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If someone calls you a nurse take it as a compliment...they are calling you cute.
Thank you for saying this. Nothing is more annoying to me than folks wearing the nurse uniform (scrubs, stethoscope on neck, no ID badge) getting offended because I didn't know they were physicians.
Ditto on the gas folks. Had an anesthesiologist get huffy with me because I asked if he was the "anesthetist" for my case. Guess what d-bag? Your group has so many CRNAs, I can't remember the last time I saw an MD intubate here.
When I need people to know I'm from a surgical service, I put on a scrub cap. And when I need them to know I'm from ortho, I wear my white coat. It's called a visual cue.
The CRNA-anesthesiology thing is interesting. As a woman, I have noticed male anesthesiologists are often mistaken for nurses since there are lot of male CRNA. Its pretty confusing to keep up since their responsibilities seem pretty similar for CRNA and anesthesiologists and they tag each other in and out.
It seems to be one of the few times men are mistaken for nurses. I think on the floors or clinics, if you are wearing scrubs as a women you are more likely to be confused with a nurse. In the OR since everyone is in scrubs (nurses and doctors) it is still an issue simply because of traditional gender roles--so the OR is probably the best place to judge the "burden" of women being mistaken for nurses.
Thank you for saying this. Nothing is more annoying to me than folks wearing the nurse uniform (scrubs, stethoscope on neck, no ID badge) getting offended because I didn't know they were physicians.
Ditto on the gas folks. Had an anesthesiologist get huffy with me because I asked if he was the "anesthetist" for my case. Guess what d-bag? Your group has so many CRNAs, I can't remember the last time I saw an MD intubate here.
When I need people to know I'm from a surgical service, I put on a scrub cap. And when I need them to know I'm from ortho, I wear my white coat. It's called a visual cue.
True, midlevel encroachment is not an issue in my field. Although maybe that's the wrong term, since the various specialties did that to themselves.
The patients didn't decide that nurses were adequate to treat their mental health needs, or administer their anesthesia. We're the ones who told them that, and the patients went along with it. And generally, to be totally honest, it's worked out just fine. Maybe it could be better, but you can't let the best be the enemy of the good, right?
Maybe it's sexism that makes people assume you're a nurse. Or maybe the patients and staff really like the NPs and assume you're one of them because you have great people skills.
But either way, until your specialty and most of medicine can actually define what makes an MD different than a midlevel in regular practice, the problem will not go away.
And before all our med students and premeds jump in, no people, patients don't care how long you trained or how hard your boards are. They care about what you do for them.
That model doesn't work for most other specialties, because the work is different. The nonsurgical specialties don't exactly have a mix of consultative and procedural work as much as the surgical specialties do.You're absolutely right, my perspective would likely be different if I wasn't in a surgical specialty or if I were a woman. I have occassionally been mistaken for a nurse, but this is very rare. As a relatively tall guy who can lift things, I am mistaken for a tech from time to time, but this has decreased substantially as I age. This never bothers me, but if it happened all the time, it might.
I'm not up on psychiatry practice models for obvious reasons, but I did follow your thread in the psych forum for some time. Your situation sounds highly annoying, but I also don't see how you have a way out of it. If I'm reading it correctly: You want to assert your proper title, which is very important to you. But at the same time, asserting that too strongly risks unintentionally devaluing the work of the NPs you have to interact with on a regular basis. Or offending them. Or decreasing their value in the eyes of their patients.
And there's too many patients for you to see, so on some level your community needs NPs. But you also realize that the NPs, while they do a good job, probably aren't providing as good care as you could, if there were more of you or you had more hours in the day. And it's not like you can say that to the patients, because every patient wants to believe they are getting the best possible care.
This is the problem with using mid-levels based on acuity/complexity. A low-acuity/low-complexity patient can be safely and reasonably treated by an NP. A high-acuity/high-complexity patient cannot. But mid-levels can't always tell the difference. But MDs can't see every patient. So we end up with this haphazard distribution of work where every patient thinks that NP = MD, and the NPs start believing it themselves.
The better model is the one the surgeons use, where the distribution of work is based on specific tasks, not patient characteristics. Surgeons do surgery, mid-levels see consults, do pre-op evals, oversee non-operative management, and follow patients for post-op complications. Our NPs and PAs are absolutely vital to our practice and we couldn't survive without them. But the question of whether surgeons are actually necessary never comes up.
It's probably too late for you guys (or anesthesia) to switch to that kind of model, but it is one that works very well.
If someone calls you a nurse take it as a compliment...they are calling you cute.
Link to magazine covers plzMy name is on the front door.
There's a picture of me in the waiting room along with a framed magazine cover, both with DR WS on them.
I introduce myself as Doctor. My business cards are right on the chair side table. I don't always wear my coat, but it's embroidered with my degree.
Yet like my colleagues, I get asked when are " they going to do surgery" or "who" or "when is the doctor coming in"?
Ha ha...its one of those local ones not like Vogue or Guns & Ammo.Link to magazine covers plz
That model doesn't work for most other specialties, because the work is different. The nonsurgical specialties don't exactly have a mix of consultative and procedural work as much as the surgical specialties do.
There is nothing that requires the attending psychiatrist that the psych NP can't also be seen doing... except for a higher level of reasoning on the subject. That isn't exactly something the rest of us can easily see, and (the argument goes) not every patient requires the attending to be the one primarily taking care of them.
On the other hand, except for a pain management service in some hospitals, anesthesiologists basically do nothing except procedural work. If midlevels in that specialty only see consults and weren't doing the same procedures, they'd be fairly useless. The only way to delineate which ones are appropriate for them is complexity. Most states the anesthesiologist has to supervise them, and most of them that I've seen are there for induction/emergence, but the role is still overall the same. The anesthesiologist is just a lot better and (the argument goes, I'm not confirming it) that level of skill isn't necessary for every patient.
So those fields *do* have a mix of consultative and procedural work that would be amenable to the same model as orthopedics?Why are you commenting on fields outside of your expertise?
Wait, you "can't have a practice" because little old ladies on the inpatient ward forget about you from time to time? It would help if you could unpack that a bit more.
Thanks to propofol, none of my patients remember my face, name, or even the time they were in the ICU. When they show up in outcomes clinic they're still grateful. I still feel like a doctor.
You're young, old people (and many young people) are sexist, and patients get confused who people are when there are twenty different docs, nurses, PT, OT, speech, dietary, PCAs, pharmacists, case managers, social workers, Gary from the brace shop all waltzing through their room during the day.
Don't quit because of old people and the Patriarchy.
you really should seek some mental health counseling to toughen you up a bit and teach some coping skills for this......you have a very severe reaction to completely normal thingsI posted about this a while ago and I still feel bummed. I'm not sure whether I should quit or continue.
I'm a great resident but I feel that it's not infrequent that patients don't see me as the doctor and that worries me tremendously.
I introduce myself as Dr. I wear my white coat. My last name most people have trouble with, even the staff so I don't harp about that. But while some patients clearly know Im the doctor and treat me as much, there is a percentage who don't even remember me.
Even today I had an older patient I've been seeing for 2-3 days. I check on her daily, at times several times during the day, we talked about how she thought my last name was very elegant and pretty, and how she was incredibly happy about the care she'd gotten.
Then I go to see her with the social worker this afternoon, he introuces himself, and she asks me - who are you? I'm like I'm Dr. So and so. Then she's like oh yes that's right I've seen you several times. I was like what the heck? How can they forget?!
Or maybe 6 months ago, I admitted a patient, introudced myself as Dr. so and so, she and her family all told me how I looked so young. I go check on her the following day she asks me if I'm the nurse I tell her no I'm her doctor. Then she's like oh that's right. I go in the next day, the nurse is there doing other stuff, then she's talking to someoen on the phone and tells them - my nurses are here! The nurse was like I'm the nurse she's the doctor.
It's so frustrating. I dont know what else I can do. I have started wearing my white coat for several months and while it's made somewhat of a difference, it's still an issue.
I'm concerned that when I'm done patients won't recognize me as the doctor and what not. What to do? What's the point of doing all of this if I can't even have a practice at the end of the day?
you really should seek some mental health counseling to toughen you up a bit and teach some coping skills for this......you have a very severe reaction to completely normal things
you have 2 accounts?Severe reaction? If I'm never viewed as the dr it's kind of problematic don't you think.
Severe reaction? If I'm never viewed as the dr it's kind of problematic don't you think.
my point is thinking about quitting residency because some of your patients forget your name or occasionally call you nurse is severe, and the fact that you don't see that means you really need to sit down and talk to someoneYes, as the previous one was not working appropriately, but that's not the point.
my point is thinking about quitting residency because some of your patients forget your name or occasionally call you nurse is severe, and the fact that you don't see that means you really need to sit down and talk to someone
frustration is normal. Give up a $200k/yr job because someone forgets your name is severe. seek counselingSo if I start calling my mom my sister or my husband my father would that be normal? No. I have worked hard and it makes me feel frustrated that this happens to me whne it does not happen to my male colleagues.
200K? More like $350 as the plan was pain, but still. It feels awful and I don't understand it.frustration is normal. Give up a $200k/yr job because someone forgets your name is severe. seek counseling
all the more reason to talk to someone about coping mechanisms than quit....200K? More like $350 as the plan was pain, but still. It feels awful and I don't understand it.
I posted about this a while ago and I still feel bummed. I'm not sure whether I should quit or continue.
I'm a great resident but I feel that it's not infrequent that patients don't see me as the doctor and that worries me tremendously.
I introduce myself as Dr. I wear my white coat. My last name most people have trouble with, even the staff so I don't harp about that. But while some patients clearly know Im the doctor and treat me as much, there is a percentage who don't even remember me.
Even today I had an older patient I've been seeing for 2-3 days. I check on her daily, at times several times during the day, we talked about how she thought my last name was very elegant and pretty, and how she was incredibly happy about the care she'd gotten.
Then I go to see her with the social worker this afternoon, he introuces himself, and she asks me - who are you? I'm like I'm Dr. So and so. Then she's like oh yes that's right I've seen you several times. I was like what the heck? How can they forget?!
Or maybe 6 months ago, I admitted a patient, introudced myself as Dr. so and so, she and her family all told me how I looked so young. I go check on her the following day she asks me if I'm the nurse I tell her no I'm her doctor. Then she's like oh that's right. I go in the next day, the nurse is there doing other stuff, then she's talking to someoen on the phone and tells them - my nurses are here! The nurse was like I'm the nurse she's the doctor.
It's so frustrating. I dont know what else I can do. I have started wearing my white coat for several months and while it's made somewhat of a difference, it's still an issue.
I'm concerned that when I'm done patients won't recognize me as the doctor and what not. What to do? What's the point of doing all of this if I can't even have a practice at the end of the day?
This can't be real.
I am a man. It's not a question of whether being a physician is more difficult for women for a variety of reasons. It is, and you're certainly experiencing something that men usually don't have to deal with. But to consider quitting medicine because you aren't immediately respected as a physician by some patients because of your sex is absurd. You might, I don't know, have to let some patients know that you aren't a nurse occasionally. You could even make them feel dumb by reminding them that women can be physicians in 2016. But don't quit. That's crazy.You all must be men. I don't think that you would feel so great if you were called nurses or not recognized all the time.
I'm a woman, and I mention that only because you seem to think gender will influence my opinion here... but I actually agree with everyone else who has posted already. You keep reiterating that you aren't seen as "the doctor". If recognition is the sole reason you became a doctor, then by all means, quit... but surely you can come up with several other reasons you went into medicine?
Not sure what is confusing here. If patients don't recognize me as their physician, that's worrying. That is my role. If that's not the role that I'm been seen as playing, what do I do? How can I have a practice if patients don't think I'm a physician? Who would possibly come see me?
I doubt that you would feel the same if people called you nurse all the time or didn't think you were their physician.
How is that confusing to you? I AM a doctor. I take care of patients. What should I be seen as - the janitor?
Are you ok with me calling you a nurse by all patients every day? Is that what you are suggesting?
It's not confusing, it's just a thought process that seems out of proportion to the situation. Are you saying that even after you (and other health professionals) correct the patient and establish that you are indeed the doctor, that your patients still reject that notion, that they don't listen to you, and that they don't respect you? Unless that is the case, I'd say just try to remember that people are human and don't take it so personally. I honestly can't tell if you are trolling or not, but I'm responding seriously just in case.
Why don't you just do your job well and not worry about what some delirious patients call you?Not sure what is confusing here. If patients don't recognize me as their physician, that's worrying. That is my role. If that's not the role that I'm been seen as playing, what do I do? How can I have a practice if patients don't think I'm a physician? Who would possibly come see me?
I doubt that you would feel the same if people called you nurse all the time or didn't think you were their physician.
How is that confusing to you? I AM a doctor. I take care of patients. What should I be seen as - the janitor?
Are you ok with me calling you a nurse by all patients every day? Is that what you are suggesting?
By chance are you an IMG doing residency in the US? I ask because you've made a few references to your difficult to pronounce last name and I wonder if you did medical school in a country where physicians are treated with much more cultural respect than in the US.
Why don't you just do your job well and not worry about what some delirious patients call you?
You seem to need the external validation of people calling you Doctor. Serious question: Do you introduce yourself as doctor in non clinical settings?
What are you looking for here? I'm genuinely curious. Whenever people offer their opinion, you just seem to accuse them of "suggesting" something that they definitely have not suggested. If you are looking for people to commiserate with you, you got that two months ago with your nearly identical thread.
Considering that as a radiologist the vast majority of people think I did two years at community college to be a rad tech, I think I can relate.Not all my patients are delirious. Some are, and that's fine. But many are not. I do a great job as stated - you should re-read my initial post. But it's very difficult to form a patient-doctor relationship if the patient doesn't recognize you as such.
Are you ok with your patients thinking you are a therapist, or a nurse or whatever else? Is that what you are suggesting? That I should be a doctor but recognized as something else? That's preposterous
I feel frustrated by the situation. So you are ok with all your patients calling you a nurse? That's what you are suggesting to me.
Can you think of the reason why patients don't remember you are their physician? Has it always been like this? If you think there is a deeper reason why you're not able to make a lasting impression on your patients in the situation where they would remember other doctors, then maybe you should address that.
If you like your job, I don't think you should quit. Down with the patriarchy.
Most patient rooms have a white board, maybe you can write your name there
I've been mistaken for housekeeping by actual medical professionals, who should have a bit of a clue. Hospitals are confusing for patients, who have even less "insider" knowledge. If they don't realize you're the doctor just tell them. If this discourages you to the point that you want to quit, you're in for a painful career because I guarantee that more discouraging things are going to happen.
It almost seems like you are searching for an excuse to quit. It's not going to convince many of us.
I don't have any excuses to quit - I'm in a good program, I am well respected, I have a guaranteed pain fellowship, excellent evals, etc. I feel frustrated by the situation and wish I could do something to change it.
I claerly can't change my height or looking young or something like that. I'm professional, knowledgeable, put together, pleasant, etc. I can't do more though.
You didn't answer the question. What are you looking for in this thread?I feel frustrated by the situation. So you are ok with all your patients calling you a nurse? That's what you are suggesting to me.
You can do more. You can make the decision to stop letting this bother you. They can call you the janitor if they want, it doesn't change the fact that you are a licensed physician who knows her stuff.
You didn't answer the question. What are you looking for in this thread?