Rattling The Wrong Cage
I happened to be sitting next to a doctor when he returned a page from a nurse. His tone of voice was surly when he explained why he wasn't going to help her.
The problem was that the primary doctor had made a referral to a specialist, but had asked the nurse to make the call. It is the policy at our hospital that all calls to non-primary doctors must be made doctor to doctor. But, most doctors being too lazy to do this, ask the nurse to do it for them.
If the nurse refuses, the doctor will get snippy and will sometimes refuse to make the call. If a patient is in trouble and the primary doctor is being a jerk, the nurse will make the call instead. Most doctors are nice when they get a call by the nurse instead of the doctor, but a few will become surly and lecture the poor nurse on hospital policy. We all know the policy and don't need a lecture, but what is a nurse supposed to do when the primary refuses to make the call and the patient needs help?
After the doctor got off the phone, he needed to vent about the nurse who had the nerve to call him in violation of hospital policy, especially after 4 pm on a Friday. Because I was sitting there, he vented to me. He was rattling the wrong cage. I've been in the position of having to make those calls and I wasn't sympathetic to his pain.
I explained why we sometimes have to call a specialist. If a patient is in trouble and the primary can't or won't help, we're not going to sit back and say, oh well and let the patient sink down further. We will get on the phone and keep calling doctors until someone will help. We don't appreciate the abuse that we sometimes receive, but we have to do what is necessary to help the patient.
The doctor venting to me seemed to think that we should just ignore requests that we call another doctor and if the primary doctor later asks why we didn't call, we should just say that it is the policy that he make the call. He also added that someday there will be a major lawsuit. I'm of the opinion that nurses should do what is necessary to avoid patient injury and a lawsuit, even if it means getting told off.
This doctor, by the way, was Richard. I don't know if I will seeing him again.
Written by Melissa on 11:11 AM
Me
Melissa blogging from sunny Santa Clarita, Southern California, United States.
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17 Comments:
Why does he try to argue with you, doesn't he know you were a lawyer before you became a nurse? Even I know better than to try to argue with you:)
The policy seems a bit odd. Why would a doctor be upset if a nurse called him? I don't get it.
Clearly Alan has never worked in a hospital or been in a subordinate position to drs. Good for you, and try to stay out of the hosptal if you can, people can get really sick there:)FYI, it is routine for nurses to get yelled at for disturbing the doc's, no matter how serious the patients condition may be. There is a reason there is a nursing shortage.
Sarah, I pick my battles carefully and only argue when I know I'm right and feel it's necessary to make my point, such as when I want to pick up the check. If Richard sticks around, which is highly unlikely, he would learn that.
I'm also annoyed that he keeps complaining about my height. I'm a perfect height. He's the one who is challenged and I don't care because I'm not that shallow.
Alan, I can only guess about the reason behind the rule. It might be because it is believed that the primary doctor knows the patient best and can explain why a referral is needed and any other background iformation that is needed.
In reality, the nurses know the patients better because we spend so much more time with them than the doctors do. The primary doctors give that as the excuse why the nurse should call in the referral. We can explain in as much detail as the specialist wants, what is wrong with the patient while the primary doctor may just have some vague idea of the problem.
I find it insulting that the hospital policy doesn't allow referral calls by nurses and am offended by the few doctors who enforce the rule.
Sarah, that is one of the many reasons for the nursing shortage. I would write a post on the reasons for the nursing shortage, but I'm not sure that Blogger has that much memory.
One of the things I like about you most is your strong sense of who you are. It sounds like Richard doesn't like that quite so much. LOL.
Poo that it was Richard....if you really like him, maybe you could try and leave work issues at work...only if he's worth it of course!
Gary, that is one of the advantages and disadvantages of getting older, I know what I will and will not put up with.
Michelle, I was annoyed at Richard before the disgreement. The referral issue just gave me an excuse to attack him.
I'm convinced that he either has a girlfriend or is dating several other women. He is never free on the weekends, but when I ask him later if he did anything special, he'll answer, not really. I'm hurt that he doesn't seem to think that I'm worth wasting a Saturday night on.
I bet he is married. Check into it.
Richard, Richard, Richard.... I can't believe he is venting about a nurse TO a nurse..
Anon, that thought has occurred to me. He is quite secretive. The last time I dated someone like that, it turned out that he was engaged.
Lisa, yeah, you would think that he would know better, but doctors often complain to me about other nurses. If there are no other doctors around, who else can they vent to?
He complains about height!? Hmm. What's a common nickname for Richard?
Alan, LMAO!
he isn't worth your time... sounds like he is a sneaky slimy snake to me.
Madwag, I suspect that's true and it's so disappointing.
Oh honeychild, I woulda flat outrite done kicked his butt another crack. Then I woulda drank a beer while he setted there in shock. An' then I woulda called the other doctor to come an' sew up both of his pompous heinie crevices. An' when the other doctor gotted there, I woulda dranked another beer.
Sheesh. Urp.
railer Trash, you're funny. Thanks for visiting.
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