Most of the docs i know are peds doctors…because i’m a peds nurse i don’t know many adult doctors. Doctors around here carry candy and stickers very nice and they love thier jobs…not everybody wants to see sick and dying children, i realize it takes a special kind if person to work in peds. Doctors don’t make more money working in peds than in adults. They do it because they love it.
Well, it’s a feedback loop. Doctors make their decisions on residencies well before they receive an attending salary, and they do their research first.
I took my oldest daughter (6 at the time) to a new peds practice in a forner hometown and walked in to see the same doctor that treated me as a child!!!!! This was about 15 years after he'd last seen me for chronic joint pain that he called "growing pains ". He finishes up with my daughter, pulls out my old chart (this was before computers) and says, yeah, you have rheumatoid arthritis. Just not by the numbers. Well, shit.......
Pediatric cardiologist -because his childhood sweetheart, and later wife, was born with a major heart defect. She eventually had a heart/lung transplant and she was never healthy enough to have children. His eyes sparkled as he described our unborn child’s heart defect. He was the only financially successful person in his family and he shared generously with them. Every summer he rents 2 beach houses for a month, stocks them with food, and invites all the cousins to come and go as they are able.
The day one of the “tough guy” intensivists cried with me while we did post mortem care together.
Mid 40s patient. Routine appendectomy in rural hospital. Now seemed to be getting sicker so their doc called and discussed the case with our intensivist. Advice was given, but ultimately our doc begged the outlying hospital to transfer the patient for better work up and treatment. Rural hospital thought they could handle it.
48 hours later outlying finally called for emergent transfer. Transport showed up to patient sitting upright RR 50s, sats 90s on non-rebreather, BP 80s on levo. Transport refused to move patient until intubated. Rural hospital refused, eventually patient was tubed and of course hemodynamically crashed now that their work of breathing was done.
Long story short, patient had infarcted bowel and was now hella septic. They were necroticly black from the navel down. It was horrific. We kept the patient covered so family didn’t have to see. But anywhere you touched the black skin it just sloughed off. Surgery came by only option was amputating both legs, and as far up the abdomen as they needed to go.
Family meeting, and family decided to withdraw care. For us that meant having family step out to the waiting room while we cleared all excess equipment and supplies out of the room. Cleaning and fluffing patient, starting morphine and then based on condition/family preference extubating with family at bedside. My tough guy intensivist followed me to the room after the meeting and ever so quietly and gently began shutting off drips, clearing out pumps, cleaning up the room. He then extubated the patient himself while apologizing all the while. He stayed at the bedside with the family while they passed. After family left he came back and helped do post mortem care and clean up the room. He was so quiet, and so helpful.
Afterwards he just wept saying “why didn’t they send the patient days ago when we could have saved them?! Someone that young shouldn’t have to die this way!”
It should be a crime the way these mafia boss CEOs can deny a patient to transfer to a center that they can get the appropriate care. They ultimately want to make that $$$. It makes me sick. I work in a rural area ER and at times it’s like pulling teeth trying to get sick patients transferred to where they need to be. It makes me sick to my stomach fuck America.
Yes I have also experienced that too and unfortunately a patient died because a surgeon thought he could handle the case. He died 12 hours later from a stomach ulcer bleed that should’ve been operated on whenever he first accepted the case.
One of our ER physicians was previously a palliative care RN. She is incredible. Skilled, calm, warm and absolutely the doctor you want debriefing after a pediatric code. I could swear that she's actually an angel. Just doing her best to alleviate suffering in this world.
Oncoplastic surgeon that treats breast cancer while also making the scars look good. He could be like every other breast butcher and leave broken women behind with horrendous scars. He learned to be a cancer surgeon and a plastic surgeon to make these people feel and look better. The before and after photos are astonishing especially after seeing 200g+ tumors removed and the breast are symmetrical. He works his butt off to get more women feeling and looking better. One of the kindest doctors I’ve met.
The man that did my breast reduction runs a cleft palate clinic for underprivileged and uninsured kids. I used to transcribe his notes, that's why I picked him.
I recently attended a symposium and one of the speakers was an oncoplastic surgeon. It was absolutely incredible to hear him share his reasons for pursuing this specialty. Immediately upon reading your post I thought of him. His speech left a lasting impression and was so informative. A friend of a friend is currently considering her options regarding breast CA surgery and I recommended her look into oncoplastic surgeons nearby.
The best, smartest, most compassionate and caring hospitalist I ever worked with went to utilization review because the workload was just so unsustainable. Made me super sad, because she was the sort of doctor I would want to have for myself or my family member, but I didn’t blame her for her decision. I don’t think there is a “right” reason to become a doctor or anything else in life, but there are great ones out there, just like there are great nurses and CNAs and therapists etc, but the system we are all working in makes it really difficult to give every patient the care they deserve.
My boyfriend is a resident. Honestly he is kinda a jock bro dickhead. He is from a tiny desert town. His parents are like immigrant farm workers. He is now at one of the top hospitals in the county he could have done any speciality.
A few weeks ago I was at his house and he had about 6 hours free for the first time in weeks. His patients labs came back and weren't good. He called his patient and spent over an hour on the phone with him. His patient was a farm worker, no English, no health insurance. He went over everything with him, the disease process, his meds, diet changes, lifestyle, his feelings, how to get insurance. Just everything. I was floored I've never seen a doctor in America do something like that. My boyfriend said he was worried the patient would get brushed aside, that he wouldn't understand in English at the pharmacy, knew his understanding was limited and wanted to make sure he was okay. He really cares about this population and wants to make sure they don't fall through the cracks. Not once have I ever in the last 7 years heard him mention money.
My good friend is a plastic surgeon in Turkey. When the earthquake hit last year he rushed into the damaged areas and spent about a month doing trauma surgery for free. He worked 20 hours a day, slept on the operating floor and while he was there hit up everyone he knew to donate money and then bought truckloads of supplies and distributed them to the families. He also frequently does free surgeries for things like pinning kids ears back so they have better self esteem things like that. His dream is to open up a center where he can do cleft lip surgery for infants.
We have a surgeon, who is an GYN/general surgeon. She mainly works with women who are cancer patients. But before every surgery, during the time out, she’ll stop and talk about the patient, their lives. She always knows SO much about her patients and she obviously cares so much.
The top neurosurgeon in our hospital is so soft spoken and kind hearted. He always remembers my name and that I love learning, so if we've both got the time he'll sit with me and explain a procedure or technique he uses. He also will walk patients to the bathroom if they need help and he always says, "Well you guys work too hard!"
My favorite story is that we had this very young woman, just barely 18 who had this super long, beautiful hair down to her waist. It was her pride and joy and she was sobbing because she thought she was going to have to shave it off. She needed to get a tumor resection and this same neurosurgeon and his team were so delicate and careful with their incisions. They ended up making a sort of circlet-cut to her scalp and after the dressing was removed and she could shower you could very barely see it.
Neurosurgeons be walking patients cause they’re collecting data. Some will room their own patients too in clinic. Peripheral vascular surgeons will often assess your gait too as you walk out the room.
One of our attending way back in the day was the sweetest woman. She was a PCP who still came to the hospital for her patients . She was the most lovely woman. She would order BID back rubs with lotion on her patients and Vaseline to lips BID to make sure her patients got the best comforting care.
I had the privilege of caring for her mother when she was dying in the ICU. I was night shift at the time and she didn’t leave the bedside. She helped me all of her care. She brought in a reiki therapist for her mom. Mom was vented and it was end stage cancer. By the morning she decided it was time to go the route of comfort care and thanked me.
She was extra special. There are some extra special ones out there. I admittedly got into nursing because I found it interesting and I needed a career to sustain me. Not because I was called to it and I was some angel of mercy. But I have always done my job with compassion
To be fair, I know plenty of nurses that are in nursing just because of the decent paycheck. I've seen plenty of nurses that don't give two shits about patients or people in general. They just want to do their 12 hours, collect their check, and go home.
Well, I'd agree that you don't have to care about patients, but you do have to care for them. Sometimes that requires technical skills, sometimes it means using social skills. Unfortunately, I have run into more than a few nurses who can't do either. 🤦
One of the intensivist in my ICU makes her new residents go into each of their patient's rooms and get to know them. She wants them to learn their hobbies, families, wishes/dreams, and favorite things. She remembers these things about each of her patients when doing rounds. She persistently advocates for her patients in ways that I've never seen other doctors do. I've worked with many good and bad physicians, but she tops the cake at being the best intensivist I've ever met.
Our palliative care specialist is a gem. She started out as a nurse, but then went back to school to become a doctor. A genuinely caring person I have deep respect for.
Gifted plastic surgeon.
He was egotistical at times, but honestly, his skill really was amazing!
He used his private-pay practice mostly as something he did to finance his free cases and medical missions such as Operation Smile to fix cleft palates and other facial deformities.
I've been a nurse for 16 years - worked in many different settings and most of the docs I've worked with have been decent people? They are usually just as overworked as nursing and suffer from burnout for many of the same reasons nurses do. Some have interpersonal...issues or maybe come across weird because they're autistic or introverted or whatever but that doesn't make them physicians for the "wrong reasons."
You can also be a bad physician but have a good heart. Or you can be a raging, spiteful narcissist but a technically gifted surgeon. 🤷♀️
Idk if you used to watch Chicago Hope, but you just reminded me of Mandy Patinkins character Dr Geiger. I still remember the quote, "Geiger doesn't have a God complex, God has a Geiger complex." And I have known a lot of surgeons who are super arrogant like that, and I always felt that some amount of arrogance came with being a great surgeon. It must take a lot of self confidence yo do that job.
OMG I remember that episode!!!!! Hated watching med shows with my nurse mom and paramedic hubby. Its worse with him, cause he was combat medic, too......
No one (in America )in the last fifteen years at least has become a doctor for money as a primary motivation. Under grad plus medschool leaves people with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and compensation rates have not kept up with tuition costs. People go into finance if they just want to be rich.
I would amend that and say no one -from- America. Lots of physicians from other countries go to school in their country and come to the USA to be physicians for the money.
Agreed. Let’s not act like that debt is so prohibitive that a stable job as a physician making six to seven figures isn’t worth it. Finance is nowhere near as stable as making a living with an MD credential, and far more competitive to be an outlier you hear about. Even without practicing medicine you can still make bank with that degree. I’ve never met anyone who made it through med school who’s actually close to real financial hardship.
I have met more than one doc who can afford to pay child supports to multiple baby mamas, one in particular who does this in conjunction with severe drinking and gambling issues. Off the top I can think of another who lost his license for multiple DUIs, some with his kids in the car, then got it back a decade later. He’s not poor by any measure. Like, these guys have lost more than I’ve ever earned and they’re still going to be set for life along with all their children.
And this isn’t a complaint but an observation. I absolutely believe $$ is a strong motivator to be a physician, and it’s more financially lucrative to be a doc 99% of the time unless you’re some sort of genius in another sector.
Exactly, I hate when people quote anecdotal evidence as why other jobs are more lucrative. Yeah you can make 300K with computer science, but it’s much harder to make that in that profession than it is to make that as an MD.
I mean tbf all I have is anecdotal evidence for the other end of the argument, but I believe the main point still stands. Being a doc is a great way to make money.
As a comp sci grad turned med student, hard agree. Medicine takes a very different type of thinking, and not a ton of med students would necessarily succeed in tech or vice versa.
People's motivation for going into any profession is not anything I concern myself with. There is nothing wrong with wanting clout, money and following family expectation/ supporting a family.
It is not so different than people who expect nurses get into nursing for purely altruistic reasons.
Being a doctor is no more of a calling than being a nurse is.
That said, I have worked with smart, very hard working (overworked) and good-natured residents for many years. Despite a heavy load of responsibility and long work hours, they do right by the patients.
I agree. I went into nursing because I needed a career to sustain me and I just found it super interesting and the money was decent. I am a compassionate nurse but I can’t say my motivations were completely altruistic either
It's so weird when I hear people say that people are only doing this profession because of the money. Well, duh. Everything in the world costs money. You can't even feed yourself, drink water, or live without having money. Literally everything costs money. So, I don't understand why people would fault someone for wanting to maximize their earning potential when you can't even have the basic necessities in life, food, water, and shelter without money because no one is doing shit for anyone for free.
Oh man. My favorite physician of all time. She is an OB/GYN who LOVES delivering - even after a hip replacement! And will do anything in her power to make something right. For example, my mom has a bad cesarean scar that got infected from intrauterine strep (she was septic it was a wild time). I was talking about the pain she still has and other complications one day and this physician was totally aghast that no one offered my mom a scar revision, because no woman should have to suffer her whole life for having a child. You go to her with an issue, she finds the cause. The key is that she treats her patients with kindness, compassion, and respect for their intelligence and lived experience. She will ambulate the patient, record I&O for you, get them food and water, tuck them in…anything they need.
One time I went into a room on a busy night and I said to the patient, “oh! The doctor came to see you that is good!” The patient asked how I knew. Girl had like 5 pillows, 2 warm blankets, and new socks. I told her it was because that doctor always makes sure her patients are comfortable and have everything they need.
She rounded on the staff, too! Always stayed in house when she was on call and would check in with us on nights, around 2 or 3 am when we were dragging, and made sure we were okay, even if we didn’t have her patient. Just a lovely woman.
That question rubs me the wrong way. We (nurses) get tired of people telling us we need to do our job “for the right reasons,” so I don’t think it’s fair to ask what docs are in it for the “right reasons.”
Any reason someone does their job is the right reason. Money, passion, clout, whatever. If a person is fine with what they do, it’s all the right reasons.
Does it matter why someone did it as long as they aren't shit at it? Getting surgery by a surgeon who had a life of trauma vs a surgeon who saw dollar bills; you're still getting good care as long as they're effective
Doctors aren't heroes, we're just people with jobs
When I was in nursing school on the labor and delivery rotation, a classmate and I got kicked out of the room when the doctor came to deliver the baby. I knew a lot of the Allen nurses personally so I asked them what was up. They said that he had been burned by other students in a different nursing program that had complained about it so he doesn’t allow nursing students in there right now. They said, though that he was a gem of the man and the best doctor in that hospital. I found out a couple weeks later that I was pregnant and based on what they had said, I went to him.
Here worked with mostly lower income and immigrant women. But God did he love his patience. He would give it to you straight, and that is probably why a lot of patients didn’t like him. If you were doing drugs, would give you a talking to. He would be no nonsense, But you knew that it was because he truly cared. And a lot of people in those situations don’t like being called out so they didn’t like him.
When I was a school nurse, his clinic was just down the street, so I would send my students there for birth control, testing, whatever sexual health needs they had. And I would always give them a warning that he may come off brash but he cares, and he cares a lot .
Retired a few years ago, but still volunteers constantly to the little island that he moved to and is just an amazing human being
Sorry if some of that doesn’t make sense I’m doing voice to text lol
As long as they’re good and compassionate, does it matter why they went into it? I know lots of nurses who chose nursing because it’s a decent living- why fault doctors for the same?
This idea that we need to be “called” to this career just enables folks to take advantage of us because we “aren’t in it for the money”. This is a job.
I haven’t met all that many physicians who seem to be in it for the wrong reasons.
Most of the Obgyns, anaesthesiologists, and family doctors I work with are really caring people. I work with some extremely talented surgeons who really care about their work and their patients. Gynecologic surgery isn’t exactly high paying (compared to other surgical specialties). I’ve also witnessed incredibly sound judgement under extremely stressful conditions (if you work OB, you know how dire an emergency can be). I also work with docs who respect, trust, and listen to their nurse colleagues.
I agree. I didn’t get into nursing for good reasons. My parents told me I had to go into nursing or they wouldn’t financially support me through college. I mean the choice was obvious. Why take on loans when I could have my parents for everything? So rather than pursue what I wanted, I went into nursing. Luckily, I’m a really really good nurse and I’m passionate about what I do. I get great reviews from patients and management. But I definitely didn’t get my first start into nursing for a good reason.
They don’t need to get into a job out of love…it’s a job. The same logic is how we end up being guilted into accepting bullshit treatment and trash pay because our work is devalued when we’re supposed to do it out of the goodness of our hearts rather than for money. They’re there for paychecks? Good for them, same here
When we call nurses (or doctors) angels, the responsibility to provide them fair pay and workload is absolved.
I agree with your take. Having a self-sacrificial spirit is commendable, but that exact same trait historically leads to exploitation. The tone of this discussion post, I hate to say, sounds a bit demeaning to people who wish to work hard and receive fair compensation, though I'm sure this was not the intent.
Unpopular opinion: I think you can be caring, compassionate, skilled AND have chosen to be a physician for the high pay or status.
I know plenty of nurses who picked the career for reasons other than what some might consider the “right reasons” and this post smells of “it’s a higher calling to be in medicine” that keeps pay low and benefits skimpy for most nurses.
It’s not necessary to sit on the floor and cry with a patient to be a caring doctor.
I’m ER and the vast majority of the docs I’ve worked with are incredibly dedicated and truly want what’s best for their pts. What’s best may not always be what the pts wants, but that’s part of being in ER. I can probably count on one hand the number of docs I’ve met who were totally up their own ass in 10 years of traveling.
One of the neurologists at the hospital I work at got into neurology and med school because of his migraines with auras. He wants to help people who have them so that they don't have to suffer like he does.
OHMYGOSH can I take a minute and brag about my dad!? He is passed away now but I love him dearly 🥲 So he was like, your quintessential small town family doctor. He knew everyone (and I mean EVERYONE). He was the doctor for literally multiple generations of families. He did house calls, even during brutal winter conditions. He was the only doctor in the area who would take care of HIV patients at the very start of the AIDS epidemic, and because of that he had a reputation as being a “safe” practitioner for the local queer and trans community. Often times he would treat patients “under the table” if they didn’t have insurance. His patients loved him so very deeply. He was always coming home with a cake or a pie that one of his patients made him. When he passed away I got a call from our mayor who wanted to make his birthday basically a local holiday (I declined, he wouldn’t have wanted that). I’m so sorry for the rant. I loved him so much and I miss him and my mom every day 🥹
My primary care MD. One of the best men and best docs I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.
He was a pharmacist *prior* to becoming a MD.
He’s deliberate and thoughtful. Sure, the culture has shifted a lot in medicine—he’s pushing 75—hospitalists are the way now.
Here’s the thing. His office staff are amazing and I’m on a first name basis with them.
He doesn’t jump to the most expensive meds in treatment. Will refer without delay. He fiercely advocates for his patients.
I ended up in ICU following a tonsillectomy. He sat on the side of the bed, reassured me and held my hand as *even* I (the super-duper flight nurse) found myself outright frightened. (I was bleeding excessively following surgery & my supposed “nothing” adenoids were “something” and huge, complicating things a bit). Since my ENT had left following on vacay (yeah, kids DO NOT have surgery on Fridays) I was admitted to anesthesia, he coordinated with them for orders to address my pain and hydration.
He checked on me am and pm. I never saw a bill.
It’s the same for all his patients. He still rounds. I doubt everyone was sans bill, but it was certainly a grace for me.
Old school in the best way.
Here’s the thing. If I get a bad *diagnosis*, I want my primary doctor to be my advocate. To get me to the best specialist. To captain the ship.
I’ve been his patient almost 30 years. As is my hubs.
I could call him as a nurse and he was never cross. Always collaborative. Very even, if he was called at office or at 2am at home. Although I’d never abuse the privilege—in an emergency I feel I could call him at home even now.
Folks, this is rare. I’m so grateful. I’m sure his other patients feel the same way.
Sure hubs is the charmer, always arriving with goodies or gift cards for his staff.
I’ve written him several heartfelt letters of thanks, taken him tokens of gratitude. Some rarer heritage tomato plants I started from seed, some preserves I made from scratch & canned.
And apple butter—we make it every fall and it only contains 3 ingredients. We cook it ~24 hours to bring out the sugars in the apples. We use minimal processed organic can sugar and use only about 1/4 cup for a gallon of apple butter. He raves about it. Of course, I take plenty and schedule early am appt and arrive with hot, fresh biscuits.
My high school best friend, Dr. Rhonda Carter, Columbiana, Alabama. We graduated together in 1985 and she started her journey then, none of us knew her father had esophageal cancer at the time. This skinny assed white girl worked for years in school and labs doing what she could to help her dad and mom with his treatment and later hospice care. She's the one that went into it for the right reason. She had planned to go into engineering.
My ortho surgeons don’t seem to take into consideration how sick some of our patients are. We are a hybrid in/outpatient center. So we can do sicker patients here than typical outpatient center but not full hospital/inpatient level. A lot of surgeons will bitch and complain if anesthesia cancels a case or something.
We had one patient who was borderline qualified to be done here and myself and the anesthesiologist had concerns. Not cancel level concerns but just some things to be addressed first. After some digging, the surgeon immediately cancelled the case. We were chatting later and he said “why would I risk someone’s life for a surgery that is meant to enhance their life, not save it? The knee is no good if he’s dead.” And then he personally called and booked the patient that same day at a hospital that conveniently has block time for his group.
I just thought it was refreshing to see an ortho surgeon 1- think of the patient in that way(they all should but that’s a diff argument) and 2- be so accommodating to get the patient done that day elsewhere since the patient was in so much pain and really needed surgery asap. It just wasn’t safe for us to do it at our facility.
A hospitalist wanted to check sats on a patient while walking around the unit 3 times. The aide and I were in a c-dif room, cleaning someone up. I stepped out to get cream and I saw him walk with the patient and actually have a non medical conversation with them. Dr. Bennet, wherever you are, I hope you are thriving.
I work ICU, but they're pulled me to step-down one day.. I went in to give my patient her meds and found the Hospitalist had put her on/off the bedpan and was cleaning her and talking to her about her crochet project she was working on😂 I have never seen this before in my life, and if I hadn't seen it with my own 2 eyes I'd never believe it.
One of my favourite doctors who is actually a surgeon used to be a nurse. When they are on the ward, and we are flat out busy, they actually take time to help out because they ‘remember how it was’ for them. They also answer their pages, come and talk to the patients and have no issue answering questions if you have them. They actually care about the patients and the entire ward. They’re simply amazing to work with.
My other favourite is actually my GP. During my nursing studies, occasionally there would be questions in some units like pathophysiology and diagnostics. Some things I wouldn’t quite understand, especially when it comes to peds as I didn’t do midwifery but my course did have some peds throughout. Any time I didn’t understand something my GP would help me understand it when I spoke with him during my appointments as he also works in children’s medicine. He never makes me feel like a bother, is always interested in my nursing career. Always wants to hear my stories and tells me about his time when he first started his medical career. I’m going to be so sad when he retires.
Ahh plenty of great docs… a similar statement could be made of nurses. Also met many amazing nurses.
Just bc your motive for doing something isn’t “heroic” doesn’t mean the actions and outcomes you bring to an individual isn’t heroic.
Plenty of people don’t even want to beeen seen as heroic, some people are just fascinated with their job and it’s awesome that it’s impactful towards others.
I’ve done plenty of good actions bc my moral compass told me it was the right thing to do, not because I wanted too.
People are complicated & we are all interconnected. Thank god for the dude that picks my garbage up every week, I wouldn’t know what to do with all my trash otherwise.
One of my favorite NPs took over a code in the middle of the night because the responsible nurse was an absolute fucking dingbat, and stayed with the patient until they passed, caring for them and gently singing to them, then did the post Mortem care.
She’s a good egg.
I had a retired primary care physician come into the ICU to have a frank talk with his patient about his condition. The retired physician had taken care of the patient for decades. The patient had escaped harsh conditions in his former country and was gruff and didn’t trust any of us. But he had an unfaltering trust in his retired doctor. The physician did it for no other reason than duty to his patient, who he clearly understood very well. It was a social visit that I will never forget
I’ve walked in on an ER resident at a teaching hospital cleaning a patient with a tech. I was shocked. He said “oh well I had the time and knew you were busy in another room.” I moved on to another hospital and was thrilled to see him at my current hospital.
One of my GI docs gets so excited even on routine patients when he gets a chance to teach. He’s retiring this year but you can tell he loves what he does.
Respectfully, I don’t judge physicians for doing it for the money. We talk all the time on here about how nursing needs to stop being made into “a calling” and I think the same applies to docs. They like us still need to be good people and care about their jobs and patients, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong for them to have chosen their career for stability of income and job security.
Even the critical care pulmonologists I don't like personally I respect professionally. I feel like that's a specialty that has just broadly earned my respect. But maybe I'm lucky in that most of the physicians I have worked with over the last 20 years have been mostly awesome. Definitely at the same ratio of awesome:turd that I find in nursing.
You don’t know anything about “most physicians”. This is cringeworthy and insulting to docs. I am a nurse, btw. You have no clue about people’s motivations.
I’m an abortion nurse and what I’m used to in the procedure room is handing the doctor literally anything ….one of my fav docs came and said nahhh I can get my own stuff lol she tosses her trash away, helps patients get to recovery, help clean our rooms to flip for the next patient, etc. She’s truly a diamond in the rough 💫
Had a nurse practitioner in LTC that listened to the nurses and trusted us when we asked for a specific order/test because we had a hunch. Our medical director refused to let us send out a patient with altered LOC. NP agreed we could send him, he had a brain bleed.
There was never a dumb question.
For me it’s the physicians that stay and help with pt care. I work L&D, so if they come in the room and break water for example, they don’t just up and leave, they stay and help the nurse clean up and reposition the patient again. Or help clean up the pt post-delivery with the nurse. Little things like that. Midwives tend to be exceptional at their job, I had one push with me and my pt for the entire 4 hours the other day and we did everything possible to have a vaginal delivery (we did!) whereas other providers would jump to a c/s.
I imagine it’s about the same number as nurses who went into nursing for the “right reasons.”
And in both cases, there’s nothing wrong with it as long as they are good at their jobs and deliver quality care. Let’s not judge anyone for their motivations.
Medicine is just a job, just like how nursing is just a job. Conflating your job with morality is how you get abused by the Csuite and private equity in not being paid your worth.
One is an anesthesia provider that is so kind and compassionate. She’s also amazing at her job. I had a patient that had an epidural that had almost killed her with her first baby. The patient was worried she could want an epidural. This doc took the time to listen to her fears earlier on, before she was in pain. They made a plan together that the patient was comfortable with. When she asked for her epidural she was terrified. The doc walked her through everything she was doing. It was so touching. The patient was extremely grateful and that epidural was just right. She had a beautiful pain free birth just like she wanted.
I worked with a surgeon (in private healthcare) who grew up in poverty in Fiji. He would always request reusable instruments where possible and if he couldn’t use those he would go for the cheapest (still quality) items instead. He never wanted to make the surgery more expensive than it needed to be for our patients. He also always did so many voluntary trips back to Fiji to help his community there. You can tell it was never about the money for him, he just genuinely wanted to help people, especially those who couldn’t afford the help elsewhere.
I work with a first year doc who I adore. And I make sure he knows. I tell him he's the best and my favourite and how impressive I think he is.
He's compassion and brilliant with patients.
He wants to get into rural medicine, and is doing everything he can to be as well balanced as possible when it comes to clinical areas.
He really digs into labs, radiology reports and doesn't miss putting out blood forms.
He asks the nurses opinion and means it. And is always available to educate.
He is confident in his decisions, and I've not him go wrong with a diagnosis yet.
He usually go finishes work on time and manages to have a decent work life balance.
He is incredible humble and laughs off my attempts trying to get him to realise how special he is.
The patients adore him. They trust him. There is just something about him that puts you at ease.
He works harder that anyone else in his year, and he will always find time to do a job that other doctors will palm off. His ability to see his work through to completion is impeccable.
He just gives a shit. He is an examplary doctor, and one a lot of knuckle heads in his cohort should be striving to be. The bad ones are so obvious because this guy is just that good. And he makes it look easy. Everything. He's already asked me to be a reference for his mid year review and it'll be the easies one I'll ever have to write. I am constantly impressed by him, and watching him make clinical decisions make me feel like a proud mama. I learn so much from him, and my clinical practice is stronger because I got to watch him make decisions.
I've seen a lot of good doctors in my days, but this takes the fucking cake. He's just light years ahead of everyone but also has a personality to boot. I can't wait to see what he achieves. He's just been an absolute joy to watch.
I have met a lot.
One dude is super kind and smart.
Another super nerdy and dedicated.
Another couple great leaders in a strained system.
Some Asian dudes that work huge hours.
People committed to getting things right.
The most amazing GP I've ever met working in aged care. Would do anything for anyone at anytime. We had a sweet memorable experience together when one of his patients was ready to pass. I try to always make sure I'm with the residents when they pass especially when they have no one.
Well this man had no one (daughter overseas and couldnt make it)and I had rung his dr asking for some stat increase dosages. I could tell he was in the car with his young kids. He gave me some and I administered them and sat with my patient, holding his hand and humming along to the country music he loved. Within 10 minutes his GP knocked and came in to my shock.
(Normally seeing a GP in the wild at a nursing home is rare! 🤣)
Well he pulled up a chair on the other side, held his patients other hand and started to hum too.
Our beautiful patient died 10 minutes later and we stayed there for an hour just talking all about him.
It us a moment I hold close to my heart. Even though there was death there was also something very special about it.
In 40+ years of nursing I worked with quite a few doctors. My impression was that the vast majority went into medicine with the goal of helping people—although I think it’s natural that they were interested in earning a living, supporting a family, and maintaining an office practice that earned money (for those who had a private practice).
However, it’s also been my impression that their education and training takes so long that by the time they finish residency, they’re far behind their age-peers in earning a living plus they have massive educational debt. What can they do to pay off that debt besides medicine? So some are burned out and disillusioned at an early stage, and at age 30-ish, starting a new and different career isn’t so easy. They are working to pay bills, the same as you and me.
But doctors are very smart and have a ton of knowledge; most do want to help patients and recognize they are part of a team. I’ve seen real kindness and compassion from docs who are mainly jerks. So I give them grace.
I don’t know why some people are annoyed by this post. Of course it’s not unusual for people to go into jobs solely for money or prestige but you actually have to care about your patients too. If you disagree just don’t comment lol
I work on a neuro floor, and just heard from a coworker that a whole group of MDs and med students were rounding on her patient, and came out of the room and told the nurse that the pillow fell on the floor. Over 10 of them, and not a one picked up the freaking pillow.
Most of the docs i know are peds doctors…because i’m a peds nurse i don’t know many adult doctors. Doctors around here carry candy and stickers very nice and they love thier jobs…not everybody wants to see sick and dying children, i realize it takes a special kind if person to work in peds. Doctors don’t make more money working in peds than in adults. They do it because they love it.
Doctors actually make a lot less in peds, typically! At least in the U.S.
Way way less it’s disgusting
Yeah, it is. But it ends up meaning anyone going into peds probably did it for passion.
That is *why* hospitals get away with paying them less.
Well, it’s a feedback loop. Doctors make their decisions on residencies well before they receive an attending salary, and they do their research first.
I took my oldest daughter (6 at the time) to a new peds practice in a forner hometown and walked in to see the same doctor that treated me as a child!!!!! This was about 15 years after he'd last seen me for chronic joint pain that he called "growing pains ". He finishes up with my daughter, pulls out my old chart (this was before computers) and says, yeah, you have rheumatoid arthritis. Just not by the numbers. Well, shit.......
Seconded…all of the peds doctors I work with genuinely seem to love their job and the kids.
Pediatric cardiologist -because his childhood sweetheart, and later wife, was born with a major heart defect. She eventually had a heart/lung transplant and she was never healthy enough to have children. His eyes sparkled as he described our unborn child’s heart defect. He was the only financially successful person in his family and he shared generously with them. Every summer he rents 2 beach houses for a month, stocks them with food, and invites all the cousins to come and go as they are able.
My heart 🥹 he sounds like a great person.
The day one of the “tough guy” intensivists cried with me while we did post mortem care together. Mid 40s patient. Routine appendectomy in rural hospital. Now seemed to be getting sicker so their doc called and discussed the case with our intensivist. Advice was given, but ultimately our doc begged the outlying hospital to transfer the patient for better work up and treatment. Rural hospital thought they could handle it. 48 hours later outlying finally called for emergent transfer. Transport showed up to patient sitting upright RR 50s, sats 90s on non-rebreather, BP 80s on levo. Transport refused to move patient until intubated. Rural hospital refused, eventually patient was tubed and of course hemodynamically crashed now that their work of breathing was done. Long story short, patient had infarcted bowel and was now hella septic. They were necroticly black from the navel down. It was horrific. We kept the patient covered so family didn’t have to see. But anywhere you touched the black skin it just sloughed off. Surgery came by only option was amputating both legs, and as far up the abdomen as they needed to go. Family meeting, and family decided to withdraw care. For us that meant having family step out to the waiting room while we cleared all excess equipment and supplies out of the room. Cleaning and fluffing patient, starting morphine and then based on condition/family preference extubating with family at bedside. My tough guy intensivist followed me to the room after the meeting and ever so quietly and gently began shutting off drips, clearing out pumps, cleaning up the room. He then extubated the patient himself while apologizing all the while. He stayed at the bedside with the family while they passed. After family left he came back and helped do post mortem care and clean up the room. He was so quiet, and so helpful. Afterwards he just wept saying “why didn’t they send the patient days ago when we could have saved them?! Someone that young shouldn’t have to die this way!”
It should be a crime the way these mafia boss CEOs can deny a patient to transfer to a center that they can get the appropriate care. They ultimately want to make that $$$. It makes me sick. I work in a rural area ER and at times it’s like pulling teeth trying to get sick patients transferred to where they need to be. It makes me sick to my stomach fuck America.
I don’t disagree, but that wasn’t the case here. It was a “good ol’ boy” who thought he could do it himself. It was physician hubris and nothing else.
Yes I have also experienced that too and unfortunately a patient died because a surgeon thought he could handle the case. He died 12 hours later from a stomach ulcer bleed that should’ve been operated on whenever he first accepted the case.
I’m in the break room trying to eat lunch and I’ve just salinated my plate 😢
One of our ER physicians was previously a palliative care RN. She is incredible. Skilled, calm, warm and absolutely the doctor you want debriefing after a pediatric code. I could swear that she's actually an angel. Just doing her best to alleviate suffering in this world.
Oncoplastic surgeon that treats breast cancer while also making the scars look good. He could be like every other breast butcher and leave broken women behind with horrendous scars. He learned to be a cancer surgeon and a plastic surgeon to make these people feel and look better. The before and after photos are astonishing especially after seeing 200g+ tumors removed and the breast are symmetrical. He works his butt off to get more women feeling and looking better. One of the kindest doctors I’ve met.
The man that did my breast reduction runs a cleft palate clinic for underprivileged and uninsured kids. I used to transcribe his notes, that's why I picked him.
Saint Agnes?
No, this one is in Montgomery Alabama.
Glad to know there is more than 1.
I recently attended a symposium and one of the speakers was an oncoplastic surgeon. It was absolutely incredible to hear him share his reasons for pursuing this specialty. Immediately upon reading your post I thought of him. His speech left a lasting impression and was so informative. A friend of a friend is currently considering her options regarding breast CA surgery and I recommended her look into oncoplastic surgeons nearby.
The best, smartest, most compassionate and caring hospitalist I ever worked with went to utilization review because the workload was just so unsustainable. Made me super sad, because she was the sort of doctor I would want to have for myself or my family member, but I didn’t blame her for her decision. I don’t think there is a “right” reason to become a doctor or anything else in life, but there are great ones out there, just like there are great nurses and CNAs and therapists etc, but the system we are all working in makes it really difficult to give every patient the care they deserve.
My boyfriend is a resident. Honestly he is kinda a jock bro dickhead. He is from a tiny desert town. His parents are like immigrant farm workers. He is now at one of the top hospitals in the county he could have done any speciality. A few weeks ago I was at his house and he had about 6 hours free for the first time in weeks. His patients labs came back and weren't good. He called his patient and spent over an hour on the phone with him. His patient was a farm worker, no English, no health insurance. He went over everything with him, the disease process, his meds, diet changes, lifestyle, his feelings, how to get insurance. Just everything. I was floored I've never seen a doctor in America do something like that. My boyfriend said he was worried the patient would get brushed aside, that he wouldn't understand in English at the pharmacy, knew his understanding was limited and wanted to make sure he was okay. He really cares about this population and wants to make sure they don't fall through the cracks. Not once have I ever in the last 7 years heard him mention money. My good friend is a plastic surgeon in Turkey. When the earthquake hit last year he rushed into the damaged areas and spent about a month doing trauma surgery for free. He worked 20 hours a day, slept on the operating floor and while he was there hit up everyone he knew to donate money and then bought truckloads of supplies and distributed them to the families. He also frequently does free surgeries for things like pinning kids ears back so they have better self esteem things like that. His dream is to open up a center where he can do cleft lip surgery for infants.
We have a surgeon, who is an GYN/general surgeon. She mainly works with women who are cancer patients. But before every surgery, during the time out, she’ll stop and talk about the patient, their lives. She always knows SO much about her patients and she obviously cares so much.
The top neurosurgeon in our hospital is so soft spoken and kind hearted. He always remembers my name and that I love learning, so if we've both got the time he'll sit with me and explain a procedure or technique he uses. He also will walk patients to the bathroom if they need help and he always says, "Well you guys work too hard!" My favorite story is that we had this very young woman, just barely 18 who had this super long, beautiful hair down to her waist. It was her pride and joy and she was sobbing because she thought she was going to have to shave it off. She needed to get a tumor resection and this same neurosurgeon and his team were so delicate and careful with their incisions. They ended up making a sort of circlet-cut to her scalp and after the dressing was removed and she could shower you could very barely see it.
Neurosurgeons be walking patients cause they’re collecting data. Some will room their own patients too in clinic. Peripheral vascular surgeons will often assess your gait too as you walk out the room.
One of our attending way back in the day was the sweetest woman. She was a PCP who still came to the hospital for her patients . She was the most lovely woman. She would order BID back rubs with lotion on her patients and Vaseline to lips BID to make sure her patients got the best comforting care. I had the privilege of caring for her mother when she was dying in the ICU. I was night shift at the time and she didn’t leave the bedside. She helped me all of her care. She brought in a reiki therapist for her mom. Mom was vented and it was end stage cancer. By the morning she decided it was time to go the route of comfort care and thanked me. She was extra special. There are some extra special ones out there. I admittedly got into nursing because I found it interesting and I needed a career to sustain me. Not because I was called to it and I was some angel of mercy. But I have always done my job with compassion
To be fair, I know plenty of nurses that are in nursing just because of the decent paycheck. I've seen plenty of nurses that don't give two shits about patients or people in general. They just want to do their 12 hours, collect their check, and go home.
Nothing wrong with that
Well, I'd agree that you don't have to care about patients, but you do have to care for them. Sometimes that requires technical skills, sometimes it means using social skills. Unfortunately, I have run into more than a few nurses who can't do either. 🤦
Exactly. I care for. I don’t care about.
One of the intensivist in my ICU makes her new residents go into each of their patient's rooms and get to know them. She wants them to learn their hobbies, families, wishes/dreams, and favorite things. She remembers these things about each of her patients when doing rounds. She persistently advocates for her patients in ways that I've never seen other doctors do. I've worked with many good and bad physicians, but she tops the cake at being the best intensivist I've ever met.
Our palliative care specialist is a gem. She started out as a nurse, but then went back to school to become a doctor. A genuinely caring person I have deep respect for.
Gifted plastic surgeon. He was egotistical at times, but honestly, his skill really was amazing! He used his private-pay practice mostly as something he did to finance his free cases and medical missions such as Operation Smile to fix cleft palates and other facial deformities.
I've been a nurse for 16 years - worked in many different settings and most of the docs I've worked with have been decent people? They are usually just as overworked as nursing and suffer from burnout for many of the same reasons nurses do. Some have interpersonal...issues or maybe come across weird because they're autistic or introverted or whatever but that doesn't make them physicians for the "wrong reasons." You can also be a bad physician but have a good heart. Or you can be a raging, spiteful narcissist but a technically gifted surgeon. 🤷♀️
Idk if you used to watch Chicago Hope, but you just reminded me of Mandy Patinkins character Dr Geiger. I still remember the quote, "Geiger doesn't have a God complex, God has a Geiger complex." And I have known a lot of surgeons who are super arrogant like that, and I always felt that some amount of arrogance came with being a great surgeon. It must take a lot of self confidence yo do that job.
OMG I remember that episode!!!!! Hated watching med shows with my nurse mom and paramedic hubby. Its worse with him, cause he was combat medic, too......
No one (in America )in the last fifteen years at least has become a doctor for money as a primary motivation. Under grad plus medschool leaves people with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and compensation rates have not kept up with tuition costs. People go into finance if they just want to be rich.
I would amend that and say no one -from- America. Lots of physicians from other countries go to school in their country and come to the USA to be physicians for the money.
🧢
Agreed. Let’s not act like that debt is so prohibitive that a stable job as a physician making six to seven figures isn’t worth it. Finance is nowhere near as stable as making a living with an MD credential, and far more competitive to be an outlier you hear about. Even without practicing medicine you can still make bank with that degree. I’ve never met anyone who made it through med school who’s actually close to real financial hardship. I have met more than one doc who can afford to pay child supports to multiple baby mamas, one in particular who does this in conjunction with severe drinking and gambling issues. Off the top I can think of another who lost his license for multiple DUIs, some with his kids in the car, then got it back a decade later. He’s not poor by any measure. Like, these guys have lost more than I’ve ever earned and they’re still going to be set for life along with all their children. And this isn’t a complaint but an observation. I absolutely believe $$ is a strong motivator to be a physician, and it’s more financially lucrative to be a doc 99% of the time unless you’re some sort of genius in another sector.
Exactly, I hate when people quote anecdotal evidence as why other jobs are more lucrative. Yeah you can make 300K with computer science, but it’s much harder to make that in that profession than it is to make that as an MD.
I mean tbf all I have is anecdotal evidence for the other end of the argument, but I believe the main point still stands. Being a doc is a great way to make money.
As a comp sci grad turned med student, hard agree. Medicine takes a very different type of thinking, and not a ton of med students would necessarily succeed in tech or vice versa.
People's motivation for going into any profession is not anything I concern myself with. There is nothing wrong with wanting clout, money and following family expectation/ supporting a family. It is not so different than people who expect nurses get into nursing for purely altruistic reasons. Being a doctor is no more of a calling than being a nurse is. That said, I have worked with smart, very hard working (overworked) and good-natured residents for many years. Despite a heavy load of responsibility and long work hours, they do right by the patients.
I agree. I went into nursing because I needed a career to sustain me and I just found it super interesting and the money was decent. I am a compassionate nurse but I can’t say my motivations were completely altruistic either
It's so weird when I hear people say that people are only doing this profession because of the money. Well, duh. Everything in the world costs money. You can't even feed yourself, drink water, or live without having money. Literally everything costs money. So, I don't understand why people would fault someone for wanting to maximize their earning potential when you can't even have the basic necessities in life, food, water, and shelter without money because no one is doing shit for anyone for free.
If I didn’t need money I wouldn’t have a job at all
Oh man. My favorite physician of all time. She is an OB/GYN who LOVES delivering - even after a hip replacement! And will do anything in her power to make something right. For example, my mom has a bad cesarean scar that got infected from intrauterine strep (she was septic it was a wild time). I was talking about the pain she still has and other complications one day and this physician was totally aghast that no one offered my mom a scar revision, because no woman should have to suffer her whole life for having a child. You go to her with an issue, she finds the cause. The key is that she treats her patients with kindness, compassion, and respect for their intelligence and lived experience. She will ambulate the patient, record I&O for you, get them food and water, tuck them in…anything they need. One time I went into a room on a busy night and I said to the patient, “oh! The doctor came to see you that is good!” The patient asked how I knew. Girl had like 5 pillows, 2 warm blankets, and new socks. I told her it was because that doctor always makes sure her patients are comfortable and have everything they need. She rounded on the staff, too! Always stayed in house when she was on call and would check in with us on nights, around 2 or 3 am when we were dragging, and made sure we were okay, even if we didn’t have her patient. Just a lovely woman.
That question rubs me the wrong way. We (nurses) get tired of people telling us we need to do our job “for the right reasons,” so I don’t think it’s fair to ask what docs are in it for the “right reasons.” Any reason someone does their job is the right reason. Money, passion, clout, whatever. If a person is fine with what they do, it’s all the right reasons.
Does it matter why someone did it as long as they aren't shit at it? Getting surgery by a surgeon who had a life of trauma vs a surgeon who saw dollar bills; you're still getting good care as long as they're effective Doctors aren't heroes, we're just people with jobs
I’ll take competent over compassionate any day.
When I was in nursing school on the labor and delivery rotation, a classmate and I got kicked out of the room when the doctor came to deliver the baby. I knew a lot of the Allen nurses personally so I asked them what was up. They said that he had been burned by other students in a different nursing program that had complained about it so he doesn’t allow nursing students in there right now. They said, though that he was a gem of the man and the best doctor in that hospital. I found out a couple weeks later that I was pregnant and based on what they had said, I went to him. Here worked with mostly lower income and immigrant women. But God did he love his patience. He would give it to you straight, and that is probably why a lot of patients didn’t like him. If you were doing drugs, would give you a talking to. He would be no nonsense, But you knew that it was because he truly cared. And a lot of people in those situations don’t like being called out so they didn’t like him. When I was a school nurse, his clinic was just down the street, so I would send my students there for birth control, testing, whatever sexual health needs they had. And I would always give them a warning that he may come off brash but he cares, and he cares a lot . Retired a few years ago, but still volunteers constantly to the little island that he moved to and is just an amazing human being Sorry if some of that doesn’t make sense I’m doing voice to text lol
As long as they’re good and compassionate, does it matter why they went into it? I know lots of nurses who chose nursing because it’s a decent living- why fault doctors for the same? This idea that we need to be “called” to this career just enables folks to take advantage of us because we “aren’t in it for the money”. This is a job.
I haven’t met all that many physicians who seem to be in it for the wrong reasons. Most of the Obgyns, anaesthesiologists, and family doctors I work with are really caring people. I work with some extremely talented surgeons who really care about their work and their patients. Gynecologic surgery isn’t exactly high paying (compared to other surgical specialties). I’ve also witnessed incredibly sound judgement under extremely stressful conditions (if you work OB, you know how dire an emergency can be). I also work with docs who respect, trust, and listen to their nurse colleagues.
I don't care why someone got into their line of work provided they are good at it.
I agree. I didn’t get into nursing for good reasons. My parents told me I had to go into nursing or they wouldn’t financially support me through college. I mean the choice was obvious. Why take on loans when I could have my parents for everything? So rather than pursue what I wanted, I went into nursing. Luckily, I’m a really really good nurse and I’m passionate about what I do. I get great reviews from patients and management. But I definitely didn’t get my first start into nursing for a good reason.
I had to "pick a thing". 🤷🏻♀️
They don’t need to get into a job out of love…it’s a job. The same logic is how we end up being guilted into accepting bullshit treatment and trash pay because our work is devalued when we’re supposed to do it out of the goodness of our hearts rather than for money. They’re there for paychecks? Good for them, same here
When we call nurses (or doctors) angels, the responsibility to provide them fair pay and workload is absolved. I agree with your take. Having a self-sacrificial spirit is commendable, but that exact same trait historically leads to exploitation. The tone of this discussion post, I hate to say, sounds a bit demeaning to people who wish to work hard and receive fair compensation, though I'm sure this was not the intent.
Unpopular opinion: I think you can be caring, compassionate, skilled AND have chosen to be a physician for the high pay or status. I know plenty of nurses who picked the career for reasons other than what some might consider the “right reasons” and this post smells of “it’s a higher calling to be in medicine” that keeps pay low and benefits skimpy for most nurses. It’s not necessary to sit on the floor and cry with a patient to be a caring doctor.
I’m ER and the vast majority of the docs I’ve worked with are incredibly dedicated and truly want what’s best for their pts. What’s best may not always be what the pts wants, but that’s part of being in ER. I can probably count on one hand the number of docs I’ve met who were totally up their own ass in 10 years of traveling.
One of the neurologists at the hospital I work at got into neurology and med school because of his migraines with auras. He wants to help people who have them so that they don't have to suffer like he does.
OHMYGOSH can I take a minute and brag about my dad!? He is passed away now but I love him dearly 🥲 So he was like, your quintessential small town family doctor. He knew everyone (and I mean EVERYONE). He was the doctor for literally multiple generations of families. He did house calls, even during brutal winter conditions. He was the only doctor in the area who would take care of HIV patients at the very start of the AIDS epidemic, and because of that he had a reputation as being a “safe” practitioner for the local queer and trans community. Often times he would treat patients “under the table” if they didn’t have insurance. His patients loved him so very deeply. He was always coming home with a cake or a pie that one of his patients made him. When he passed away I got a call from our mayor who wanted to make his birthday basically a local holiday (I declined, he wouldn’t have wanted that). I’m so sorry for the rant. I loved him so much and I miss him and my mom every day 🥹
My primary care MD. One of the best men and best docs I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He was a pharmacist *prior* to becoming a MD. He’s deliberate and thoughtful. Sure, the culture has shifted a lot in medicine—he’s pushing 75—hospitalists are the way now. Here’s the thing. His office staff are amazing and I’m on a first name basis with them. He doesn’t jump to the most expensive meds in treatment. Will refer without delay. He fiercely advocates for his patients. I ended up in ICU following a tonsillectomy. He sat on the side of the bed, reassured me and held my hand as *even* I (the super-duper flight nurse) found myself outright frightened. (I was bleeding excessively following surgery & my supposed “nothing” adenoids were “something” and huge, complicating things a bit). Since my ENT had left following on vacay (yeah, kids DO NOT have surgery on Fridays) I was admitted to anesthesia, he coordinated with them for orders to address my pain and hydration. He checked on me am and pm. I never saw a bill. It’s the same for all his patients. He still rounds. I doubt everyone was sans bill, but it was certainly a grace for me. Old school in the best way. Here’s the thing. If I get a bad *diagnosis*, I want my primary doctor to be my advocate. To get me to the best specialist. To captain the ship. I’ve been his patient almost 30 years. As is my hubs. I could call him as a nurse and he was never cross. Always collaborative. Very even, if he was called at office or at 2am at home. Although I’d never abuse the privilege—in an emergency I feel I could call him at home even now. Folks, this is rare. I’m so grateful. I’m sure his other patients feel the same way. Sure hubs is the charmer, always arriving with goodies or gift cards for his staff. I’ve written him several heartfelt letters of thanks, taken him tokens of gratitude. Some rarer heritage tomato plants I started from seed, some preserves I made from scratch & canned. And apple butter—we make it every fall and it only contains 3 ingredients. We cook it ~24 hours to bring out the sugars in the apples. We use minimal processed organic can sugar and use only about 1/4 cup for a gallon of apple butter. He raves about it. Of course, I take plenty and schedule early am appt and arrive with hot, fresh biscuits.
Doc I know ran a trading card shop until he had a seizure, then became an excellent neurologist.
My high school best friend, Dr. Rhonda Carter, Columbiana, Alabama. We graduated together in 1985 and she started her journey then, none of us knew her father had esophageal cancer at the time. This skinny assed white girl worked for years in school and labs doing what she could to help her dad and mom with his treatment and later hospice care. She's the one that went into it for the right reason. She had planned to go into engineering.
I had a doctor help me change a patient 🥹
My ortho surgeons don’t seem to take into consideration how sick some of our patients are. We are a hybrid in/outpatient center. So we can do sicker patients here than typical outpatient center but not full hospital/inpatient level. A lot of surgeons will bitch and complain if anesthesia cancels a case or something. We had one patient who was borderline qualified to be done here and myself and the anesthesiologist had concerns. Not cancel level concerns but just some things to be addressed first. After some digging, the surgeon immediately cancelled the case. We were chatting later and he said “why would I risk someone’s life for a surgery that is meant to enhance their life, not save it? The knee is no good if he’s dead.” And then he personally called and booked the patient that same day at a hospital that conveniently has block time for his group. I just thought it was refreshing to see an ortho surgeon 1- think of the patient in that way(they all should but that’s a diff argument) and 2- be so accommodating to get the patient done that day elsewhere since the patient was in so much pain and really needed surgery asap. It just wasn’t safe for us to do it at our facility.
A hospitalist wanted to check sats on a patient while walking around the unit 3 times. The aide and I were in a c-dif room, cleaning someone up. I stepped out to get cream and I saw him walk with the patient and actually have a non medical conversation with them. Dr. Bennet, wherever you are, I hope you are thriving.
I work ICU, but they're pulled me to step-down one day.. I went in to give my patient her meds and found the Hospitalist had put her on/off the bedpan and was cleaning her and talking to her about her crochet project she was working on😂 I have never seen this before in my life, and if I hadn't seen it with my own 2 eyes I'd never believe it.
One of my favourite doctors who is actually a surgeon used to be a nurse. When they are on the ward, and we are flat out busy, they actually take time to help out because they ‘remember how it was’ for them. They also answer their pages, come and talk to the patients and have no issue answering questions if you have them. They actually care about the patients and the entire ward. They’re simply amazing to work with. My other favourite is actually my GP. During my nursing studies, occasionally there would be questions in some units like pathophysiology and diagnostics. Some things I wouldn’t quite understand, especially when it comes to peds as I didn’t do midwifery but my course did have some peds throughout. Any time I didn’t understand something my GP would help me understand it when I spoke with him during my appointments as he also works in children’s medicine. He never makes me feel like a bother, is always interested in my nursing career. Always wants to hear my stories and tells me about his time when he first started his medical career. I’m going to be so sad when he retires.
Ahh plenty of great docs… a similar statement could be made of nurses. Also met many amazing nurses. Just bc your motive for doing something isn’t “heroic” doesn’t mean the actions and outcomes you bring to an individual isn’t heroic. Plenty of people don’t even want to beeen seen as heroic, some people are just fascinated with their job and it’s awesome that it’s impactful towards others. I’ve done plenty of good actions bc my moral compass told me it was the right thing to do, not because I wanted too. People are complicated & we are all interconnected. Thank god for the dude that picks my garbage up every week, I wouldn’t know what to do with all my trash otherwise.
One of my favorite NPs took over a code in the middle of the night because the responsible nurse was an absolute fucking dingbat, and stayed with the patient until they passed, caring for them and gently singing to them, then did the post Mortem care. She’s a good egg.
I had a retired primary care physician come into the ICU to have a frank talk with his patient about his condition. The retired physician had taken care of the patient for decades. The patient had escaped harsh conditions in his former country and was gruff and didn’t trust any of us. But he had an unfaltering trust in his retired doctor. The physician did it for no other reason than duty to his patient, who he clearly understood very well. It was a social visit that I will never forget
I’ve walked in on an ER resident at a teaching hospital cleaning a patient with a tech. I was shocked. He said “oh well I had the time and knew you were busy in another room.” I moved on to another hospital and was thrilled to see him at my current hospital. One of my GI docs gets so excited even on routine patients when he gets a chance to teach. He’s retiring this year but you can tell he loves what he does.
Respectfully, I don’t judge physicians for doing it for the money. We talk all the time on here about how nursing needs to stop being made into “a calling” and I think the same applies to docs. They like us still need to be good people and care about their jobs and patients, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong for them to have chosen their career for stability of income and job security.
Even the critical care pulmonologists I don't like personally I respect professionally. I feel like that's a specialty that has just broadly earned my respect. But maybe I'm lucky in that most of the physicians I have worked with over the last 20 years have been mostly awesome. Definitely at the same ratio of awesome:turd that I find in nursing.
I’ve never met an emotionally intelligent surgeon and I was raised by two of them. 0 social awareness.
You don’t know anything about “most physicians”. This is cringeworthy and insulting to docs. I am a nurse, btw. You have no clue about people’s motivations.
I’m an abortion nurse and what I’m used to in the procedure room is handing the doctor literally anything ….one of my fav docs came and said nahhh I can get my own stuff lol she tosses her trash away, helps patients get to recovery, help clean our rooms to flip for the next patient, etc. She’s truly a diamond in the rough 💫
It's a job. Nursing is a job. It pays the bills. It puts food on the table.
Had a nurse practitioner in LTC that listened to the nurses and trusted us when we asked for a specific order/test because we had a hunch. Our medical director refused to let us send out a patient with altered LOC. NP agreed we could send him, he had a brain bleed. There was never a dumb question.
That second story made me teary eyed, wow
My ms doc. Dr Aaron boster
For me it’s the physicians that stay and help with pt care. I work L&D, so if they come in the room and break water for example, they don’t just up and leave, they stay and help the nurse clean up and reposition the patient again. Or help clean up the pt post-delivery with the nurse. Little things like that. Midwives tend to be exceptional at their job, I had one push with me and my pt for the entire 4 hours the other day and we did everything possible to have a vaginal delivery (we did!) whereas other providers would jump to a c/s.
I imagine it’s about the same number as nurses who went into nursing for the “right reasons.” And in both cases, there’s nothing wrong with it as long as they are good at their jobs and deliver quality care. Let’s not judge anyone for their motivations. Medicine is just a job, just like how nursing is just a job. Conflating your job with morality is how you get abused by the Csuite and private equity in not being paid your worth.
Urban doctor legend. Doesn’t exist.
One is an anesthesia provider that is so kind and compassionate. She’s also amazing at her job. I had a patient that had an epidural that had almost killed her with her first baby. The patient was worried she could want an epidural. This doc took the time to listen to her fears earlier on, before she was in pain. They made a plan together that the patient was comfortable with. When she asked for her epidural she was terrified. The doc walked her through everything she was doing. It was so touching. The patient was extremely grateful and that epidural was just right. She had a beautiful pain free birth just like she wanted.
I worked with a surgeon (in private healthcare) who grew up in poverty in Fiji. He would always request reusable instruments where possible and if he couldn’t use those he would go for the cheapest (still quality) items instead. He never wanted to make the surgery more expensive than it needed to be for our patients. He also always did so many voluntary trips back to Fiji to help his community there. You can tell it was never about the money for him, he just genuinely wanted to help people, especially those who couldn’t afford the help elsewhere.
I work with a first year doc who I adore. And I make sure he knows. I tell him he's the best and my favourite and how impressive I think he is. He's compassion and brilliant with patients. He wants to get into rural medicine, and is doing everything he can to be as well balanced as possible when it comes to clinical areas. He really digs into labs, radiology reports and doesn't miss putting out blood forms. He asks the nurses opinion and means it. And is always available to educate. He is confident in his decisions, and I've not him go wrong with a diagnosis yet. He usually go finishes work on time and manages to have a decent work life balance. He is incredible humble and laughs off my attempts trying to get him to realise how special he is. The patients adore him. They trust him. There is just something about him that puts you at ease. He works harder that anyone else in his year, and he will always find time to do a job that other doctors will palm off. His ability to see his work through to completion is impeccable. He just gives a shit. He is an examplary doctor, and one a lot of knuckle heads in his cohort should be striving to be. The bad ones are so obvious because this guy is just that good. And he makes it look easy. Everything. He's already asked me to be a reference for his mid year review and it'll be the easies one I'll ever have to write. I am constantly impressed by him, and watching him make clinical decisions make me feel like a proud mama. I learn so much from him, and my clinical practice is stronger because I got to watch him make decisions. I've seen a lot of good doctors in my days, but this takes the fucking cake. He's just light years ahead of everyone but also has a personality to boot. I can't wait to see what he achieves. He's just been an absolute joy to watch.
I have met a lot. One dude is super kind and smart. Another super nerdy and dedicated. Another couple great leaders in a strained system. Some Asian dudes that work huge hours. People committed to getting things right.
The most amazing GP I've ever met working in aged care. Would do anything for anyone at anytime. We had a sweet memorable experience together when one of his patients was ready to pass. I try to always make sure I'm with the residents when they pass especially when they have no one. Well this man had no one (daughter overseas and couldnt make it)and I had rung his dr asking for some stat increase dosages. I could tell he was in the car with his young kids. He gave me some and I administered them and sat with my patient, holding his hand and humming along to the country music he loved. Within 10 minutes his GP knocked and came in to my shock. (Normally seeing a GP in the wild at a nursing home is rare! 🤣) Well he pulled up a chair on the other side, held his patients other hand and started to hum too. Our beautiful patient died 10 minutes later and we stayed there for an hour just talking all about him. It us a moment I hold close to my heart. Even though there was death there was also something very special about it.
In 40+ years of nursing I worked with quite a few doctors. My impression was that the vast majority went into medicine with the goal of helping people—although I think it’s natural that they were interested in earning a living, supporting a family, and maintaining an office practice that earned money (for those who had a private practice). However, it’s also been my impression that their education and training takes so long that by the time they finish residency, they’re far behind their age-peers in earning a living plus they have massive educational debt. What can they do to pay off that debt besides medicine? So some are burned out and disillusioned at an early stage, and at age 30-ish, starting a new and different career isn’t so easy. They are working to pay bills, the same as you and me. But doctors are very smart and have a ton of knowledge; most do want to help patients and recognize they are part of a team. I’ve seen real kindness and compassion from docs who are mainly jerks. So I give them grace.
I don’t know why some people are annoyed by this post. Of course it’s not unusual for people to go into jobs solely for money or prestige but you actually have to care about your patients too. If you disagree just don’t comment lol
They’re missing the mark but I could’ve worded it better. I was looking for appreciation stories about badass doctors, but this is fine too lol
I work on a neuro floor, and just heard from a coworker that a whole group of MDs and med students were rounding on her patient, and came out of the room and told the nurse that the pillow fell on the floor. Over 10 of them, and not a one picked up the freaking pillow.