Classism in the OR
By adamg - Fri, 09/26/2008 - 7:47am.
Dr. T recounts the night she failed a friend by not speaking up:
... This same woman, Nurse X, yelled at my friend on the housekeeping staff, let's call her Z, to get her cleaning supplies cart out of the way while a patient was being wheeled out of the O.R. I saw the incident. The cart was not in the way to begin with. Nurse X took Z by the shoulders and shoved her to the wall, crashing her into the cart in the process, causing the cleaning water to spill into the corridor and Z to nick her shin. Nurse X roughly manhandled Z, who is small, in a way she would never dream of doing to a man "of rank" in the hospital. ...
- Add new comment |
| 
| 
A different kind of classy
So it's "classism" when you watch someone get physically assaulted by someone involved in the care of your patient...and not only fail to report the incident to HR or hospital security, but fail to protect your patient from this person who clearly has rage issues and no business being near your patient?
First words out of her mouth should have been "Someone call security and have X arrested."
The second set of words should have been "Step away from the patient immediately. You are unfit to provide medical care."
I think the real classism is that in the context of a physical assault and battery, the comments (save compliance dude) all speak like Nurse X was discourteous. "Oh, I make it a POINT to be nice to the cleaning persons!" So shoving them against the wall is "not being nice"?
The doctor in question....
This doctor seems to realize she did not do the right thing.
Not knowing all the facts, it is hard for me (and you) to judge the doctor too harshly. For instance, if there was an emergency operation scheduled right after the one described, this could explain not dealing with the problem immediately. But I do think that the doctor should have spoken (on her own initiative) to the appropriate people as soon after the event as possible.
It happened so fast
From her blog:
It happened so fast. I was so shocked I didn't know what to say, then it was over and people went back to the hustle and bustle of O.R.
Yes, I agree with Michael, and as one myself who can be a little slow in comprehension, I sympathize with the blogger. Next thing you know, it's too late. For fear of overreacting, you sit there and try to digest what just happened, and then - the moment is gone. She did her best to rectify the situation, and I give her credit for that.
I can't guess how I'd respond
On the one hand, she witnessed an assault. On the other, she has a patient coming out of surgery who needs to be continuously tended to without distraction.
If I recall properly, Dr T is not a physically large person, either. This nurse, who she already rebuked and is very much a bully and has many issues, might have escallated her violence. The nurse would have been fired or jailed, but it would also be very bad for the patient.
I do hope that Dr. T does not try to make nice but has Nurse X professionally reprimanded and forced into counseling. Workplace violence is a serious issue, and a record of this event should be in the nurse's personnel file.
Do you ever actually read
Do you ever actually read the linked entries? Or just post your knee-jerk reactions to the excerpts?
"Classism" is off the
mark