subject: Nursing Tips: How To Cope With A Difficult Physician Or Doctor [print this page] Nursing is a challenging profession in that you will be entrusted with the responsibility of providing adequate care and assistance to the patient and ensuring that the patient is cured of the disease and returns back to normalcy.
Nurses account for more than 50% of the total employment in the health care industry. Without the active services of the nurses in all fields, the doctors cannot function effectively.
The role of the nurses in a hospital or a nursing home is two-fold. They are responsible to provide all possible assistance to the patients and help in effective cure of the ailment. They should record the problems of the patient, provide medication at periodic intervals, note down the developments in the disease, make the patient feel comfortable and above all, provide a sense of satisfaction and confidence to the patient suffering from the disease.
The nurse is also responsible to explain the problem, the findings and the inconveniences of the patient to the doctor, carry out the instructions of the doctor and also record the developments at periodic intervals. Any negligence on the part of the nurse to keep the doctor informed or any miscommunication between the doctor and the nurse might lead to grave consequences.
A perfect harmony or understanding is essential between the doctor and the nurse in extending medical assistance to the patients. It is nevertheless bliss for a nurse to find an ideal doctor to work under and execute the instructions.
How should a nurse handle a difficult doctor?
There is nothing like a difficult doctor or an easy-going doctor, from the point of view of a nurse working under the supervision and instructions of a doctor. It is more of a perception than anything else, caused primarily due to some sort of misunderstanding between the doctor and the nurse. Lack of communication would be the reason in most cases of rift between the doctor and the nurse. Both the doctor and the nurse are professionals in their own way and executing their responsibilities in a professional manner will ensure that there are no rifts.
Both the doctor and the nurse should realize that the patient is the king and doing service to the patient is their prime responsibility. The relationship between the doctor and the nurse should not be that of a boss and an employee. Both the doctor and the nurse are part of a team entrusted with responsibility of serving the customer or the patient, in this case. Understanding this basic concept and acting in line with the responsibilities in a professional manner will be the key to eliminating the rift between the two, and the subsequent feeling of having to work with a difficult doctor.
Another important thing that both the doctor and the nurse should realize is that without their effective contribution, the hospital cannot function effectively and bring the required revenue for the hospital. However efficient the doctor may be with many degrees and specializations, the patients might not come if the nurses do not extend proper care to the patient. Similarly, doctors should also realize the importance of the nurses and their effective role in attracting patients and providing best possible treatment. Mutual respect among the doctor and the nurse and effective execution of the professional responsibilities is the key for a successful partnership and teamwork in the hospital.
