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Now that some time has passed and I've had a chance to calm down, I'm actually really touched by seeing how the medical profession has come together over this. Before now, I was pretty good and pissed off. Those of you who are my friends over on Facebook have probably already seen all of this. Just because, I'm going to repost here too. Here's what I've said/posted over the past few days on the subject, in order from oldest-to-newest, with spacing removed within each post for clarity:
Me: "I can't say much about the whole View thing without losing my temper. They were insulting, mocking, and offensive and the "apology" was one of the worst attempts I've ever seen. Back-pedal faster, bitch. #NursesUnite"
Me: "Badge in hand, at the time clock to punch out and leave after coming in for a few hours on my day off to help out, and a code is called in one of the ER rooms. Back into the fray! Helped stabilize the patient and am really heading home now. How often does that happen to you self-important, condescending bitches on #TheView? #NursesUnite"
Doctor William R Blythe posted this, which I shared: "The truth about Nurses, from an ungrateful, selfish, arrogant Surgeon. Yesterday I posted a silly photo in support of this movement, but tonight I want to say something serious while there is ample attention. When a patient comes to our hospital for surgery, these are the people who take care of them: The Pre-Op Nurses meet the patient, make sure they are ready for surgery, complete mountains of paperwork, reconcile their medications, sign permits, check labs, answer questions, allay fears, and make certain the patient is properly prepared for surgery. And they put up with me. The Circulator Nurse is in charge of the OR. She makes certain the room, equipment, personnel, implants, disposables, medications and every other detail are ready. She oversees that everything is checked twice, that everything is documented properly and that the proper surgery is performed on the right part and the right patient every time. Her job is to ensure that we do everything right, every time, with no exceptions. She makes certain that every sponge, needle, gauze, blade and specimen are properly accounted for. And she puts up with me. My CRNA puts the patient to sleep and attends to them through every moment. She listens to their every breath and heartbeat. She makes sure they are asleep, safe and comfortable. She holds children her lap and talks to them like a mother while they go to sleep. She makes certain every patient goes to sleep and wakes back up as safely as possible every time, no exception. And she puts up with me. The people who operate directly with me are Nurses or Techs, not doctors. They make sure we have the proper instruments and equipment. My Scrub hands me what I need before I ask for it. She can anticipate what I am going to need next better than I can many times. She makes my job easy and she makes me look like I know what I am doing when sometimes I am less certain. The person across the table from me is often an RNFA or SFA. They operate directly with me - tie the knots, cut the suture, retract, hold, pull, control the bleeders, close the wounds and a million other things. I simply could not do what I do without them. And they put up with me. The PACU Nurses take the patients from the CRNA and recover them from anesthesia and surgery. They assess and dress wounds. They treat pain and anxiety and fear. They hold screaming babies in their arms until they are awake. They hold hands of grown men who are disoriented and fearful. They re-assure and calm the parents, children and spouses of the patients. They give wound, medication and discharge instructions, and they transfer patients to their room. They land the plane, and it's as important a job as any in the world. And they put up with me. The Nurses in the ICU and Floor take care of the patients, not me. The ICU nurses are infinitely more capable of monitoring and assessing sick patients than am I. I try to stay out of their way and let them do their job, and they let me know when they need me. The Floor Nurses take care of every detail of every patient: What and when they eat; medications; wound care; ambulation; checking vitals, labs, weights, sugars, pulse oximetry, I's & O's; draw and check labs; start and re-start IV's; and countless other things that only nurses understand. They spend time with the patient and family all day. They educate and answer questions. They pray with the patient and family. They cry when their patients die. And they put up with me. The truth is that if a patient is in the hospital for 48 hours, they may see me for the smallest fraction of that time. I say a brief hello before surgery, I operate, I speak to the family, and I make rounds each morning. I may spend 15 minutes each day at any one patient's bedside. The rest of it - every second, every bit, every detail, everything - is performed by the Nurses. Honestly, the one who probably needs the stethoscope least is me."
Me: "A comment to a friend just reminded me: The other day in triage, I called Poison Control regarding a patient who was checking in, because I knew the doctors in the back were busy. The woman on the other end of the phone? A nurse. When there is an abuse/rape case and the patient needs to be checked for evidence, know who does that? A nurse. Every single professional at the triage tables at the RAM clinics who triage patients before they go back (usually to see an intern or a medical student, BTW)? A nurse. Who handles making sure your kids get their daily medication in the middle of the school day if they need it? A nurse. (Oh, right, they also help take care of the disabled kids in schools too.) If there's not a doctor on a plane, who do they ask for in a medical emergency? Yeah, you got it. (And considering there are about three times as many nurses in the US as there are doctors, odds are you'll have a nurse on board, not a doc.)
We're damn near everywhere. #NursesUnite"
Mike Ginsberg, MD made this post, which I loved: "Because I'm an MD and I wear a "doctor's stethoscope," I have something very important to say, so I'll say it publicly: Through my training and career, nurses have been my hands, my eyes, and my ears. They have caught my sleep-addled mistakes at #AM when I was an exhausted house officer. They have been valuable members of our team and advocates for our patients. Every time I have run to a bedside to help save a life, it was because a nurse called me there. I remember being sent on a NICU transport from another hospital; I was so terrified I wouldn't know what to do if something went wrong but I had an experienced nurse with me. She knew what to do. Do you know why I'm a physician and not a nurse? Because I'm not brave enough to be a nurse. So for all the nurses out there, I stand with you."
Me: "I can't say much about the whole View thing without losing my temper. They were insulting, mocking, and offensive and the "apology" was one of the worst attempts I've ever seen. Back-pedal faster, bitch. #NursesUnite"
Me: "Badge in hand, at the time clock to punch out and leave after coming in for a few hours on my day off to help out, and a code is called in one of the ER rooms. Back into the fray! Helped stabilize the patient and am really heading home now. How often does that happen to you self-important, condescending bitches on #TheView? #NursesUnite"
Doctor William R Blythe posted this, which I shared: "The truth about Nurses, from an ungrateful, selfish, arrogant Surgeon. Yesterday I posted a silly photo in support of this movement, but tonight I want to say something serious while there is ample attention. When a patient comes to our hospital for surgery, these are the people who take care of them: The Pre-Op Nurses meet the patient, make sure they are ready for surgery, complete mountains of paperwork, reconcile their medications, sign permits, check labs, answer questions, allay fears, and make certain the patient is properly prepared for surgery. And they put up with me. The Circulator Nurse is in charge of the OR. She makes certain the room, equipment, personnel, implants, disposables, medications and every other detail are ready. She oversees that everything is checked twice, that everything is documented properly and that the proper surgery is performed on the right part and the right patient every time. Her job is to ensure that we do everything right, every time, with no exceptions. She makes certain that every sponge, needle, gauze, blade and specimen are properly accounted for. And she puts up with me. My CRNA puts the patient to sleep and attends to them through every moment. She listens to their every breath and heartbeat. She makes sure they are asleep, safe and comfortable. She holds children her lap and talks to them like a mother while they go to sleep. She makes certain every patient goes to sleep and wakes back up as safely as possible every time, no exception. And she puts up with me. The people who operate directly with me are Nurses or Techs, not doctors. They make sure we have the proper instruments and equipment. My Scrub hands me what I need before I ask for it. She can anticipate what I am going to need next better than I can many times. She makes my job easy and she makes me look like I know what I am doing when sometimes I am less certain. The person across the table from me is often an RNFA or SFA. They operate directly with me - tie the knots, cut the suture, retract, hold, pull, control the bleeders, close the wounds and a million other things. I simply could not do what I do without them. And they put up with me. The PACU Nurses take the patients from the CRNA and recover them from anesthesia and surgery. They assess and dress wounds. They treat pain and anxiety and fear. They hold screaming babies in their arms until they are awake. They hold hands of grown men who are disoriented and fearful. They re-assure and calm the parents, children and spouses of the patients. They give wound, medication and discharge instructions, and they transfer patients to their room. They land the plane, and it's as important a job as any in the world. And they put up with me. The Nurses in the ICU and Floor take care of the patients, not me. The ICU nurses are infinitely more capable of monitoring and assessing sick patients than am I. I try to stay out of their way and let them do their job, and they let me know when they need me. The Floor Nurses take care of every detail of every patient: What and when they eat; medications; wound care; ambulation; checking vitals, labs, weights, sugars, pulse oximetry, I's & O's; draw and check labs; start and re-start IV's; and countless other things that only nurses understand. They spend time with the patient and family all day. They educate and answer questions. They pray with the patient and family. They cry when their patients die. And they put up with me. The truth is that if a patient is in the hospital for 48 hours, they may see me for the smallest fraction of that time. I say a brief hello before surgery, I operate, I speak to the family, and I make rounds each morning. I may spend 15 minutes each day at any one patient's bedside. The rest of it - every second, every bit, every detail, everything - is performed by the Nurses. Honestly, the one who probably needs the stethoscope least is me."
Me: "A comment to a friend just reminded me: The other day in triage, I called Poison Control regarding a patient who was checking in, because I knew the doctors in the back were busy. The woman on the other end of the phone? A nurse. When there is an abuse/rape case and the patient needs to be checked for evidence, know who does that? A nurse. Every single professional at the triage tables at the RAM clinics who triage patients before they go back (usually to see an intern or a medical student, BTW)? A nurse. Who handles making sure your kids get their daily medication in the middle of the school day if they need it? A nurse. (Oh, right, they also help take care of the disabled kids in schools too.) If there's not a doctor on a plane, who do they ask for in a medical emergency? Yeah, you got it. (And considering there are about three times as many nurses in the US as there are doctors, odds are you'll have a nurse on board, not a doc.)
We're damn near everywhere. #NursesUnite"
Mike Ginsberg, MD made this post, which I loved: "Because I'm an MD and I wear a "doctor's stethoscope," I have something very important to say, so I'll say it publicly: Through my training and career, nurses have been my hands, my eyes, and my ears. They have caught my sleep-addled mistakes at #AM when I was an exhausted house officer. They have been valuable members of our team and advocates for our patients. Every time I have run to a bedside to help save a life, it was because a nurse called me there. I remember being sent on a NICU transport from another hospital; I was so terrified I wouldn't know what to do if something went wrong but I had an experienced nurse with me. She knew what to do. Do you know why I'm a physician and not a nurse? Because I'm not brave enough to be a nurse. So for all the nurses out there, I stand with you."
