crushed by ortho

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scarface

is yo' boy
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So I'm getting ready to leave the outpt ortho clinic today when suddenly someone from the ortho team makes a comment that I should have gone into ortho instead of EM. Following this, two ortho residents start talking about how EM sucks; the usual "glorified triage nurse" comments among others. So I take it and handle it like a real gangsta'. I state my reasons for choosing EM and how I'm very happy with my decision. Not good enough, so they continue to take jabs at me and I continue to show that I have a strong chin. After nearly 10mins of this unfair fight, I leave feeling....nothing, but I begin to wonder. How do others respond and what are the best responses that people use to get monkeys off their back?
I have two more weeks in this clinic so I'll need all the ammo that I can pack.

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I usually just tell them politely that I'm going HOME. That usually shuts them up...
 
i usually bet them they can't touch their elbow to their chin. it works best when you have a group of them. at least you'll get a laugh out of it.

if that fails just remember to avoid turning your back on them and at all costs stay away from the one with the silver stripe down his back. those are the real nasty ones. i keep a few bananas in my pocket to toss as diversions in case they attack, but mostly they just like to stand around and hoot and beat their chests and eat lice off each other.

--your friendly neighborhood zookeeper caveman
 
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I'll leave the sarcasm out. Here is my experience. No doubt in any residency there is criticisms. This is honestly the result of the need for self definition and confirmation that each resident in each specialty has made the right choice for them. Physicians do this by defining what they view the other specialty is NOT!


The reality is that much of these infantile activities end a great deal when your an attending. this is for several reasons, number one is a reality, weather you golf, fish, play tennis, hike, bike, dive, cook, enjoy wine, music etc everyone knows that if you are looking for someone to enjoy a collegial day with just go to the ED and ask around, you can always find an ED doc who can switch or is off. Though this seems really unique and petty it is a reality, I have gone golfing etc with surgeons, orthos, cards etc...all at their request!

The much greater reality is that in private practice, and though at a large teaching community based program, that is our b-ness model, the ED does direct patient care and consultations, the successful consultants realize that you can and will excell or hinder their career based on their intereactions with the ED staff. Now i realize that is not the case in the university based system, but the the dollar driven world of private practice the competent ED attending is highly valued and often praised by the consultant, who will call to see if YOU are on, o call your cell when they have a personal or family issue.

This is really why when looking for a new position you should spend some time in the ED and whatch the intereaction of the ED with consultants, regardless if this is academic or community.

Honestly Don't sweat it!
 
I agree with Peksi. It'll be different once you are an attending. For now just wait for the next time they have to come down to the ER to admit a patient. Assuming they don't just make up their admission H&P they will need to borrow your stethoscope since they have been using theirs as a bungy cord to hold together a broken piece of their weight bench. Then you can politely remind them which end goes in their ears and which end goes on the patient's "triple point"
 
Dealing with ortho is easy. Just tell them that you wanted to do something where you could give a Tylenol without consulting medicine and know about the existence of antibiotics besides Ancef. But, since you're only a "triage nurse" you'll be happy to call them for every shoulder and colle's reduction you run across. Oh, but remind them you'll still need to be there to do the conscious sedation for them.
 
I usually just tell them that we each have our own reasons for doing what we do. If a surgeon asks why I chose EM, I ask them why they chose surgery instead of medicine.

Each person has his or her own interests, and we can find fault in all specialties. When I tell them that, they usually leave it at that. If not, well I refuse to play the game of why my specialty is better than their specialty. Like Niner said, at the end of the day, we get to go home... they get to stay overnight every 3rd or 4th night and get to spend 16 hours/day in the hospital.
 
I usually respond by saying that I didn't go into Surgery because my husband frowned when I mentioned that I would have to grow a full beard and 2 large testicles by the end of a Surg Residency.... ;) :laugh:


Kat
 
The only cool part about the OR to me is when the OR nurse holds open your sterile gloves and you put them in there one at a time. Pretty freakin' cool but the coolness factor drops precipitously after that, much like the O2 dissociation curve.

Q
 
don't say anything, just kick them in their teeth. i punched one of my classmates in the face for telling me that ER doctors are worthless and only good for taking care of "society's ****."

i don't necessarily think ortho is bad, i've observed several surgeries and it seems pretty fun. the ER guys i hang out with seems to just be more focused on family and fun rather than working 60+ hours a week. different folks...
 
Where's the love? Why can't we all get along?

Don't give in to the haters. REAL Ortho docs appreciate the ED, because it's one of the few places they'll find physicians who love their jobs and have as much fun as they do.

I suspect this crowd of 'Pods is insecure about their own skills or they're having a sucky month or whatever, and they're lashing out.
 
I find the whole ortho argument a bunch of crap. I had it out with my ortho buddies in med school but now in residency, I really like the ortho guys and they seem to like us (at least to our faces). Without them I'd often be screwed and vice-versa. It'd be hard to manage a type 3 talus fracture on my own the same way it'd be a pain in the ass for them to come down and see every single ortho complaint. As for being of value anywhere in the world, I'd put ortho right up there with EM. Sure, they can't all manage an acutely ill patient (though some likely can) but I saw a presentation yesterday on American medical involvement in the Tsunami disaster and the Orthopods were almost as important as anyone else. We should have great respect for everyone in the hospital as they should have great respect for us. Except the medicine residents. They are f@#$in nuts. Why would anyone go into that field?
 
Sorry, didn't want to seem like a hater. Just trying to give the brother some ammo. Now that he has it, I'm pulling the original post so as not to attract trollers or breed any more animosity.

Part of my point is that I think there is more to going into EM than just lifestyle, though our detractors seem to think otherwise.

Plus, ER docs are just so damn cool. :cool:


'zilla
 
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this is what I'm saying too. This batch of orthos the OP describes just seem to be wearing extra-tight crankypants. Most orthos are nearly as cool as EM people. :)

EDIT TO ADD: 'zilla, you weren't a hater in my estimation. I meant the cranky Ortho people who were featured in the OP's story.
 
typeB-md said:
don't say anything, just kick them in their teeth. i punched one of my classmates in the face for telling me that ER doctors are worthless and only good for taking care of "society's ****."
QUOTE]

You don't exactly sound like a "type B."

mike
 
mikecwru said:
typeB-md said:
don't say anything, just kick them in their teeth. i punched one of my classmates in the face for telling me that ER doctors are worthless and only good for taking care of "society's ****."
QUOTE]

You don't exactly sound like a "type B."

mike

i sure am... i'm typeB... as in "keep talking and i B kicking your face in!" or "if you keep it up, you're gonna B regretting it!" ;)
 
scarface said:
So I'm getting ready to leave the outpt ortho clinic today when suddenly someone from the ortho team makes a comment that I should have gone into ortho instead of EM. Following this, two ortho residents start talking about how EM sucks; the usual "glorified triage nurse" comments among others. So I take it and handle it like a real gangsta'. I state my reasons for choosing EM and how I'm very happy with my decision. Not good enough, so they continue to take jabs at me and I continue to show that I have a strong chin. After nearly 10mins of this unfair fight, I leave feeling....nothing, but I begin to wonder. How do others respond and what are the best responses that people use to get monkeys off their back?
I have two more weeks in this clinic so I'll need all the ammo that I can pack.
Tell them there was a catastrophic fire in the orthopedic library. It was a total loss. They lost both books, including the Flintstone coloring book.
 
jetproppilot said:
Tell them there was a catastrophic fire in the orthopedic library. It was a total loss. They lost both books, including the Flintstone coloring book.


Hahahahaha!!! Dude, you rock!!!! :laugh: :laugh:
 
scarface said:
So I'm getting ready to leave the outpt ortho clinic today when suddenly someone from the ortho team makes a comment that I should have gone into ortho instead of EM. Following this, two ortho residents start talking about how EM sucks; the usual "glorified triage nurse" comments among others. So I take it and handle it like a real gangsta'. I state my reasons for choosing EM and how I'm very happy with my decision. Not good enough, so they continue to take jabs at me and I continue to show that I have a strong chin. After nearly 10mins of this unfair fight, I leave feeling....nothing, but I begin to wonder. How do others respond and what are the best responses that people use to get monkeys off their back?
I have two more weeks in this clinic so I'll need all the ammo that I can pack.
Ask them if they know the definition of a double blind study?
Two orthopedic surgeons looking at an EKG.

Yeah, hit'em with a little humor and go on with your great life as an ER doc.
 
the ortho library burning down is damn funny and the EKG thing actually happened. I was asked to interpret an EKG for one of their patients who was being pre-op'd.
The posts here are representative of why EM is so right for me.
 
scarface said:
The posts here are representative of why EM is so right for me.

I think many of these posts have just reacted by making fun of ortho.
 
I was referring to the sense of humor of the SDNers on this particular forum as representative of the sense of humor among the people who choose to practice medicine as EP's. That's all, nothing more. I for one, do not like to talk smack about other specialties or other people, and the comments here are purely for entertainment. You'll probably find that the majority of EM residents actually like or get along fine with the ortho residents since both groups tend to be similar in personality and interests. If you go back and read the replies to my OP, several posters in fact stated this.
Ortho was exemplified in the original post simply b/c of my experience at that time , however EM residents hear it from people from all walks of life.

chill yo'.
 
I would have said "do you know the definition of a double blind study?"

A: Two orthopedics looking at an EKG


hahahaha. seriously though every type of doctor is important in the whole scheme of things, otherwise that occupation wouldn't exist :)

Looks like the EKG one was taken, so I would have asked "do you know what the two toughest years in an orthopedics life is?

A: 4th grade. hahahaha
 
rohitpatel said:
I would have said "do you know the definition of a double blind study?"

A: Two orthopedics looking at an EKG


hahahaha. seriously though every type of doctor is important in the whole scheme of things, otherwise that occupation wouldn't exist :)

Looks like the EKG one was taken, so I would have asked "do you know what the two toughest years in an orthopedics life is?

A: 4th grade. hahahaha

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
Fantastic.
 
The smartest man I know is an orthopaedist. He told me the following zingers:

"Orthopods are as strong as a horse & twice as smart."

This one's less ortho-specific:

"How do you hide a $100 bill from an Orthopod?
-Put it in a book.
A Radiologist?
-Tape it to a patient's forehead.
A Plastic Surgeon?
-You can't hide money from a Plastic Surgeon."

As a soon to be ER Doc who likes to make fun of himself, I'd like to hear some jokes at our expense (and I'm sure I'll hear plenty).
 
WilcoWorld said:
As a soon to be ER Doc who likes to make fun of himself, I'd like to hear some jokes at our expense (and I'm sure I'll hear plenty).


Q: What's the only question on the EM boards?

A: What's the pager number for surgery?
 
Man, when someone in EM is trash-talking your medical knowledge.....

On to more humor:

What's the difference between an orthopod and a carpenter? The carpenter can tell you the names of two different antibiotics.

What's another name for an EM textbook? A Rolodex.
 
heh, ortho doesn't give us too much **** because each of their interns gets to do a month in our ED, where each intern and resident gets the same # of patients, regardless of the department theyre coming from (even psych!). funny and true.
but if they do get mouthy, i just smile and remember the time they gave a patient 13 mg of versed for a reduction and then of course had to call us to manage the airway. and that while they often have trouble managing simple medicine like htn or a fib, i can put on a splint as well as any of them or reduce a shoulder/ankle/etc. i don't expect them to be able to run a pediatric code and i don't expect me to be able to replace a knee.
finally, you can say, hey, the last time i was on call was....9 months ago. what about you?
 
Let me just quickly add this one that I haven't seen anywhere else:

Q: What do you call 2 orthopods shaking hands?

A: A synapse!

Oh, and those couple ER one-liners: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
spyderdoc said:
The ABC's of EM: Always Beeping Consultants (i'm sure there are more)

The ABC's of Anesthesiology: Airway, Bagels and Coffee

[A]irway reak [C]offee [D]onut [E]xtubate read [F]unnies then [G]o home

mike
 
mikecwru said:
[A]irway reak [C]offee [D]onut [E]xtubate read [F]unnies then [G]o home

mike


I learned

Airway
Book
Chair

But, come to think of it, they did give me a lot of coffee breaks on my gas rotation. I just assumed they were trying to get rid of me...
 
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