Didn't you say she called you a vindicitive bitch? Don't you think that's abusive speech? You sure wouldn't get away with that here.
You know, I see these threads where meds students/interns/resdents complain about "ancillary" staff mistrating them, but when someone says "This isn't right, it shouldn't happen, period" it seems most of you turn around and downplay it. I don't get it. There's something really wrong about a system that allows a staff member to strike another member of the team--I don't care who it is. That old-school attitude has to be changed.
We complain about it because it is damaging and demeaning. We downplay it because we are told to downplay it.
Back in the day, attendings abused residents and students, and that sucked, but at least it was within the field and could be written off as part of the "hazing" ritual. Now everyone in the hospital takes shots at residents and students, and our attendings tell us to "let it go" and "work with the team" and "don't make waves". It's total ****.
Last week I watched a phlebotomist yell at a cardiology fellow for trying to take the echo machine into a patient's room. "I have a stat order for a blood draw! Get out of my way until I'm finished!" He just took it.
I read allnurses, and listen to folks in the hospital. A resident looks at a nurse funny, and they are labeled a "giant a$$hole" for all time. But a scrub tech hits a student and they become some kind of folk hero, standing up to "the man". Of course, "the man" is some kid who works triple the hours of the scrub tech and takes home 2/3 their salary. And what does our staff say about this? Let it go, don't make waves. Thanks for protecting your juniors, tool.
These experiences don't just go away. They stick with you. I remember every indignity, every slap, every public humiliation. I will still remember them when I am an attending.
when push comes to shove, i'd imagine that many attendings and/or program directors don't want to hear about it because they don't want to deal with it. it's easier to sweep it under the rug and tell a resident to "deal with it" or "don't make waves", than it is to confront the situation and try to make some change.
add to that, nurses and other staff have both the time and desire to make an incident report, talk to the charge nurse and/or floor manager about it, and follow up. contrast that with an intern or resident who has seemingly a million and one things to do, decisions to make, follow up, etc. ... the last thing on most interns and residents minds is filing some sort of report.
personally, i had a situation a few weeks ago in the icu where a nurse for my patient shared concern regarding informed consent for a patient (sad case where a 41 year old guy had a massive stroke, had midline shift and edema, and became brain dead. only "family" was a girlfriend). myself, my intern were in the report room, and she was in the hallway. we discussed it, she (the nurse) said she wanted to get the social worker for clarification. an hour later, i'm asked by my program director why i was yelling at a nurse on the floor. turns out the nurse went to the charge nurse and the icu manager and told them that i yelled at her in the hallway about the situation. i had to have a meeting with the icu manager, with my intern there as a witness that the nurse was lying.
i was pissed off that the nurse would even lie, but even more that the program director had to hear about it. i imagine it's something more to be placed in the file.
i suppose i could retaliate by trying to write the nurse up regarding that sitaution or any other, but to me, it's not worth it. i'm worried about the patient care, not whether or not a nurse made me mad, or talked to me a certain way, or looked at me a certain way. i don't care about your attitude towards me, as long as the patient gets the care he/she deserves.
in many ways as a physician, it seems like a no win situation. for the phlebotomist yelling at the cards fellow, the cards fellow either takes it (like he did), or he "puts the phlebotomist in his/her place" which likely just results in people thinking he (the cards fellow) is an *** who shoulddn't talk to people like that, who mistreats those "under" him, etc. etc.
