Say what?!

Maybe I really am naive in thinking there is good in all people. I hear stories about doctors being rude, arrogant, and unappreciative to nurses--well, to anyone in general--but I've always thought "Really? Would people really get all high and mighty like that?" Not that I don't believe there are people like that, it's more like "I can't imagine why or how someone will act like that."

Then I met face to face with that kind of doctor today.

We were at the hospital's OB clinic this morning. There were several exam rooms and each doctor was assigned with a med student and, eventually, a nursing student. The doc I was assigned to seemed okay with it before we went in, even told me and the med student we could learn together. So, med student and I took turn with patient assessment while doc looking up info on the computer, and it was a normal regular visit.

But once the patient is out of the room, doc stormed out of the door to the nurses station announcing "I don't want a nursing student with me, I'm a doctor! Nursing students need to be with the nurses!" Then she went into a nearby room to find someone and just made the same announcement she just made to everyone that was in the area, where the nurses, staff, and patients were present.

As you can imagine, the nurses were not happy. They "saved" me from the wrath of that doc, immediately finding me another exam room I could be in, and apologizing for the doc's behavior, saying "They're just being their typical self, they know it's a teaching hospital but they just got big headed." Apparently said doctor was infamous for their attitude because the nurses have dealt with that doctor in the past but today was the last straw when they blatantly rejected to teach a student. Needless to say, that doc's boos is going to know something today.

I was put with the OB Nurse Practitioner afterward, and within ten minutes my friend came in with the same reason as me. Apparently, that doc went to her other assigned exam room, where my friend, a resident, and a med student had seen a patient. Doc came with "Is there a nursing student here?!" to which my friend replied "I am." Then doc said "Nursing students can't be with the rest of the doctors. Nursing students need to be with the rest of the nurses."

What the hell is that doctor problem?!

Look, I know normally in other clinical setting, the med students follow the doctors and the nursing students follow the nurses, but this is an OB clinic. An OB nurse practitioner more or less does the same thing an OB doctor would do during a regular OB visit, unless a more serious complication arises then the nurse practitioner would refer the patient to a doctor. The med students are learning more or less the same thing the nursing students are doing: getting history out of the patient, fundal height, fetal heart rate (the difference is that the med students get to do a vaginal exam whereas I won't without my instructor's being there with me). For that reason, the nursing students are assigned to be in the room with the OB doc, med student, and the patient.

Having said this, I know not all doctors are asshats, just like not all nurses are heaven sent. There are asshats nurses too, I'm not going to pretend my profession is the better one here. But as for today, this is what happened to me. I was fine about it afterward, sure I was taken aback by the attitude, but I felt more for the nurses on that floor because this doctor just pissed off every nurse there with their inconsiderate comments.

Now when people are talking about asshat doctors, I can say "Yeah, it happened to me once" instead of "Yeah, I heard about that."