Why is it that the posts I think are the most anecdotal, harmless posts in the world end up causing a shitstorm?
I'm finding this whole thing quite amusing. I've even been called "Ms. Thang" by an anonymous poster.
What is MOST amusing to me about this situation is that I was actually looking at it as a learning experience FOR ME, not for him.
I looked up the dose in my drug guide because I had never heard of that dosage amount in that route for that particular ailment before and wanted to check it out for myself. My years as an editor and fact-checker taught me never to take any bit of knowledge for granted, and so I look everything up, even if I'm pretty sure I'm right. I'd rather know I'm right than be "pretty sure." (I was once embarrassed by my boss in front of a large editorial meeting because I didn't know that the word pimento can also be spelled pimiento, and I hadn't looked it up. That's when I learned to say, "Hmmmm... I'm not sure. Let me check!")
The problem was that I put my mouth in gear before engaging my brain, and my correction of the intern just slipped out. It was not so much, "You dimwit newbie, I'm a smarty every day, and you are a dumbass," as "Huh, check it out--the dose really is 30, not 60."
However, showing him up on inserting the IV? Yeah, I rocked that shit. But then again, I've gotten shown up eight zillion times with other patients. Eh, whatever. The patient needed a line, and got one. Who cares who does it?
Can't we all just get along?
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10 comments:
Ya know... I'm no doctor. But as a Medic Intern I got corrected a bazillion times by my preceptor--but when I just didn't get it when he did it tactfully like you tried... then he sometimes had to do it outright.
If he is that easily offended then I would suggest family practice or podiatry to him, not emergency medicine. Sure, this patient, you had time to say otherwise, but next patient you may not have the time to be so tactful.
In the end, we all have one goal--treating a patient. If we can't take criticism for what its worth, then we aren't in this for the right reasons.
Just brush it off, you acted as anyone would. Some people just can't read a anecdote and leave it at that.
The fact that you want to apologise the moment you next see him shows you have no bad intentions at all.
And we know that some good came out of it because I bet you nor the intern will ever forget the dosage.
I apologize for my contribution to the miasma.
Rogue--
no need to apologize! I'm quite enjoying the continuing comments!
ggrn
At the end of the day you're the one pushing the meds in so if you hadn't checked and had done it it would have been your fault and your incident report. To bad for him that he didn't take your hint.
Conscientious (anal) nurses are safe ones, and nurses that apologize for making someone look bad are rare. You are one nurse I know I would love to work with.
Nice sh*t storm of comments BTW! :)
I sorry too. I enjoy winding things up, but I didn't mean for the fight to break out on your playground.
I love RNs, spent 9 months in an RNs Uterus and even married one. You've thrown down the Gauntlet humiliating this Intern though. Theres a thousand websites with stupid Intern stories, but NONE with stupid Nurse stories. Check out the Hideout in the near Future.
You did the right thing. It's better that the intern acquire humility now before he harms someone. Some people never learn. As I recently posted
here, hubris is the worst of all attributes.
quietusleo is right, and patients have to come first. It's good for everyone to have his/her mistakes pointed out--otherwise we miss some of them, and don't ever learn.
It's kind and fine of you to desire to apologize to the intern--an apology can go a long way, and if the intern is a good person you will be forgiven.
Sometimes I think learning to apologize was one of my most important lessons from residency--I know I was crabby and snippy at times, at other times just plain wrong (this was 20 years ago, before house officers had mandated days off and a limit to hours worked per week--at least, that's one of my excuses!).
I loved the post and the comments. Who could have predicted that it would spiral like that. You made a mistake that we have all made and probably will make again in the future. Its a learning experience for us all. You shared your story and admitted that you could have handled it better. BRAVO! As a student and young professional I will certainly take heed.
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