Nursing Voices

Monday, December 04, 2006

The Princess Nurse and Dr. Fancy Pants

First, I’d like to thank everyone for their kind words regarding my last post. Some of you have asked me if my idiot doctor, Dr. Fancy Pants, knew that I work 16-hour shifts. Yes, I told him about my shifts. I also reminded him that psych nurses must be able to run away from dangerous patients when they start going off. He just looked at me and said, “Deal with it.” I know what you’re thinking, and I couldn’t agree with you more. I talked to my nursing supervisor when I went to work on Saturday, and he gave me some insight into what’s going on.



My supervisor suspects that the hospital told Dr. Fancy Pants to release me for work. He won’t tell me how he came to this conclusion. I’m the only full time nurse who works every weekend on our unit, and since I’ve been off work, two nurses have quit and another nurse has gone out on family leave. Many of our doctors are foreigners, and they depend on their employment at our hospital as a way of keeping their J-1 visa wavier. My doctor falls into this category, and if he doesn’t follow orders, he could find himself on a slow boat back to China. My supervisor has also heard Dr. Fancy Pants make derogatory comments about American women. He has said that American women are “spoiled brats” and that we demand too much from our doctors. He said that American women are nothing more than “pampered princesses.”

As a princess nurse, and as an American woman, I am offended by these comments. At the risk of sounding like an ugly American, if you don’t like our culture, go back home. There are plenty of people who are waiting in line to come to America to take your place. I’ve seen how cultural bias can influence the type of care women receive from foreign-born physicians. I’ll never forget the time when an Iranian doctor told one of my patients to go back to her abusive husband. The doctor said that as long as her husband was paying the bills, it was her duty to put up with his behavior. The doctor was a psychiatrist. The nurses told the patient to find a new doctor, and we gave her a list of shelters for abused women. We also gave her the phone number of a great divorce attorney. I’m not saying that every foreign-born physician is a chauvinist pig, but this kind of stuff does happen.



This princess nurse is sick of Dr. Fancy Pant. I am looking for a new physician.

14 Comments:

Blogger The Curmudgeon said...

You're looking for another doctor?

Well, I should think so.

But... your supervisor thinks the hospital put the arm on Dr. Fancy Pants to put you back into the trenches because others have quit while you were off or gone on leave? Are they trying to make it unaimous or what?

5:51 PM  
Blogger ladybug said...

mother jones,
i hope you find a much better doctor to look after you. hope you dont mind if i say: what a pr*ck.

i sent you an email (i think) or a comment (i think) right before thanksgiving regarding some old nurse-novels i found for you...

can you send me an email and let me know if you are interested? ladybugkip AT yahoo DOT com.

thanks!!!

8:51 PM  
Blogger Bo... said...

Yes, definitely get another doctor. But I confess that I wouldn't be able to leave it at that--I would have to give that guy a piece of my mind. (And oh boy, the things I'd say...)

10:06 PM  
Blogger Cyndy said...

Another doctor is just what the (insert here whichever discipline you like).. ordered...and maybe a swift hit to Dr Fancy Pant's crotch with your crutch..infantile maybe, but very satisfying..and maybe an MRI..hang in there MJ.... ;))))(

10:11 PM  
Blogger Janet said...

Aren't there labor laws or something you can resort to? Don't let this jerk get away with it.

11:06 PM  
Blogger Deacon Barry said...

Sprained ankle? Crutches? 16 hour shift!!! Sick days without question. Have you got an occupational health department at your hospital? They might have something to say about it. I do hope your ankle gets better soon.

2:44 PM  
Blogger kate loving shenk said...

well, MJ, i humbly think that most male doctors are misogyinists. i see it time and time again.

however, i am on a roll about totally changing my attitude. i don't like my energy when i am constantly criticizing these people. "they" are a product of a world view that is rapidly dying.

i am hoping by changing my attitude, i no longer will be bothered by these dudes.

peace (of mind)

kate loving shenk

ps--be well.

6:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Plenty of Americans still cling to dumb ideas. Just check the roster of any football team.

6:29 PM  
Blogger Ms. Laaw-yuhr said...

While I certainly think you've gotten the raw deal, Princess Nurse, I am shocked by your tale of the Iranian doctor. I cannot believe that it is not malpractice for a doctor, especially one supposedly an expert in mental health, to send an abused woman back to her abuser! As a woman (and soon to be attorney) I am completely horrified by your story. Why doesn't someone report him to licensing authorities?!

As for yourself -- you and the other nurses might consider speaking with your HR department about Dr. Fancy Pants.

8:55 PM  
Blogger Mother Jones RN said...

Hi Laaw-yuh, welcome to my blog.

The doctor that told his patient to go back to her husband was the hospital's cash-cow, so everyone just looked the other way when he did stupid things with his patients. Money was more important to that hospital than patient care. That's why I left and got another job.

MJ

10:31 PM  
Blogger Smalltown RN said...

OK...my blood is boiling right now...I am glad you have choosen to take a stance on this one....truly, this doctor needs to be reported or written up.....bad bad behaviour!!!

Shame on him!

I love your fiery spirit...keep it up!

Cheers

10:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You say Dr Fancy Pants is Chinese? Reminds me of Chinese history in the late 1800's, when the Boxer Rebellion was in full swing. The Chinese thought no more of their women then to put baby girls by the roadside to die like an unwanted pet. Baby boys were da bomb, they were treated like little princes. So I suspect your Dr Fancy Pants is living in the past and in his mind, women are to be put by the roadside like unwanted pets. Maybe we should put HIM by the roadside(with a big sticker on his backside reading China or Bust!).

10:15 PM  
Blogger poody said...

OMG Mother Jones get a Dr with a FNP I only see Drs. who have a NP who will treat me. I have found that most "foreigners"haven't a clue when it comes to Pschy nursing or treating.That Dr is a real Rat Bastard!!

11:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I worked in domestic violence prevention a while. And a doc like that can do a huge amount of damage, even when it isn't that overt. You might also want to let the local programs know that this is going on if you can do so discreetly. If nothing else, it lets them know that education at this facility is not shall we say reaching all doctors. And if they do any community education, maybe they can do something there.

3:52 AM  

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