Sunday, September 16, 2007

One of the many reasons I love my job

One of the things I like most about my job as an occupational health nurse is that I don't have to deal with doctors on a daily basis anymore. I am limited in what services I can offer my patients, and I have protocols for the things I can do. I don't have to call in lab values or ask for additional pain medicine or put up with cranky doctors. Don't get me wrong, there are some very good doctors out there who are grateful for nurses, then there are a**holes like this:

I was charge nurse on the floor one night and inherited a huge stack of charts from the previous shift (charge nurse checked off all new orders in this wacky hospital.) I got to one chart where blood sugar checks were ordered every 4 hours. I looked back over my notes because I didn't remember getting information that the patient was diabetic. I checked her medical history. She wasn't. So I looked to see if she had been put on steroids. No.

Just then the doctor ordering the blood sugar checks walks by and puts another chart on my already towering stack.

"Doctor, can you tell me why this patient has blood sugar checks every 4 hours? She's not a diabetic and she's not on steroids."

"I know her history! Give me that chart!"

He scribbles something on the chart and hands it back to me in a huff.

What do I see? A new order for IV steroids.

You're welcome, a**hole.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes it sucks when you're good at your job. Things like what happened contradict the thought that your task becomes easier when you become more experienced. I think it only adds the burden of preventing disaster.

SpeakerTweaker said...

Wow. I've got a "shoot first, ask questions later" guy at my job, too. Ain't they the WORST?

For example:

Him-"WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE (generic part) OUT TO (client)'S HOUSE?!?"
Me-"I DID, and it was WRONG!"
Him-"You DON'T have to get an attitude about it!"
Me-*head explodes*

One day I'll live in a world where it'll be totally socially acceptable to slap the s#!t out of someone like that.

;)



tweaker

Anonymous said...

Well said.