep the hospital from being sued. If you tell them that this nurse is lying about incompetent med students, they may see that as increasing hospital liability and heads may roll.

 

[njbmd]

Did that person yell because they were a nurse or because they were a person who was acting unprofessionally? It's unprofessional for anyone, nurse, physician, pharmacist, ward clerk, to yell at any other person yet yelling happens. You can report unprofessional behavior because it goes on but try to counter it with professionalism which means that you don't label a whole profession because some of its members choose to act badly.

 

[GoBuckeyes913]

You can report unprofessional behavior because it goes on but try to counter it with professionalism which means that you don't label a whole profession because some of its members choose to act badly.

I don't label a whole profession because of one encounter, I hope that wasn't the message everyone is taking home..... This is my one and only unpleasant experience with a nurse. Every nurse on every rotation has been really great thus far, and I have always treated them with the same respect.

Eh, best to let it pass by. An important fact to remember that "Bad" nurses (lazy, rude, incompetent) tend to have a posse. This makes it very hard to discipline or get rid of them.

This "bad" nurse was best buddies with the charge nurse, who apparently was her only friend in the hospital. Every nurse I encountered after the incident told me how much they can't stand to work with her (she treats other nurses the same way), but how she won't get fired because of her relationship with the charge nurse.

On the whole I was treated AMAZINGLY well.

Aside from this encounter, I have been treated wonderfully by nurses. There are just as many great ones as bad ones. Again, I hope everyone doesn't think I am nurse-bashing in a general manner. This is an isolated incident.

 

[SoCuteMD]

What hospital were you at??? I should have gone there for my clinical rotations, at least OB and surgery!

Honestly, I think the hospital itself doesn't matter. I always smile, say please and thank you, remember nurses' names. I made sure to accompany the circulator out to pre-op to bring the patient back to the OR. The nurses who were kind to me were some of the same ones I heard my classmates complain about. It didn't shield me from everyone but it seemed to help.

 

[Anka]

To the OP, that totally sucks. She was way way out of line. We all run into someone like this along the way. It wasn't your fault and there was [probably] little you could do to prevent it. Hang in there, and you'll rotate off the service in a couple of weeks; she's gotta live with her miserable self her whole life.

Anka

 

[Top Gun]

Honestly, I think the hospital itself doesn't matter. I always smile, say please and thank you, remember nurses' names. I made sure to accompany the circulator out to pre-op to bring the patient back to the OR. The nurses who were kind to me were some of the same ones I heard my classmates complain about. It didn't shield me from everyone but it seemed to help.

Touche. Being polite and considerate helps you get along with everyone.

 

[ForbiddenComma]

I always am nice to nurses, since they are generally a lot nicer to me than a few of the residents -- you know, the ones who forget that just a few years ago they were med students too.


Still, I doubt anything will ever surpass my favorite quote from an RN, totally unprovoked and totally random: "I just thought you should know that dealing with med students is the least important part of my job."

Some nurses have a reputation for "eating the young"...

 

[Blade28]

Let me just say that nurses can make or break your residency.

I'm just sayin'...

 

[Tired]

Let me just say that nurses can make or break your residency.

I'm just sayin'...

I'm still calling B.S. on that sentiment.

 

[Faebinder]

I'm still calling B.S. on that sentiment.

What Blade is somewhat true... and you know it.

 

[BSN2DOC]

I recently had a "tiff" with a nurse while on my OB/Gyn rotation that made me want to pretty much punch her in the face (I'm not even gonna lie, I totally fantasized about it). In all my rotations I've never had a prob with any nurses, so this threw me for a loop. Here's the story......

One of my patients I had seen twice in clinic was being admitted to L&D for induction and I went to her room to say hi, make sure her H&P was done, write orders, etc. So I walk into the room and begin to say hello, when this demon-seed nurse I've never met (who is charting on the computer in the room and not even talking to the patient) literally screams at me "You need to leave! This patient doesn't want to be bothered, and a resident-not a medical student- needs to see her". Whatever.

So I ignored the psycho and went up to my patient, who is now laughing and proceeded to greet me by my first name....clearly making it known to the nurse that she knew who I was. The nurse did not appreciate this and rolled her eyes at me. I got my stuff done, and left. Normally, this wouldnt be such a big deal, but it snowballed.

A few hours later, one of the residents and I were looking at her fetal strip and noticed some late decels (sorry to get technical), so my resident says
"Go check on her and see how she's doing, I think she's getting her epidural but make sure it's actually happening". I go to her room, and the "epidural sign" is outside of her room, meaning epidural was in progress. I didn't want to just go in if she was in the middle of the procedure, but then I thought "What if she isn't getting it and they accidentally left the sign on her door, and something is really wrong and i didn't even go in her room". Of course, I enter the room and the nurse screams LOUDER at me this time "Um, don't you know what anything means? Didn't you see the sign outside that she was getting an epi? ARE YOU BLIND?" (verbatim). I ingnored the bitch again and spoke to the patient and told her I was just checking in and making sure everything was okay. The patient again laughed and didn't mind at all, while my pissed off level is rising. Still not the worst part.....

2 hours later, I go to give her a routine cervical check, and now the patient does not want me to examine her anymore. I know I hadn't hurt her during a previous cervical exam because my resident was the one that did it. (Students aren't allowed to do CE until the pt. has an epi) I don't know what happened between the few hours since I had last seen her, but now my patient had an uneasy look on her face when she was talking to me... which was NEVER the way it had been before. I left the room bothered, and a different nurse pulls me aside and tells me how the bitch nurse was telling my patient how awful med students are. I'm sure she added in a few other things as well. I didn't go back into the room after that, and never did her delivery. I contemplated reporting the nurse, but chose not to pick this battle. seriously though.........WTF!?

Anyone else have any nurse-hating stories?

That is an OB nurse for ya! OB nurses are the biggest pain in the asses.. even to other nurses!! When I was on my OB rotation in nursing school -- it was like being in hell everyday.

 

[oompaloompa]

Eh, I think you have to pick your battles with nurses. You may think it's incredibly stupid, but if you give in to nursing demands on crap that won't adversely affect patient care, you may be in a better position to fight for something that really matters.

The nurse will probably win anyway, and she knows it. This is for two reasons: Her nursing hierarchy will back her up, yours definitely won't - and because she works 2-3 days/week, time is on her side. She counting on us to not use our precious time off pursuing this, and boy is she right. Case in point - Suppose you're on call with a crapload of work and a nurse directly contradicts your plan in front of the patient. You can call it inappropriate all you want, but you can bet the charge is going to back her up. Will I be making a post-call appt with the nursing supervisor? Hell no, I'm going home.

Or suppose you get a call demanding that you {insert pointless busywork task} that doesn't need to be done now or possibly ever. Do you do it? Of course you do, or else the nurse just calls the senior and now you have 2 sets of people yelling at you. Your senior is probably a good person and may like you, and she knows quite well the unnecessary nature of the task. Unfortunately, she's buried in work as well and if it comes down becoming embroiled in an epic hours-long nursing battle, or making you eat **** - well, sorry.

Fortunately for me, situations like this have been the exception rather than the rule, but it is an interesting insight into the system. The lesson we should take away from this is that nurses do have some pretty impressive solidarity and we could benefit from following suit in some cases. I don't mean cover for mistakes or bad judgment, but if you agree with the med student/intern/resident, then back them up! All too often it happens that even if the powers-that-be agree with you, they just cave to nursing demands because it's easier.

Don't be that kind of senior/attending, I know it sucks from experience.

 

[Blade28]

I'm still calling B.S. on that sentiment.

For most of us. Not tough guys like you.

 

[hyperbaric]

Well the nurses where I've been haven't baked for me, but the vast majority have been very helpful and nice (~99% of them anyway). Despite the L&D horror stories, the nurses/mid-wives have equally pleasant.

On the other hand, most of my negative experiences in third-year have been with mid-levels (PA's and NP's). Actually, some of my classmates and I were just discussing it over the weekend. We've noticied that these same mid-levels treat the nurses poorly too.

 

[Tired]

For most of us. Not tough guys like you.

The only power people have over you is the power you give them.

 

[AwesomO]

On the other hand, most of my negative experiences in third-year have been with mid-levels (PA's and NP's). Actually, some of my classmates and I were just discussing it over the weekend. We've noticied that these same mid-levels treat the nurses poorly too.

Most of the mid levels I work with have been great. But I have run across a few who think that it's OK to abuse the medical students. One got written up for it I've also heard stories of residents going back to that service just to dish out what was given to them as students.

 

[GoBuckeyes913]

Eh, I think you have to pick your battles with nurses. You may think it's incredibly stupid, but if you give in to nursing demands on crap that won't adversely affect patient care, you may be in a better position to fight for something that really matters.

The nurse will probably win anyway, and she knows it.

I guess I just wasn't sure if I should pull her aside and tell her how inappropriate she was being, which is why I just let it go. She would be the kind of person to take it out on my residents too (who she also treats like garbage), which is the main reason I kept quiet.

I can handle getting treated like crap, hell I was a wedding planner for 8 years dealing with bridezillas who threatened my life (YUP). It just got to me that a patient who trusted me now questioned my ability because some witch purposely brainwashed her. All the other nurses told me how mean-nurse verbally expressed her hate for me (no idea why she hated me.. the very first day she met me she treated me like crap, probably stupid female jealousy). It just baffles me how people can keep a job when they bring negativity to everyone around them. Oh well

 

[Top Gun]

Most of the mid levels I work with have been great. But I have run across a few who think that it's OK to abuse the medical students. One got written up for it I've also heard stories of residents going back to that service just to dish out what was given to them as students.

For some reason, I had the opposite experience. Most of the midlevels I've worked with have been great. During my anesthesiology rotation, CRNA's were perfectly willing to give me a chance to intubate. In my surgery rotation, I had some great PA's who taught me how to suture. Usually, its residents and nurses who are more likely to be a%%holes or bitches.

 

[Blade28]

The only power people have over you is the power you give them.

I'm a fan of diplomacy over sheer terror. Note that this is NOT the same as favoring the "carrot over the stick."

Diplomacy, by the way, can often be defined as the art of saying "Nice dog" as you reach for a rock.

 

[Tired]

I'm a fan of diplomacy over sheer terror. Note that this is NOT the same as favoring the "carrot over the stick."

Diplomacy, by the way, can often be defined as the art of saying "Nice dog" as you reach for a rock.

I've calmed down quite a lot over the course of internship, so I understand what you're saying.

The only point I'm trying to make is that, when you really get down to the nitty-gritty, there are a limited number of ways that a nurse can "make your life a living hell". These are basically:

1) Not take care of your patients/follow your orders
2) Page/call you inappropriately
3) Badmouth you to your seniors/Staff
4) Be mean to you

Most won't do #1 in any significant way, because even the worst nurses usually have a sense of responsibility to their patients. It's rare I get to sleep on call anyway, so #2 doesn't really bother me. #3 is rarely a problem as longas you maintain a professional manner (learned that one the hard way).

#4 is what usually seems to get to interns, and especially med students. We're not used to conflict, and we rarely know how to respond, so we end up walking on eggshells and being all intimidated. We need to get over it, because their opinion of us means absolutely nothing.

 

[chrisisinnocent]

4) Be mean to you

#4 is what usually seems to get to interns, and especially med students. We're not used to conflict, and we rarely know how to respond, so we end up walking on eggshells and being all intimidated. We need to get over it, because their opinion of us means absolutely nothing.

Amen. I really don't give a rat's *** how nice someone is to me as long as the work gets done. It's not a popularity contest and some nurse baking me cookies makes me indifferent. There is nothing more frustrating to those petty tyrants than seeing that you don't care about their attitude problems.

 

[Blade28]

The only point I'm trying to make is that, when you really get down to the nitty-gritty, there are a limited number of ways that a nurse can "make your life a living hell". These are basically:

1) Not take care of your patients/follow your orders
2) Page/call you inappropriately
3) Badmouth you to your seniors/Staff
4) Be mean to you
...
#4 is what usually seems to get to interns, and especially med students. We're not used to conflict, and we rarely know how to respond, so we end up walking on eggshells and being all intimidated. We need to get over it, because their opinion of us means absolutely nothing.

That's an excellent post. I tend to agree with all your points.

You're definitely right in that you can't let people walk all over you (this applies to life in general as well). You're not going to get far in life with that type of meek, subservient attitude (especially within the culture of medicine!).

 

[Tired]

You're definitely right in that you can't let people walk all over you (this applies to life in general as well). You're not going to get far in life with that type of meek, subservient attitude (especially within the culture of medicine!).

Unfortunately there's a line, and as I've learned the hard way, you don't get anywhere with bullheaded aggression either. All that does is give ammunition to your enemies. Your Staff will never back you up, even when they agree with you.

Or at least that's how it'll be until I'm in charge . . .

 

[Blade28]

Or at least that's how it'll be until I'm in charge . . .

Sir, yes sir!

 

[throckmorton]

Fake it 'til you make it.

nuff said

 

[ArcherM2]

^ love the name.

 

[fab4fan]

I always am nice to nurses, since they are generally a lot nicer to me than a few of the residents -- you know, the ones who forget that just a few years ago they were med students too.


Still, I doubt anything will ever surpass my favorite quote from an RN, totally unprovoked and totally random: "I just thought you should know that dealing with med students is the least important part of my job."

Some nurses have a reputation for "eating the young"...

Well, in a way that's sort of true, brutal as it sounds. My first priority is taking care of my patients. Yes, I'll help out the med students who are new to the unit or need help, but they aren't my first priority.

I'm not sure why she would have said that, though. That's a thought I would have just kept to myself. Has she had any other random neural firings along that line?

 

[fab4fan]

That is an OB nurse for ya! OB nurses are the biggest pain in the asses.. even to other nurses!! When I was on my OB rotation in nursing school -- it was like being in hell everyday.

Seriously. I'll be a greeter at WalMart before I work as an OB nurse.

 

[fab4fan]

Diplomacy, by the way, can often be defined as the art of saying "Nice dog" as you reach for a rock.

Is this a "Blade" original? That's so funny I'm thinking of using it as a signature line on another board I belong to.

 

[Blade28]

Is this a "Blade" original? That's so funny I'm thinking of using it as a signature line on another board I belong to.

Nope, sorry! I remember that line from a default sig on a BBS back in the mid-90s.

 

[fab4fan]

Nope, sorry! I remember that line from a default sig on a BBS back in the mid-90s.

Dang! I was impressed. It's still a good line and I'm still thinking of swiping it, though.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Well, in a way that's sort of true, brutal as it sounds. My first priority is taking care of my patients. Yes, I'll help out the med students who are new to the unit or need help, but they aren't my first priority.

I can appreciate this, which is why it infuriates me so much that the rudest nurses I've dealt with have been in clinic or other "low stress" environments.

If a nurse is curt with me on a busy medicine floor, I can be a little appreciative that's she's got to deal with the delirious 84 year old desperately trying to rip out her lines, the whiny 40 year old admitted for a BS reason but constantly on the call light, and keeping an eye on a patient who may be going down the tubes. So I cut a bit of slack.

But if I'm in an outpatient clinic glancing over the chart on the next patient and a nurse snaps "How can I get the vitals if you have the chart?" when there's no rush due to no-shows, I get angry.

Or when a nurse groans and rolls her eyes when I ask her to do something (Never for me, half the time it's the attending asking me to relay it, or I'm just relaying a patient's request for medication or whatever) and I see that's she's sitting at the nurses station, not charting or on the phone, but small talking or flipping through a magazine, I again get angry.

 

[Top Gun]

I can appreciate this, which is why it infuriates me so much that the rudest nurses I've dealt with have been in clinic or other "low stress" environments.

If a nurse is curt with me on a busy medicine floor, I can be a little appreciative that's she's got to deal with the delirious 84 year old desperately trying to rip out her lines, the whiny 40 year old admitted for a BS reason but constantly on the call light, and keeping an eye on a patient who may be going down the tubes. So I cut a bit of slack.

But if I'm in an outpatient clinic glancing over the chart on the next patient and a nurse snaps "How can I get the vitals if you have the chart?" when there's no rush due to no-shows, I get angry.

Or when a nurse groans and rolls her eyes when I ask her to do something (Never for me, half the time it's the attending asking me to relay it, or I'm just relaying a patient's request for medication or whatever) and I see that's she's sitting at the nurses station, not charting or on the phone, but small talking or flipping through a magazine, I again get angry.

Its frustrating, but unfortunately I don't think there's much we can do about it. The nurse probably has plenty of people who will back her up.

 

[MSKalltheway]

Well, in a way that's sort of true, brutal as it sounds. My first priority is taking care of my patients.

Understandable and true, but it bothers me to view it that way. Its not students vs. nurses to see who can best care for a patient, its students and nurses to better care for the patients. In the end, we are all following orders from the attending one way or another. In large part, med students only do as we are told, and those orders ultimately come from attendings and residents. Things we ask for likely result from someone higher on the food chain needing it for patient care, so generally there's no way we are the only ones to see or need it.

The back scratching should work both ways. If I politely ask for vitals, I dont want to see this . At the same token, if any nurses were busy and needed me to cath a patient or start an IV for them, I'd be glad to. Karma will get down for both parties...I'd rather be on the good end.

 

[fab4fan]

But if I'm in an outpatient clinic glancing over the chart on the next patient and a nurse snaps "How can I get the vitals if you have the chart?" when there's no rush due to no-shows, I get angry.

Well, there's a flip-side to this. I work in a dept. where I have only "x" amount of time to get a pt. ready to go to surgery. Everybody and his brother is always snatching the chart away from me, which makes impossible at times for me to do what I need to do with the chart. Yes, that's just part of the job, and most of the time I just suck it up and deal with it. But there are days when it really. gets. on. my. last. nerve. I mean it. So when I finally get hold of the chart only to have one more person want to take it away from me, that's when I want to crack. And sometimes, that hapless person is a med student. I never bark or yell or roll my eyes, but I have been known to indicate my frustration with one of those "persecuted sighs." But yeah, you'd get the chart, and you'd get it for as long as you needed it. I may not be happy about it, but that's life. If push comes to shove, I'll take the papers out of the chart I really need so I can get the bare minimum of documentation done.

 

[fab4fan]

Understandable and true, but it bothers me to view it that way. Its not students vs. nurses to see who can best care for a patient, its students and nurses to better care for the patients. In the end, we are all following orders from the attending one way or another. In large part, med students only do as we are told, and those orders ultimately come from attendings and residents. Things we ask for likely result from someone higher on the food chain needing it for patient care, so generally there's no way we are the only ones to see or need it.

The back scratching should work both ways. If I politely ask for vitals, I dont want to see this . At the same token, if any nurses were busy and needed me to cath a patient or start an IV for them, I'd be glad to. Karma will get down for both parties...I'd rather be on the good end.

That was clearly not what I was talking about (or so I thought). I'm talking about the student who can't find a supply/chart/doesn't know how to use the pager system, etc. v a pt. needing pain meds, toileting, etc.

Yes, I know you're part of the team. No, I won't roll my eyes if you ask me to get vs (although if we're really busy, there's the BP machine...) And I gotta say, there's just really no way I would ever ask a med student to start an IV; not in the dept. I work in. If we can't get IVs, we call the 'ologists because the pt. is a really bad stick. No offense, but...

 

[dilated]

#4 is what usually seems to get to interns, and especially med students. We're not used to conflict, and we rarely know how to respond, so we end up walking on eggshells and being all intimidated. We need to get over it, because their opinion of us means absolutely nothing.

Yeah, but there are about as many giant toolbox doctors. One difference is that the biggest a-holes are often among the hardest workers on the doctor side (and are taking out their hollow shell of a life upon you) whereas it's usually the laziest, most worthless nurses who don't carry their own weight that have the worst attitudes. Which makes it all the more infuriating; somehow it's easier to accept getting yelled at by a dude that's mad because he has no personality, works 90 hours a week and his wife is boning Felipe the gardener.

 

[Tired]

somehow it's easier to accept getting yelled at by a dude that's mad because he has no personality, works 90 hours a week and his wife is boning Felipe the gardener.

Really? I've never much cared who was giving me ****, I always want to punch them in their stinking face and crap on their chest after they go down.

 

[Ypo.]

Bad nurse story today:

So I show up at 1pm to work with a doctor I have never worked with before. The waiting room is closed and there are patients waiting outside in the hallway, with nowhere to sit. There is a big window into the waiting room where two nurses are sitting, reading newspapers and chatting. The patients tell me "we have appointments at 1pm but they aren't letting us in yet." So I walk in front of the window so they'll see me, but they just continue to ignore us.

So I knock on the door. The nurse (incidentally she was 6 feet tall I kid you not, and very intimidating) reluctantly answers the door. I say "hi, I'm Ypo, a medical student here to work with Dr. _____ today." She answers me with "we don't open until 1pm." but after blocking the door for a few moments with her huge hulking body, grudgingly lets me in but with attitude in her posture. Then she tells me "he won't be here until 1:30pm." I say cheerfully, "oh, that's OK. Does he have his schedule for the afternoon yet?" She gives me big attitude and says "do you MIND if I finish my lunch first?" I reply "oh, not at all." and then sit down in the waiting room, whilst feeling guilty that the patients are still outside standing in addition to wondering just what it is she is eating since there is no food laying around. Literally 30 seconds after saying this (enough time to make her point??), she gets up, walks me back to his office (on the way making a passive aggressive comment about how it's not yet 1pm yet) and shows me the schedule which was lying on the doctor's desk (which I could have easily found on my own if I had just been given permission to go back to his office).

2 minutes later I hear her saying in a VERY loud voice (she must have known I could hear her as the door was wide open) "the medical student just showed up and knocked on the door and made us let her in. And then she had the nerve to tell me to get the schedule for her! I guess we can't have a lunch break anymore!" (*note, you have to put an accent on the words 'guess' and 'medical student' and put some head rolling and finger snapping in there to get the true effect). To which the person she was talking to replied "well, we'll just have to start closing the blinds again at lunch." Um, yeah. Ya think?

Talk about a malignant staff! Sheesh.

Oh, and P.S. The doctor showed up 5 minutes later. The funniest thing was watching the way they acted completely different in front of the doctor; all super fake nice. That's because he doesn't take any of their crap.

 

[Tired]

2 minutes later I hear her saying in a VERY loud voice (she must have known I could hear her as the door was wide open) "the medical student just showed up and knocked on the door and made us let her in. And then she had the nerve to tell me to get the schedule for her! I guess we can't have a lunch break anymore!" (*note, you have to put an accent on the words 'guess' and 'medical student' and put some head rolling and finger snapping in there to get the true effect). To which the person she was talking to replied "well, we'll just have to start closing the blinds again at lunch."

I will bet you five dollars this was a medical assistant, not a nurse.

Just a hunch.

 

[Ypo.]

I will bet you five dollars this was a medical assistant, not a nurse.

Just a hunch.

One of them was a nurse, and the other one was a medical assistant.

 

[Tired]

So I knock on the door. The nurse (incidentally she was 6 feet tall I kid you not, and very intimidating) reluctantly answers the door. I say "hi, I'm Ypo, a medical student here to work with Dr. _____ today." She answers me with "we don't open until 1pm." but after blocking the door for a few moments with her huge hulking body, grudgingly lets me in but with attitude in her posture. Then she tells me "he won't be here until 1:30pm."

When you are an intern, you will say, "Okay, thanks" and come back in an hour.

"Sorry sir, your staff told me you wouldn't be here until at least 1:30p."