I've only ever kicked med students out once. They were flirting loudly with the resident surgeon during induction and intubation and anesthesia did not have control over the situation. The situation rapidly deteriorated and we needed everyone. Not that these clowns were even aware, as they were thoroughly engaged in a conversation that I recall consisting of "OMG! We have breasts and you have a penis!"
And I do greet new students a lot like the cartoon depicts. And if they show a little bit of respect and interest, I go out of my way to make sure they have a great learning experience. But I don't count on it anymore.
Yes, because antagonizing medstudents is the way to gain their respect. We all know that's how you get respect from approximately bright and wilful people. We all know you can force respect out of people, in the first place. . . Being strict is one, good, thing. Making a point of chewing off the face of students coming to an OR for the first time, and already feeling uneasy about it, is entirely different and is basically bullying. Let's not pretend it's all about being helpful, teach, or separate the wheat from the chaff. It's just about feeling better than students, before they actually go far higher than scrub nurses in the OR hierarchy. Enjoy the shortlived powertrip over some impressionable medstudents; it never lasts.
Keep in mind that as medical students, we don't know that if we stick it out, the suddenly the abuse will improve. (And in most cases it won't...)
Also, acting like you are about to bite our head off does not help us avoid contaminating the field. On one of my first days on Ob/Gyn, I was standing a few feet in front of the scrub nurse's table and instead of asking me to move forward, she lunged at me screaming at me to get away from her table. Of course, the natural human response when being lunged at it to back away, which in this case DID cause me to back into the table...
In addition, we are rotated around the hospital so much that nobody can ever get to know us; thus, we are treated like it is our first day even when we have been scrubbing in 6 times a day for the past 3 months. Ah the frustrations of third year...
You are everything that is wrong with scrub nurses. It is certainly your prerogative to kick out those who are acting unprofessionally in the OR- just recognize that your own behavior is also highly unprofessional, rude, demeaning, and reflects exceptionally poorly on yourself.
One day you will experience a rude awakening when a medical student you treated like crap, for absolutely no reason, is suddenly in a position of power over you- you will reap what you sow.
I don't know if that's a scrub nurse in the cartoon, but if she is, it's spot on. Two kinds of nurses I fear most in hospital: maternity nurses and scrub nurses. Although, where I work, people who care about professionalism in the OR are so rare. I would actually welcome someone being so strict on me because that would mean they actually care about our appreciation for surgery.
As a nursing student I didn't get kicked out watching a C-section, but did cause the sterile field in the baby warmer to become unsterile, and they had to replace it. I was just trying not to be in the way and backed into it.
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I've only ever kicked med students out once. They were flirting loudly with the resident surgeon during induction and intubation and anesthesia did not have control over the situation. The situation rapidly deteriorated and we needed everyone. Not that these clowns were even aware, as they were thoroughly engaged in a conversation that I recall consisting of "OMG! We have breasts and you have a penis!"
ReplyDeleteAnd I do greet new students a lot like the cartoon depicts. And if they show a little bit of respect and interest, I go out of my way to make sure they have a great learning experience. But I don't count on it anymore.
Yes, because antagonizing medstudents is the way to gain their respect. We all know that's how you get respect from approximately bright and wilful people. We all know you can force respect out of people, in the first place. . .
DeleteBeing strict is one, good, thing.
Making a point of chewing off the face of students coming to an OR for the first time, and already feeling uneasy about it, is entirely different and is basically bullying. Let's not pretend it's all about being helpful, teach, or separate the wheat from the chaff. It's just about feeling better than students, before they actually go far higher than scrub nurses in the OR hierarchy. Enjoy the shortlived powertrip over some impressionable medstudents; it never lasts.
Keep in mind that as medical students, we don't know that if we stick it out, the suddenly the abuse will improve. (And in most cases it won't...)
DeleteAlso, acting like you are about to bite our head off does not help us avoid contaminating the field. On one of my first days on Ob/Gyn, I was standing a few feet in front of the scrub nurse's table and instead of asking me to move forward, she lunged at me screaming at me to get away from her table. Of course, the natural human response when being lunged at it to back away, which in this case DID cause me to back into the table...
In addition, we are rotated around the hospital so much that nobody can ever get to know us; thus, we are treated like it is our first day even when we have been scrubbing in 6 times a day for the past 3 months. Ah the frustrations of third year...
You are everything that is wrong with scrub nurses. It is certainly your prerogative to kick out those who are acting unprofessionally in the OR- just recognize that your own behavior is also highly unprofessional, rude, demeaning, and reflects exceptionally poorly on yourself.
DeleteOne day you will experience a rude awakening when a medical student you treated like crap, for absolutely no reason, is suddenly in a position of power over you- you will reap what you sow.
I don't know if that's a scrub nurse in the cartoon, but if she is, it's spot on. Two kinds of nurses I fear most in hospital: maternity nurses and scrub nurses. Although, where I work, people who care about professionalism in the OR are so rare. I would actually welcome someone being so strict on me because that would mean they actually care about our appreciation for surgery.
ReplyDeleteAs a nursing student I didn't get kicked out watching a C-section, but did cause the sterile field in the baby warmer to become unsterile, and they had to replace it. I was just trying not to be in the way and backed into it.
ReplyDeleteMy mom was a scrub nurse and I recall that med students feared her for the first few days of rotation. Then they worshipped her.
ReplyDeleteWhen teased by me about it, she replied, "that is how it should be."
Worshiping a scrub nurse??
DeleteSo accurate!
ReplyDeleteWhy does that lady yelling look ethnic? She looks like she could be anywhere from hispanic to armenian.
ReplyDelete