offended....

hello all....something happened on my shift yesterday that irked me, thought i'd have shaken it off by now, by here i am still thinking about it, so i wanted to check in here and get some feedback.
so there i am sitting at the nurses station catching up on charting, it was one of those days where i had a med to give every hour and tons of lab draws, and was time managing in such a way to stay on top of everything so i wouldn't become overwhelmed when new orders came in.
okay, so i'm sitting there charting, which to some people can look like i'm doing nothing, when i hear someone say 'hey you, this resident needs a stethoscope, go get him one". i tried to mask my look of disbelief, i'm right in the middle of something, i guess i should get used to being interrupted, but to me this was crazy. so a resident forgets his stethscope, okay thats fine. would it have been more appropriate for him to ask where he can find one himself (like, retrieve it himself) instead of finding a nurse to go fetch it.
that's how i felt; as a nurse we're pulled this way and that all day, i know i'm not a doctor, but my work is still important and needs to be done in a timely manner. i just wish.....i don't know. i feel disrespected but maybe i don't need to make it all about that. i thought to myself, 'my, they train them early'...you know, like they teach residents to just find a nurse to get them whatever they want, instead of teaching young doctors to ask where to find things themselves. would make teamwork a lot smoother. okay, feedback?
Did you get one for said physician? If you did, then you are reinforcing this behaviour. We often allow this to occur and in essence train people to act like this.

Did you turn around and say "excuse me????" and give them that look?I had a surgeon get all testy with me one time and I looked her in the face and said "excuse me" and she toned it down a couple of notches.And I did it with a smile.And if I would have heard "hey you", I would have keep on charting. Your name is not "hey you". And if they woud have repeated it, then I would have turned around and said my name is afrocentricRN and turned right back around and kept on charting.

yeah, i did get the stethoscope....all eyes were on me, and i don't want to be known as the rude nurse in the resident circle. i'm still fairly new there (13 months) so i'm really trying to be likable and cooperative. and in all fairness, they didn't say "hey, you," they said "hey, (insert my name here)". i was just offended because i was clearly in the middle of focused charting...you know? i guess in hindsight, i could have informed him where to locate it. i just don't want to be considered a big "B" (as michael scott would call it).

Quote from 1louise1yeah, i did get the stethoscope....all eyes were on me, and i don't want to be known as the rude nurse in the resident circle. i'm still fairly new there (13 months) so i'm really trying to be likable and cooperative. and in all fairness, they didn't say "hey, you," they said "hey, (insert my name here)". i was just offended because i was clearly in the middle of focused charting...you know? i guess in hindsight, i could have informed him where to locate it. i just don't want to be considered a big "B" (as michael scott would call it).

Would you rather be seen as a big doormat? In any kind of setting, healthcare or otherwise, if you don't set limits, people will walk all over you. I understand that you haven't been there a terribly long time, but every day you work there is going to seem a lot longer if the physicians (and other nurses) get the impression that you're unwilling or unable to stand up for yourself. You don't have to be rude about it, but you do need to be firm. You're a colleague, not a go-fer.

I would not have masked my disbelief. I would have exaggerated it, opened my eyes wide, smiled in bemusement and said, "Hey you?" The look would have pointed out how inappropriate the comment was, but kept the tone "light and humorous." The person who said it would appear foolish, but the tension would not have been heightened much.After giving this suprised, bemused, shocked reaction and asked, "Hey you?" I would have pointed out where he/she could get a stethascope. "You should find a stethascope in the ..... Let me know if there aren't any there." I would act in a dignified way ... polite, but firm, ... but maintain the bemused smile on face .... keeping the higher ground for myself ... showing my superiority ... and making the person who said "Hey you" feel small.

Why not direct the person to where the stethoscopes are kept. I have a hard time displaying any power. I have only been a nurse for over a year, and I look really young, even though I am almost 30 I could pass for 22.

When you gave him the stethoscope, you could have told him like "Here's the stet and BTW my name is not 'hey you'. I'm ____ and I'm a nurse." (with a smile)

Quote from 1louise1hello all....something happened on my shift yesterday that irked me, thought i'd have shaken it off by now, by here i am still thinking about it, so i wanted to check in here and get some feedback.so there i am sitting at the nurses station catching up on charting, it was one of those days where i had a med to give every hour and tons of lab draws, and was time managing in such a way to stay on top of everything so i wouldn't become overwhelmed when new orders came in.okay, so i'm sitting there charting, which to some people can look like i'm doing nothing, when i hear someone say 'hey you, this resident needs a stethoscope, go get him one". i tried to mask my look of disbelief, i'm right in the middle of something, i guess i should get used to being interrupted, but to me this was crazy. so a resident forgets his stethscope, okay thats fine. would it have been more appropriate for him to ask where he can find one himself (like, retrieve it himself) instead of finding a nurse to go fetch it.that's how i felt; as a nurse we're pulled this way and that all day, i know i'm not a doctor, but my work is still important and needs to be done in a timely manner. i just wish.....i don't know. i feel disrespected but maybe i don't need to make it all about that. i thought to myself, 'my, they train them early'...you know, like they teach residents to just find a nurse to get them whatever they want, instead of teaching young doctors to ask where to find things themselves. would make teamwork a lot smoother. okay, feedback?

Don't give an overplayed or emotional response no matter how insulting you might think it is. You'll be a joke later for them when they are talking about "did you see that nurse's response". When a resident asks for something with an attitude like described by the OP, I may give "the look" (improves with age) as I point to the supply Pyxis and say "look under stethoscope" for a disposable. Or, I might say the campus bookstore will open at 0900. They know the attendings hate for them to be unprepared. If they have no attitude problem, I will offer a little more help so they don't get "the look" from their attending during rounds.

it's notable that the resident DID say "hey, poster's name", and not "hey you".big difference, to me, anyway.knowing that he addressed op by her name, i would have politely directed person where to get a steth, and continue working.had he said, "hey you", i would have politely directed person where to get steth, and then, where to place it.leslie

Next time:Simple."No."