Surgeon Dissed My Wife

[Cap'n Fingers]

The wife is a surgical nurse in a large hospital. Never had any problems always got along with the surgeons and their staff. A couple days ago out of the blue one of the surgeons she respects and enjoys working with went to the director and requested that my wife never work another surgery with him again. No explanation at all. Zip. Without an explanation it's not a threat to her job but damn... She was a wreck. Very upsetting to her. Crappy thing to happen just before xmass.

***Update on post #72. ****
****Wife chimed in. Post #84. ****

[pickaguitar]

Has she asked why yet?

[travisvwright]

I'd tell her it's probably because she is so attractive he gets distracted. Grab some brownie points while you can.

[Cap'n Fingers]

Has she asked why yet?
She knows she'll have to confront him but it will be a few days before can do it without be too emotional.

I'd tell her it's probably because she is so attractive he gets distracted. Grab some brownie points while you can.

Ha! Used that already. "Honey, maybe he's just too attracted to you..." She appreciated it. ;) I mean who knows...right?

[dkaplowitz]

I don't think it would be inappropriate for her to either ask the director for a reason, or to confront the surgeon directly (in a professional manner) and ask him.

P.S. My sister-in-law is a nurse. She says many of the surgeons she's worked with are really nasty people. Something about having to work under a lot of pressure in a cold room with no windows all day makes them that way, or something to that effect.

[EricPeterson]

I'd tell her it's probably because she is so attractive he gets distracted.


that was my first thought too. It is tough to get no explanation. And really I could see this being an issue.


Crappy situation, if it is something she did wrong the least he could do is let her know, if not for her sake, for the sake of the patients.

[Cap'n Fingers]

I don't think it would be inappropriate for her to either ask the director for a reason, or to confront the surgeon directly (in a professional manner) and ask him.

P.S. My sister-in-law is a nurse. She says many of the surgeons she's worked with are really nasty people. Something about having to work under a lot of pressure in a cold room with no windows all day makes them that way, or something to that effect.

The guy gave no reason to anybody. Including the director and his own assistants.
Yeah, some are pleasant and some are just 100% mean. She's always been good at winning over the mean ones eventually. This guy is through and through a pro. He's the most respected in his specialty. Never a bad attitude until now.
My hunch is that he misinterpreted something that was said although for the life of her she can't figure out what it would have been.

[dude]

That sux. On the other hand, when I'm on a table with some dude (or chick) slicing me apart and putting me back together, I want them to be happy and not distracted regadless if their distraction is warranted or stupid.

I see nothing wrong with your wife asking in a professional way whether there is something in her performance that led to this.

[VanR]

Maybe the night before the surgery was taco night and she was a little gassy. :hide

My wife is an RN too and she always tells me about these "little gods" that think that's just what they are. They make mistakes and blame it on the nurses and so forth.

[buddaman71]

I read a psychological study a few years back that said that most surgeons, successful business owners and famous serial killers score almost identically on many psyche profiles. No kidding.....

[Route234]

I read a psychological study a few years back that said that most surgeons, successful business owners and famous serial killers score almost identically on many psyche profiles.

No kidding.....

I dated a girl pretty briefly (but memorably!) that was pretty close to finishing up her residency or whatever they call it. I remember when she was telling me about her first experience cutting someone open. It was scary to hear her talk about it. Im telling ya, she was turned on or something by it. I found her exuberance about cutting and blood and being in control to be very strange. Brilliant woman though and very pretty too. She was a bit crazy though, kind of scary crazy too, not fun crazy.

[Cap'n Fingers]

I read a psychological study a few years back that said that most surgeons, successful business owners and famous serial killers score almost identically on many psyche profiles.

No kidding.....

You know...some surgeons own their own practice....and lose patients from time to time. Things to make you go hummm.

[Ed Reed]

Tell her to get back in control and ask the guy. She could start by asking I need to know so I can be sure not to do this again. Even though she very well may not be at fault at all. My sis has worked surgery for over 30 years and she tells some stories about some certain doctors that makes me give your wife a lot of room in being not at fault here at all.

[buddaman71]

PS: I'd forgotten (blocked it out probably) all about this until reading this post; it's insane. About 10 years ago, I had a run in with a Dr. Rosenblum once in a public hospital parking space. I was parking in the garage to go visit my very ill grandmother and, as my wife stepped out of the car after we parked, he came flying around the blind corner at barely sub-light speed in his douchy little 10-year old Porche and almost hit my wife. He slammed on the brakes, laid on the horn and screamed, "Get your fat ass out of the way!"

I mean, first of all, my wife's ass is spectacular, second, he almost killed HER, and we didn't delay him by more than literally 3 seconds. I said, "Woah! Doc, you were flying around a blind corner in a 5MPH parking garage and almost hit my wife. Chill!" He turned red, looked absolutely insane with rage, slammed his door and jumped up in my face, (he was about 5'3" in elevator shoes) poked me in the chest with his tiny, soft lil munchkin finger and said, "I'm Paul m**********n' Rosenblum. You can't speak to me like that!!" I was shocked at first, but then my redneck thermonuclear temper kicked in .02 seconds later. I looked him dead in the eye and said, "I hope you know a good plastic surgeon, because you're gonna need him if you touch me again." He looked at me like I'd blasphemed god almighty himself and then jumped in his car, slammed the door and roared off.

We both just stood there in total shock. I was shaking from the adrenaline and glad I didn't wail on the guy, cause I'd probably still be in jail. I've never even had that bad a run in with drunks in all my years playing at bars.

I completely believe that he was coked or cranked out of his mind the way he acted. I've never seen anyone act that way before. He was actually LEAVING the hospital BTW, so it's not like he thought we were impeding his way to the ER to save a life. Probably going to score more blow...

It was literally one of the strangest experiences I've ever had with a total stranger.

[getbent]

I'd ask the director to try and discover what the complaint is, that your wife is earnest about her work, that she respects the surgeon's work and if he is not willing to work with her, she'd just like to know why so that possibly there would be something she could do to improve or change.

And leave it at that. If she gets no response, let it go. Hospitals (according to my surgeon friend and my friend who is a hospital administrator) are like middle schools, lots of in fighting and cliques and interpersonal weirdness...

sucky time of the year to get her feelings hurt too... sorry to hear it!

[Roadeye]

Easy - ask the Doctor.

[teletran1175]

My wife is an RN too and she always tells me about these "little gods" that think that's just what they are. They make mistakes and blame it on the nurses and so forth.

Agreed. RN's are the first line of patient care and have to take crap from MD's all day long.
Sooner or later one of them gets hung out to dry.

[GAT]

I do surgeries in hospitals and I've asked that one nurse not be assigned to me when I'm there. She was incompetent and dangerous. Not saying that your wife is, just relaying my experience.

[sodapopinski]

I don't think it would be inappropriate for her to either ask the director for a reason, or to confront the surgeon directly (in a professional manner) and ask him.

P.S. My sister-in-law is a nurse. She says many of the surgeons she's worked with are really nasty people. Something about having to work under a lot of pressure in a cold room with no windows all day makes them that way, or something to that effect.

yeah, she could say she would like an explanation so that she can know what she needs to work on to become a better nurse.
If she says it this way, its not demanding or threatening and she'll get the information she is looking for.

[Strat-Mangler]

The wife is a surgical nurse in a large hospital. Never had any problems always got along with the surgeons and their staff. A couple days ago out of the blue one of the surgeons she respects and enjoys working with went to the director and requested that my wife never work another surgery with him again. No explanation at all. Zip. Without an explanation it's not a threat to her job but damn... She was a wreck. Very upsetting to her. Crappy thing to happen just before xmass.
I'm going against the grain here, but...

With all due respect, I think your wife needs to simply buck up. Somebody at her workplace doesn't like her. Big whoop. Unless it has the potential to ruin her career, I think she should just get over it.

I lost my job due to being laid off at the beginning of the month. *That* is a pretty lousy thing to happen before X-Mas. Your wife needs some perspective. Being upset because one co-worker doesn't like her is a little much & frankly, IMHO of course, she's overreacting.

[Jon C]

I do surgeries in hospitals and I've asked that one nurse not be assigned to me when I'm there. She was incompetent and dangerous. Not saying that your wife is, just relaying my experience.

I'm curious if you told them why ... recently many hospitals are trying to get/be a lot more open about risk-related things like this that folks may see/know about but not disclose ... that (as opposed to "I don't like what she said") sounds like something all would want to have dealt with for liability/risk issues, etc.

[Killcrop]

I'm going against the grain here, but...

With all due respect, I think your wife needs to simply buck up. Somebody at her workplace doesn't like her. Big whoop. Unless it has the potential to ruin her career, I think she should just get over it.

I lost my job due to being laid off at the beginning of the month. *That* is a pretty lousy thing to happen before X-Mas. Your wife needs some perspective. Being upset because one co-worker doesn't like her is a little much & frankly, IMHO of course, she's overreacting.

This is a little more involved than someone not liking her. Something occurred that makes him not want to work with her. I would want to know what it is. She has a right to know IMO.

[Gas-man]

Surgeons run just about any practice or hospital because they are the most talented (let's just face facts, shall we?) and they bring in the most revenue.

They get what they want and apparently one doesn't want your wife.

Don't fight it. It's just reality.

[Dean_E]

I'm in school for echocardiography, and one of my real world experienced RDCS peds teachers told us in class that most surgeons became surgeons because their personalities suck so bad that the only way for their patients can stand them is to be knocked out cold.

A week later in class we had a hour long video of mitral valve replacement on a 39 y/o woman. The surgeon was giving a pre-op overview of the surgery at table-side with the woman all ready under with his hand resting on her abdomen and right breast. As he's talking he's flexing his fingers and making hand gestures that go along with his speech. Totally clueless to the fact that he's inadvertently fondling her breast. We're just a piece of meat to the surgeons.

Dean

[ROTHNROLL]

I work as an operating room nurse.
Surgeons are generally a pain in the ass. The operating room is a very stressful environment. Wouldn't you be on the edge if you were about to slice someone open?
If I was a surgeon I would want to surround myself with individuals that provide safe, competent care.

There has to be a reason for this. It's either a personality issue or a perceived competence issue with your wife. It's hard for you to know who is right, the Doc or her.
Your wife might be very smart, but she might lack the time management or prioritization skills that it takes to keep this guy happy.
The best bet is for your wife to ask the director what is the basis of the complaint.

[hellbender]

My wife works in a medical office. She is very proactive advising the doctor on any number of items that come up during the day including reminding him of his obligations to the patients. Some Dr.s won't stand for that.

Too bad, when my wife's on watch, the patients get served.

[tone4days]

i hope she can get over the emotiona part - maybe inquire so as to learn, then move on ...

when my late MIL needed open heart surgery for a 5x bypass and close a hole in her heart, her cardiologist asked 'do you want the guy with the best bedside manner or the best table skills?" ... she was 79 y.o., quite overweight, diabetic, and 2 bad knees (arthritis) ... she took the guy with the best table skills ... guy was an absolute prick in every way imaginable .. but she was up walking the next day and living back home on day 3 with no pain meds ...

[semi-hollowbody]

surgeon has NO class...if there was a problem SHE should have been the first to know, at least give her a chance to explain/correct...but instead he goes behind her back and throws her to the dogs...what a piece of work

[Johns7022]

I do surgeries in hospitals and I've asked that one nurse not be assigned to me when I'm there. She was incompetent and dangerous. Not saying that your wife is, just relaying my experience.

When lives and big dollar planes are involved.....the nice way of getting rid of bad pilots is to ask them to leave...everyone is concerned about not doing it badly...but you can't help but think of that person flying for someone else....your just pawning this problem off on someone else...

[getbent]

my buddy the heart surgeon is a hard ass. Half the town we lived in hated him, half the town had had a family member saved by him. Nurses are really important and do an important function, but, without the guys who have the stones to say "I'm gonna cut you open and fix you and I'm not too scared to do it." there would be lots more dead people.

To be THAT person, you are not going to be touchy, feely, lets all be nice... you are probably gonna be pretty gruff and need to treat the patients like they are an object to be fixed... not Aunt Millie or whatever.

There is a ton of jealousy in the world too... to the OP, you brought this to a thread... is your wife a 'talker'? is she super meticulous or... if you asked her what her weaknesses are at her job... would she be able to tell you?

There is usually a tone of being gentle here that I appreciate, but I also understand that in serious circumstances, being gentle and overly kind or 'professional' doesn't cut it.

Would you rather have Aunt Millie come out okay but have some hurt feelings among the surgical team or everyone is friends but Aunt Millie didn't make it?

I know someone will say "you can have everyone get along AND have Aunt Millie come out okay" and I'll agree except if someone isn't making the grade.

We can characterize this unknown surgeon as Frank Burns and think he is a boob or we can wonder what has really been going on....

as for what he should have done... I think that protocol is to let the nursing director know and generally to give some indication as to the reasoning... it is likely that this was actually done and the nursing supervisor did not want to share....

pursuing this will probably not have the result one might hope for... it is awful to know that people don't respect your work, it is worse if they die from it....

[LHanson]

There's no telling why the doc did what he did. It could be as simple as that she reminds him of his ex-wife, or something equally trivial. I suppose it's worth seeking the doc out to ask if there was a "teachable moment" or if his problem is superficial. At the same time, health care professionals (not one myself, but have several in the family and friends) need thick skin.

[Polynitro]

deal with it, grow some balls. I know doctors that will kick you out for talking too much during a procedure.

[Cornbread]

That sux. On the other hand, when I'm on a table with some dude (or chick) slicing me apart and putting me back together, I want them to be happy and not distracted regadless if their distraction is warranted or stupid.



agree'd
as a transplant patient my surgery was a typical day at the office for them
terrifying for me
i want them as happy and as focused as possible

I'm in school for echocardiography, and one of my real world experienced RDCS peds teachers told us in class that most surgeons became surgeons because their personalities suck so bad that the only way for their patients can stand them is to be knocked out cold.


Dean

this may be true but the 5 surgeons i've met with do not fit this profile

[rmj254]

Surgeons run just about any practice or hospital because they are the most talented (let's just face facts, shall we?) and they bring in the most revenue.

They get what they want and apparently one doesn't want your wife.

Don't fight it. It's just reality.

I disagree with that bolded statement. Talented how? Diagnosis? Physical examination skills? Reading diagnostic images? Performing procedures?

Now, the second part is definitely true. But just because they bring in the most money doesn't mean they are the most competent, talented people in a hospital.

[mrbungel]

I don't think it would be inappropriate for her to either ask the director for a reason, or to confront the surgeon directly (in a professional manner) and ask him.

P.S. My sister-in-law is a nurse. She says many of the surgeons she's worked with are really nasty people. Something about having to work under a lot of pressure in a cold room with no windows all day makes them that way, or something to that effect.

I'm not surprised, most, but not all, doctors and surgeons, are nasty people. In my experience, they think they are better than common folk. Being smart and being nice are totally different things.
Sure, they studied hard and spent a lot of time in school, but they are usually arrogant, greedy jack wads.

[fredgarvin]

Cops and Surgeons, the new bastards of TGP. But We got twiddly fingers that go beep beep beep...

[jtm622]

When I was working for an oil-field service company, a "company man" (the operating company's representative on the rig) could "run off" (for whatever reason) any engineer I sent out there... Didn't need a good reason - likely that he just didn't gee-haw with the guy I sent out there... It was NO big deal - I just sent him out somebody else...

Usually, it was the same insecure company man who pulled that sh#t every time - Some of those guys were totally pre-occupied with covering their own ass...
I guarantee that doc has pulled the same sh#t on somebody else - so just forget about it... If she stays a professional long enough, it will likely happen again... :)

[bigdaddy]

I'm going against the grain here, but...

With all due respect, I think your wife needs to simply buck up. Somebody at her workplace doesn't like her. Big whoop. Unless it has the potential to ruin her career, I think she should just get over it.

I lost my job due to being laid off at the beginning of the month. *That* is a pretty lousy thing to happen before X-Mas. Your wife needs some perspective. Being upset because one co-worker doesn't like her is a little much & frankly, IMHO of course, she's overreacting.

I'm with you, and I wasn't laid off. Either ask the guy or get over it. Anything else is wothless speculation.

[Johns7022]

I would ask your wife, specifically what happened during the last surgery with the doc...

-----------------

This thread is the argument for working for yourself...no politics to speak off...no one else controls your fate.

[michael.e]

The wife is a surgical nurse in a large hospital. Never had any problems always got along with the surgeons and their staff. A couple days ago out of the blue one of the surgeons she respects and enjoys working with went to the director and requested that my wife never work another surgery with him again. No explanation at all. Zip. Without an explanation it's not a threat to her job but damn... She was a wreck. Very upsetting to her. Crappy thing to happen just before xmass.
Gotta say, on the patients side, I want my surgeon to have the best staff he feels comfortable with. If I am on the table, I am not going to care much about your wifes job.

Sorry to be harsh, I get that things hurt sometimes, but, maybe it is food for thought.

She should rise above and set some new benchmarks. Perhaps a heart to heart with the surgeon in order to find out what is an issue. Not to get back on to his team, but to be of better assistance to another team and ultimately, the patient.
Oh, and it Christmas. Never did the X thing.

[otaypanky]

The guy gave no reason to anybody. Including the director and his own assistants.
Yeah, some are pleasant and some are just 100% mean. She's always been good at winning over the mean ones eventually. This guy is through and through a pro. He's the most respected in his specialty. Never a bad attitude until now.
My hunch is that he misinterpreted something that was said although for the life of her she can't figure out what it would have been.

He hardly sounds like a pro to me Cap'n. If he was, he would have spoken directly with your wife, and in a manner that would explain his feelings and give your wife the courtesy she deserves. If he felt she was deficient in some aspect of her job performance he should have the concern for the patients as well as the other surgeons and express his concerns to the director.
With just the very small amount of info you posted I would surmise he's a jerk who thinks he's a big fish in a small pond ~

[JamesT]

Just curious, who were the old bastards?

regular doctors and lawyers with "PRSi":hide2

[RCCola]

Yeah...first thing I would think is your wife did something(s) to annoy him. Not sure why we're blaming the surgeon so quickly.

I'm not surprised, most, but not all, doctors and surgeons, are nasty people. In my experience, they think they are better than common folk.

The few times I've had to see a new doctor, I've always had the pre-conceived notion they would be clinical and run me in and out, but I guess I've just been lucky. In my experience, all the doctor's I've met have been very cool.

As a kid, one of my friend's dad was one of the most prominent doctor's in our medium-size town and was very down to earth and friendly.

The two latest doc's I remember going to were both probably in their early-mid 30s. One of them looked like that Dr 90210 dude and was wearing some suede expensive looking loafers. I'm pretty sure he drove a Porsche.

[GAT]

I'm curious if you told them why ... recently many hospitals are trying to get/be a lot more open about risk-related things like this that folks may see/know about but not disclose ... that (as opposed to "I don't like what she said") sounds like something all would want to have dealt with for liability/risk issues, etc.

Yes, I told them why and gave specific examples. Not sure it had any bearing, but she doesn't work there anymore.

The anesthesiologist I was working with also thought she was incompetent too.

I'm pretty easy going, BTW. But sometimes you have to call them the way you see them.

[TwoTubMan]

Could be worse, could have been Dr. Michael DeBakey. His anti-social, near sociopathic personality is the stuff of legends. Brilliant surgeon, but a royal pain in the ass.

[ow my eyes]

I hate getting into this thread.....but - a few things I gotta get off my chest.

Surgeons work harder and longer and under more stress than just about anybody other human. If you think you work hard and long and stressful hours, you have no idea.....seriously. Yah, big words on the internet, but guys, you dont have a clue what a surgeon's life is like. Most of them take onerous call, especially if they take trauma call tied to an ER, and shifts exceeding 36 -48 hours (never sleeping) are not uncommon and weeks that exceed 100 -110 hours are commonplace. In the military I had shifts that went from Fri at 6am and went to Sun at 8pm. There were many occasions that I never slept during that time.

In a lot of other fields when the shit flows down hill, not so in medicine. The doc has ultimate responsiblity of any case for any reason. Its rare that people go after nurses or techs - but docs are under the proverbial gun with every word and every decision and every action they make. Again, unless you know what this feels like or what it means, you have no idea. So if a doc thinks for any reason that things around them are not exactly what they want, they absolutely have the authority to make it so. Not because of ego, but because of responsiblity.

Today, the environment in medicine is very twitchy in regards to fireable offenses due to HIPPA (Health Information Patient Privacy Act) For example, its quite possible that this doc did the OP's wife a favor by the actions he took. Say she was talking casually about a case - completely innocently and without any ill will. If a patient or non-medical team person overheard it, its quite possible that the surgeon was made aware of it.
He could at that point do one of two things: 1) do what he did without explanation thereby keeping the "report" off the books, or 2) actually spell the reason out at which point the nurse could esaily be fired.
ie - sometimes a quiet please 'move along' message is a far more career sparing one than : "nurse X was overheard talking about Mr Y and his family talked to me about it, so please Mrs nurse supervisor handle it." At which point, nurse supervisor fires the OPs wife. HIPPA is absolutely a 'one a done'. One violation = firing; very common.
So if she goes digging for the answer she may in fact be digging up something that will actually be more harmful to her than good.
If people dont think that employees in the medical field can get fired because some patient is offended by something said completely casually - think again. I cant tell you the number of firings I've seen over HIPPA violations in the last 2-3 years that are complete "you gotta be kidding me" groaners. A patient sticker left on a counter, or a nurse who gets on the computer and gives information to the spouse of a an elderly patient, but the patient had never signed an information waiver. Happens all the time. One and done. Complete careers down the crapper becuase of one complaint or report and one very simple innocent mistake.

In my experience, when there are patient complaints, it often comes right to the doc from the patient of family member involved. People love to go 'right to the source'. Perhaps a patient made an accusation about something like this, on the surface very very innocent, but under the high beams of HIPPA could be fireable offense....and the doc said I'll take care of it... did what he did, it satisfied the patient and the complaint went no further. Its quite possible that he did this because he very much liked this nurse and her work and wanted to spare her from getting shit thrown at her for a stupid reason. Had he chosen to be more 'formal' about it, it may have resulted in her getting canned.
This is all speculation of course, but there are so many variables that are not known - its just sad that the instant reflex by everyone is to hammer on the doc without really understanding the environment in which this stuff is played.

Fwiw, I absolutely believe the doc has the responsibility to tell her why - and I cant really see a scenario where he wouldnt do so in private...and it may happen still.

So yah, its easy to flame docs, but working the hours worked with the pressure and responsibility worn like a 200lb coat, its no wonder some of them are not so cute and cuddly. And for those who say screw them, if you're not happy, then quit......you dont get it. To get to the skill set level that they have and for you to have the expectations that you have when you or your family member goes on the table, the training and hours and experience comes at a price. Its just the reality that is intrinsic within the surgical field. So unless you have done 36 hour shifts every 3rd night with 12 - 14 hour shifts in between for several years in a row, with every case you touch being the most important to that person and that family, be a little less quick to be critical of their ability to be social butterflies.

[S.W.Erdnase]

I hate getting into this thread.....but - a few things I gotta get off my chest.

Surgeons work harder and longer and under more stress than just about anybody other human. If you think you work hard and long and stressful hours, you have no idea.....seriously. Yah, big words on the internet, but guys, you dont have a clue what a surgeon's life is like. Most of them take onerous call, especially if they take trauma call tied to an ER, and shifts exceeding 36 -48 hours (never sleeping) are not uncommon and weeks that exceed 100 -110 hours are commonplace. In the military I had shifts that went from Fri at 6am and went to Sun at 8pm. There were many occasions that I never slept during that time.

In a lot of other fields when the shit flows down hill, not so in medicine. The doc has ultimate responsiblity of any case for any reason. Its rare that people go after nurses or techs - but docs are under the proverbial gun with every word and every decision and every action they make. Again, unless you know what this feels like or what it means, you have no idea. So if a doc thinks for any reason that things around them are not exactly what they want, they absolutely have the authority to make it so. Not because of ego, but because of responsiblity.

Today, the environment in medicine is very twitchy in regards to fireable offenses due to HIPPA (Health Information Patient Privacy Act) For example, its quite possible that this doc did the OP's wife a favor by the actions he took. Say she was talking casually about a case - completely innocently and without any ill will. If a patient or non-medical team person overheard it, its quite possible that the surgeon was made aware of it.
He could at that point do one of two things: 1) do what he did without explanation thereby keeping the "report" off the books, or 2) actually spell the reason out at which point the nurse could esaily be fired.
ie - sometimes a quiet please 'move along' message is a far more career sparing one than : "nurse X was overheard talking about Mr Y and his family talked to me about it, so please Mrs nurse supervisor handle it." At which point, nurse supervisor fires the OPs wife. HIPPA is absolutely a 'one a done'. One violation = firing; very common.
So if she goes digging for the answer she may in fact be digging up something that will actually be more harmful to her than good.
If people dont think that employees in the medical field can get fired because some patient is offended by something said completely casually - think again. I cant tell you the number of firings I've seen over HIPPA violations in the last 2-3 years that are complete "you gotta be kidding me" groaners. A patient sticker left on a counter, or a nurse who gets on the computer and gives information to the spouse of a an elderly patient, but the patient had never signed an information waiver. Happens all the time. One and done. Complete careers down the crapper becuase of one complaint or report and one very simple innocent mistake.

In my experience, when there are patient complaints, it often comes right to the doc from the patient of family member involved. People love to go 'right to the source'. Perhaps a patient made an accusation about something like this, on the surface very very innocent, but under the high beams of HIPPA could be fireable offense....and the doc said I'll take care of it... did what he did, it satisfied the patient and the complaint went no further. Its quite possible that he did this because he very much liked this nurse and her work and wanted to spare her from getting shit thrown at her for a stupid reason. Had he chosen to be more 'formal' about it, it may have resulted in her getting canned.
This is all speculation of course, but there are so many variables that are not known - its just sad that the instant reflex by everyone is to hammer on the doc without really understanding the environment in which this stuff is played.

Fwiw, I absolutely believe the doc has the responsibility to tell her why - and I cant really see a scenario where he wouldnt do so in private...and it may happen still.

So yah, its easy to flame docs, but working the hours worked with the pressure and responsibility worn like a 200lb coat, its no wonder some of them are not so cute and cuddly. And for those who say screw them, if you're not happy, then quit......you dont get it. To get to the skill set level that they have and for you to have the expectations that you have when you or your family member goes on the table, the training and hours and experience comes at a price. Its just the reality that is intrinsic within the surgical field. So unless you have done 36 hour shifts every 3rd night with 12 - 14 hour shifts in between for several years in a row, with every case you touch being the most important to that person and that family, be a little less quick to be critical of their ability to be social butterflies.

Plenty of other professions that work as hard. I know guys in Afghanistan that work longer hours than surgeons and in far more dangerous conditions. So, yeah, it's easy to flame docs.

[gururyan]

If she's at the pink hospital, I've heard similar stories about a surgeon there.

[ow my eyes]

Plenty of other professions that work as hard. I know guys in Afghanistan that work longer hours than surgeons and in far more dangerous conditions. So, yeah, it's easy to flame docs.
Exactly. and when someone from the outside comes in and asks one of our finest during their stressful hours to "chill dude, c'mon smile" or 'dude - why did you do that?' We should understand the environment first, criticize second. And I know friends that are surgeons in Afghanistan that work on those that work in that hell hole and each are grateful of the other and the respect is very mututal.

[rmj254]

I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find five other occupations where nearly everyone in that occupation works 80-100 hours a week year-round for their entire career.

[Cap'n Fingers]

I'm going against the grain here, but...

With all due respect, I think your wife needs to simply buck up. Somebody at her workplace doesn't like her. Big whoop. Unless it has the potential to ruin her career, I think she should just get over it.

I lost my job due to being laid off at the beginning of the month. *That* is a pretty lousy thing to happen before X-Mas. Your wife needs some perspective. Being upset because one co-worker doesn't like her is a little much & frankly, IMHO of course, she's overreacting.

When you're married you learn how to approach some things from non-guy perspective. In my head I was saying the same thing as you. When the other person is a dedicated professional well thought of and well liked something like this is a big blow. It takes some recovery time before an effect bucking up can happen.

Sorry about the lay off. I went through one of those just before xmass back in 2001. It was a GREAT job, I loved it and then it left me. Sucked.

[Cap'n Fingers]

Thanks everyone for your input. Based on some replies I'll add a few more details.

The wife has done many surgeries with this surgeon over the last four years. Probably at least one a week. If this were a competency issue it would have come up long ago and likely with a more intense surgeon.

His specialty does not require very many extra hours, very much trauma or emergency work. Don't get me wrong though he does some major surgeries but he's got a good gig.

They say this situation doesn't officially effect her job but we all know how situations can accumulate. It definitely wasn't a good thing to have happen.

She's getting a lot of support from her supervisor and co-workers over this. She's pulled herself back together now. Due to the holidays it may be a while before she can try to get to bottom of what happened. The current theory is that someone told him that my wife said something and he got mad because she didn't come directly to him. This would have been the result of a misunderstood comment or something taken out of context. Believe me, she has no problem telling these guys things they need to know and she's not one to make derogatory statements behind anyone's back. This is a hectic OR. She barely remembers her last case with him. Nothing out of the ordinary routine sticks out in her mind.

I'll update when we figure it out. I appreciate you guys!

[blueserv]

"Even Bambi has enemies." ...

Sally Field in Smokey and the Bandit II,

[fredgarvin]

regular doctors and lawyers with "PRSi":hide2


Ha! I was gonna say pharmacologists and lawyers with Dumbles! :rotflmao

[hellbender]

It's not about the person, it's about the behavior.

[straightblues]

I am a CEO with lots of employees. Being the boss, everyone assumes you are right an have all of the answers because it helps them live their lives more securely. The truth is, we don't have all the answers. We don't get it right all the time.

This surgeon could have some personal problems, or just be an a-hole. Just think of him as another human and a coworker. Whatever the issue was, the surgeon is a wimp and handled it wrong. He should have talked to your wife directly or at very least provided a detail to HR.

[Matt Jones]

My first reaction is to say he's attracted to her and wants to remove himself from the situation.

[Teleplayer]

I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find five other occupations where nearly everyone in that occupation works 80-100 hours a week year-round for their entire career.

True. I am not aware of many jobs - surgeons included - that require 14 hour days, 7 days/week, 52 weeks/year......or any that require 20 hours/day, 5 days/week, 52 weeks/year.

Those that do must be manned by supermen and superwomen.

[ajchance]

Ok, here's my .02 from the surgeon's perspective:

By process of elimination, there are certain personalities that choose to be physicians. We are (to varying degrees) social misfits that parlay our personality quirks into something constructive. A typical physician has OCD issues, a high level of self-confidence and the tendency to make quick judgments/actions. We have to in order to do what we do. You can't be a wishy-washy decision maker that makes up the rules as he goes along. It doesn't work that way and people get hurt if that happens.

Most physicians are a slave to their schedule. We have only so much time allotted to do what we do in a day. We, admittedly, rely very heavily on our support personnel (nurses, techs, secretaries, etc.) to make things work. If I find an issue with something that needs to be addressed, I will frequently ask someone to deal with it, so that it doesn't affect my schedule and snowball into the rest of the day - I don't have the time for it. If I take an hour to address an issue with a nurse in the OR, it means that I've put off half a dozen patients waiting for me in the office.

Are there a**hole docs out there - youbetcha. I pride myself in not treating folks like underlings and I think I have a reputation that supports that. I do find issues with personnel, at times, and I have fired someone from my OR (just like the OP's surgeon in question did). If an individual detracts from the surgical team, they're in the wrong place.

I think a TGP frame of reference would help:

You are a one man act that contracts for your services. You work at 1-2 clubs in town and they treat you pretty well. A third party is responsible for your paycheck, though. Every year they decide that they want to pay you less. They insist that you turn in your playlist to meet their approval before any gig. On some occasions they approve the playlist and then later decide they don't like the songs after all and don't pay you. You charge them (hypothetically) $100 and they pay you $35-50. You have no recourse to adjust the pay scale.

You work 4-5 twelve hour gigs a week and hopefully get 15 minutes a day for lunch. You also take a "call" gig once a week where you agree to play, at the club's whim, overnight between your scheduled full day gigs. Once a month you'll play all weekend, too.

Your act is supported by a secretary who schedules every song down to the minute and you have a tech who is in charge of controlling your sound, keeping you in tune, switching your pedals during songs, etc. If you play perfectly, it pays pretty well. Miss a chord, though, and you might kill someone, or at least significantly impact their life. You also constantly have the threat that any give wrong note may prompt a club patron to sue you for ten times what you'll make in the next ten years.

As a result you are very particular about who you have working for you and who you associate with. But you still play every day because you love the job.

[fredgarvin]

^ Nice.

[RustyAxe]

My wife is an O.R. scrub nurse (I was too, back in the 70's, but that's another story). Surgeon's are like any other people ... some are jerks. But Sharon's at a point in her career where it's more likely she'll refuse to work with a particular surgeon, rather than the other way around ... ;)

[paulrocker]

My first reaction is to say he's attracted to her and wants to remove himself from the situation.

I'm not sure how you are coming to that conclusion with such little information.

[Jon Silberman]

He never said anything about having come to a conclusion. Those are your words. He said he had a first reaction.

[otterhound]

True. I am not aware of many jobs - surgeons included - that require 14 hour days, 7 days/week, 52 weeks/year......or any that require 20 hours/day, 5 days/week, 52 weeks/year.

Those that do must be manned by supermen and superwomen.
Ask any parent .
That aside . You are touching on the reason that more people are not self employed and never will be . Many combine both and do not become jerks because they love it .
The bottom line here is that while the surgeon certainly does have the authority to pick and choose his/her team , a certain amount of basic human dignity goes along with it . She is deserving of knowing the reason/s .
I love to ask authoritarians one simple question and watch them dodge . " Am I your equal ? " The good ones will answer and the bad ones don't matter even if I don't like the answer .
If your wife requests a clarification and does not receive one , she has every right to be offended .
If your wife is the only nurse available at the time , will the doctor allow the patient to die because of his pride ?

[RobertMiller]

Ok, here's my .02 from the surgeon's perspective:

By process of elimination, there are certain personalities that choose to be physicians. We are (to varying degrees) social misfits that parlay our personality quirks into something constructive. A typical physician has OCD issues, a high level of self-confidence and the tendency to make quick judgments/actions. We have to in order to do what we do. You can't be a wishy-washy decision maker that makes up the rules as he goes along. It doesn't work that way and people get hurt if that happens.

Most physicians are a slave to their schedule. We have only so much time allotted to do what we do in a day. We, admittedly, rely very heavily on our support personnel (nurses, techs, secretaries, etc.) to make things work. If I find an issue with something that needs to be addressed, I will frequently ask someone to deal with it, so that it doesn't affect my schedule and snowball into the rest of the day - I don't have the time for it. If I take an hour to address an issue with a nurse in the OR, it means that I've put off half a dozen patients waiting for me in the office.

Are there a**hole docs out there - youbetcha. I pride myself in not treating folks like underlings and I think I have a reputation that supports that. I do find issues with personnel, at times, and I have fired someone from my OR (just like the OP's surgeon in question did). If an individual detracts from the surgical team, they're in the wrong place.

I think a TGP frame of reference would help:

You are a one man act that contracts for your services. You work at 1-2 clubs in town and they treat you pretty well. A third party is responsible for your paycheck, though. Every year they decide that they want to pay you less. They insist that you turn in your playlist to meet their approval before any gig. On some occasions they approve the playlist and then later decide they don't like the songs after all and don't pay you. You charge them (hypothetically) $100 and they pay you $35-50. You have no recourse to adjust the pay scale.

You work 4-5 twelve hour gigs a week and hopefully get 15 minutes a day for lunch. You also take a "call" gig once a week where you agree to play, at the club's whim, overnight between your scheduled full day gigs. Once a month you'll play all weekend, too.

Your act is supported by a secretary who schedules every song down to the minute and you have a tech who is in charge of controlling your sound, keeping you in tune, switching your pedals during songs, etc. If you play perfectly, it pays pretty well. Miss a chord, though, and you might kill someone, or at least significantly impact their life. You also constantly have the threat that any give wrong note may prompt a club patron to sue you for ten times what you'll make in the next ten years.

As a result you are very particular about who you have working for you and who you associate with. But you still play every day because you love the job.

Well done.....

[rmj254]

True. I am not aware of many jobs - surgeons included - that require 14 hour days, 7 days/week, 52 weeks/year......or any that require 20 hours/day, 5 days/week, 52 weeks/year.

Those that do must be manned by supermen and superwomen.

Many surgeons aren't far off from those numbers (especially General, Trauma, Orthopedic, Neurological).

[Jimmy P]

I mean, first of all, my wife's ass is spectacular.
I was shocked at first, but then my redneck thermonuclear temper kicked in .02 seconds later.
I looked him dead in the eye and said, "I hope you know a good plastic surgeon, because you're gonna need him if you touch me again."

Sorry only wanted to include the highlights, but :rotflmao:rotflmao:rotflmao

[Lucidology]

Ok, here's my .02 from the surgeon's perspective:

By process of elimination, there are certain personalities that choose to be physicians. We are (to varying degrees) social misfits that parlay our personality quirks into something constructive. A typical physician has OCD issues, a high level of self-confidence and the tendency to make quick judgments/actions. We have to in order to do what we do. You can't be a wishy-washy decision maker that makes up the rules as he goes along. It doesn't work that way and people get hurt if that happens.

Most physicians are a slave to their schedule. We have only so much time allotted to do what we do in a day. We, admittedly, rely very heavily on our support personnel (nurses, techs, secretaries, etc.) to make things work. If I find an issue with something that needs to be addressed, I will frequently ask someone to deal with it, so that it doesn't affect my schedule and snowball into the rest of the day - I don't have the time for it. If I take an hour to address an issue with a nurse in the OR, it means that I've put off half a dozen patients waiting for me in the office.

Are there a**hole docs out there - youbetcha. I pride myself in not treating folks like underlings and I think I have a reputation that supports that. I do find issues with personnel, at times, and I have fired someone from my OR (just like the OP's surgeon in question did). If an individual detracts from the surgical team, they're in the wrong place.

I think a TGP frame of reference would help:

You are a one man act that contracts for your services. You work at 1-2 clubs in town and they treat you pretty well. A third party is responsible for your paycheck, though. Every year they decide that they want to pay you less. They insist that you turn in your playlist to meet their approval before any gig. On some occasions they approve the playlist and then later decide they don't like the songs after all and don't pay you. You charge them (hypothetically) $100 and they pay you $35-50. You have no recourse to adjust the pay scale.

You work 4-5 twelve hour gigs a week and hopefully get 15 minutes a day for lunch. You also take a "call" gig once a week where you agree to play, at the club's whim, overnight between your scheduled full day gigs. Once a month you'll play all weekend, too.

Your act is supported by a secretary who schedules every song down to the minute and you have a tech who is in charge of controlling your sound, keeping you in tune, switching your pedals during songs, etc. If you play perfectly, it pays pretty well. Miss a chord, though, and you might kill someone, or at least significantly impact their life. You also constantly have the threat that any give wrong note may prompt a club patron to sue you for ten times what you'll make in the next ten years.

As a result you are very particular about who you have working for you and who you associate with. But you still play every day because you love the job.


Excellent, excellent post .. Wow, U sure as hell make a great deal of sense ..
Thanks so much for taking the time to write that out ...
I'm still thinking about what you've said ...

[jhc]

I'm not sure how you are coming to that conclusion with such little information.

Because the other obvious first reaction would not be flattering to a TGP members wife?

[TrickinSid]

This surgeon could have some personal problems, or just be an a-hole. Just think of him as another human and a coworker. Whatever the issue was, the surgeon is a wimp and handled it wrong. He should have talked to your wife directly or at very least provided a detail to HR.

Agree! ^^^

I can understand why she would be upset...with no explanation.

I would try not to let it ruin your holidays. :)

[paulrocker]

He never said anything about having come to a conclusion. Those are your words. He said he had a first reaction.

well, I guess. I wasn't trying to imply it was a his final conclusion..

I was just saying that if someone called me on the phone out of the blue and said "I don't want to be with you anymore", I'm not sure my gut reaction would be she thinks I'm too hot.

But that's just me..

[Cap'n Fingers]

The story my wife got from the surgeon's scrubtech is that the surgeon was written up for not washing his hands and somehow determined that my wife did it. Evidently he was called on the carpet about it.

Now you may ask yourself, as we did, how can a surgeon not wash his hands? It would not be before being gloved prior to a surgery. It had to have been prior to entering a room or some such other situation where new protocols say you must use an anti-bac before doing this or that. They have a mystery hand washing cop, (nurse), who watches for such infractions and it was likely her who wrote him up.

The wife is relieved now. It wasn't her so she can clear the air with him and be unbanned from his surgeries.

I love happy endings. ;)

[EricPeterson]

nice, i am glad it will likely work out.

[MRCHILL4]

Maybe the night before the surgery was taco night and she was a little gassy. :hide

My wife is an RN too and she always tells me about these "little gods" that think that's just what they are. They make mistakes and blame it on the nurses and so forth.
my wife is a nurse too. she tells me about some of these pricks. some are truely gifted and great people. some are just pricks. i am glad it worked out.

[drive-south]

Why would she want to be unbanned from his surgeries? If I were her, I'd want nothing to do with him ever again. And I'd be filing a complaint with HR. If he got caught not washing his hands, then he want to chastise an employee, he should be out of there. Is your' wife a member of a union?

[Pally]

I agree this is not too happy an ending, especially for anyone rolled into his unit requiring surgery.

I hope your wife does not take him aside and say, "I would never write you up for not washing."

And I hope she does write him up if she finds that he has not.

[Taylor 339]

I wonder what kind of other things he doesn't do.

[Johns7022]

Some of us have jobs where people die if we screw up......so we have to operate at a higher level...our competency has to be such that every time we show up...it has to be close to perfect..

Can you gig to perfection every night? Does everyone in your band 'bring it everyday?

Now if you guys had to gig tonight, and Pablo Escobar, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, and Julius Caesar were in the audience, knowing that if your guy's music displeased them in any way...it would be thumbs down and the guards would send you off to the gallows.

Would you get the right people in the band....playing like it was serious, whatever it takes...or would it be 'gee dude, chill, take it easy...yeah, let's all get bombed before the show'

Since I fly jets under an exemption to fly without a copilot, I can kill 13 people with merely the flip of a switch....

...so Having been on the surgeon's table a few times...I want the stone cold competent, whatever it takes, mission oriented, suffer no fools type to cut into me....and as far as I am concerned if he is good enough to cut into people...he's good enough to fire staff and hire new ones.

[niersbach]

Who said that he really didnt wash his hands....very easily could have been a nurse with an axe to grind and said "watch me make your life hell since you made me do my job" or some other misconception of justice..LOL

[Aaron Smith]

I work for a surgical products company. I'm in the operating room all the time.
There are plenty of surgeons who are fine, upstanding guys; there are also plenty of surgeons who are prima-donna, weak-ego'd juvenile crybabies.
I have seen OR nurses who could do the actual surgery better than the surgeon. I have also seen OR nurses who were completely inept, and a danger to public health.
I don't know any of the people involved here, so I can't judge. One thing that I do know is that most surgical facilities are terminally mismanaged, and invite the kind of friction and stupidity that you describe. A lot of people go into medicine not wanting to deal with having to manage a business. Unfortunately, medical practices are more in need of good business management than just about anything else I can think of.

[rh]

He never said anything about having come to a conclusion. Those are your words. He said he had a first reaction.

A fellow logic cop. Happy New Year, compadre. :)

[Jon Silberman]

Holy schikes - what are the odds I check back on this thread just once since posting pages ago and it's right after rh's post? That's not logical!! ;)

[Polynitro]

doctors never wash thier hands

[Cap'n Fingers]

The wife wanted to chime in and present her story. So here it is:

I just sat and read through the postings. Wow! I can't help to reply with a hardy Thank You to all who replied. Here is the situation as best as I can reveal:

On an otherwise normal day my supervisor asks me what I must have done to upset Surgeon. Supervisor says I am, under no circumstances, to step foot in Surgeon's OR. There is no explanation. I am not brought to tears easily, but in my confounded state of "WT_" tears are all I can manage. I'm task oriented and self-analytic. I can't handle not knowing what I've done wrong because then that means I can't fix it. (Isn't that supposed to be a guy thing? or does it make me neurotic?) So after a good boohoo and bringing myself to the realization I may never know, I accept that he doesn't want to work with me and get on with life. I think to ask him directly but am advised by Supervisor and others that Surgeon is so upset by the matter that I'd better just allow some time first. OK.

A week later, I gently nudge his OR tech of choice for any word yet as to what I did. Keep in mind, I'm just sure I have done something wrong, that there is something I must apologize for. Tech says, "Surgeon says you wrote him up for not washing hands." I say, "no I didn't". I wouldn't because I don't stand in the scrub room for this observation. I'm most likely tending to necessary preparations of surgery and thought I could let all surgeons tend to the necessary hand washing ritual on their own. So again I let it go, but start to wonder how my name got involved.

I'm disappointed. I wanted something I could/should apologize for and learn from. I realize there has been a misunderstanding but am baffled at the rather seemingly anti-climatic nature of matter.
I am fortunate enough to work with a great crew so I felt free to mention matter briefly to them and the jokes come rolling in. One of the first replies, from a man, "He finds you attractive and doesn't want you distracting him," (is that an automatic guy reply?) when I tell them about the hand washing write up, they can't believe it. We all agree that we have not ever felt a need to observe what goes on in the enclosed scrubbing area, another thing on our to do list. Sometimes I'm amazed we ever make to incision with the ever-growing check list of stuff to do and rituals to attend to first. All necessary though. Especially hand washing.

Meanwhile, the issue is larger than I realize. My nursing manager is aware I have been banned and wants to make sure it isn't performance related. Manager pages Surgeon, who does not reply. A few days later Manager goes into the OR and asks directly. Surgeon's essential reply "she told on me and therefore is not a team player." Surgeon's demeanor, I am told, was less than professional. Again, I should not approach him.

I realize surgeons are all under pressures of various kinds. All day long. Yes, we are in a room without windows and they are very cold. Tempers flare, but as surgery comes to a conclusion, in most situations, everyone is in better spirits. There is now a huge focus on TIME which is affecting everyone from the cleaning crew up to the surgeon. That leaves little to no down time and most of us won't bother with small, petty matters. Or perhaps we just have short attention spans because we simply have to focus on the next case.

So, a week and half later my co-worker approaches me with wonderful enlightenment to the matter. We go to Nursing Manager who was in the process of calling me into office anyway and right behind us in walks Director. Director is followed by another who holds papers regarding a HAND WASHING AUDIT done more than a month ago. Director explains I am owed an apology by Surgeon. Surgeon incidentally was called on the carpet the day after we had a case together and therefore ASSUMED it could only be me. That tells me that perhaps Surgeon did not wash hands prior to gloving for that case either. I came in and took over the case after it was in full swing, but like to think if I'd happened have notice this I would have had said, "go wash your hands mister." Seems simple enough.

Now, I don't care what Surgeon thinks. I don't want another nurse to go through that hoopla. I enjoy what I do. The majority of surgeons I work with are a great group each of which have cranky moments. A couple have even thrown things at the walls, a few curse. I don't envy them their paycheck for what all they give up for it. I'm in the room telling their family they won't be home for dinner tonight, again. It seems like some of them never go home.

[coldfingaz]

The wife wanted to chime in and present her story.


Wow. There's just so much wrong with this guy that I can't even begin to comprehend it all.

I'm glad your wife was exonerated of being a tattle-tale after being falsely accused & chastised for it, but this Doc should just wash his freakin' hands (every time!) & stop making childish assumptions about who rats him out when he doesn't. He should also grow up. The fact a guy like this can go around punishing people for no reason is just sad. I can't imagine what it was like for your wife... not knowing what the hell she did wrong all that time & meanwhile she did nothing & wasn't even involved in his self-inflicted issues.

[Rattles]

I have to wonder how many of that surgeon's patients have died from his stupid negligence by not washing his hands? I'd say he is one pompous arrogant ass who shouldn't ever be allowed in an OR again.

[atquinn]

Surgeon sound like a flaming asshole. I'd be glad not to work with him, regardless of the circumstances that brought it about.

-Austin

[LHanson]

My gut feeling, based on what has been presented, is that Surgeon has a problem- personal, mental, or chemical. He needs to be checked out extensively by whoever supervises him.

[Guitar55]

Did Dr. Richard Head apologize yet?

[spyeman]

I'm having quadruple bypass tomorrow, why did I read this thread.......

[Guitar55]

I'm having quadruple bypass tomorrow, why did I read this thread.......

Pin a note to your chest that says "wash your hands!" and good luck!

[Cap'n Fingers]

Not that I'm defending the guy let me say that he does surgeries on places that cannot ever be sterile. Could be why in some cases he feels being gloved is enough. I personally do not agree with that but his patients don't get infections or die any more often than the average for his specialty.

FYI:
He's not going to do your cardiac, orthopedic, general or trauma surgeries.
Those guys know better. So rest your fears if you live in town and have one of those scheduled. ;)

[gururyan]

It would have bothered me immensely as well not to know what I was accused of, glad you got that all settled. Yep, Surgeon sounds like a prick, but then there are pricks in every field. At the end of the day, from a patient's viewpoint, I don't care if my surgeon is the biggest a-hole in the world, as long as he is a damn fine surgeon.

Glad you got it worked out and are able to have closure and continue enjoying your job.

[drive-south]

We had a surgeon here in MA that walked out of surgery right in the middle, and *went to the bank*. That's right, his personal banking ranked higher on his list than closing up a patient's incision. I'm pretty sure he isn't operating on anyone anymore, but then again you never know.

Then there was the surgeon at Beth Israel that performed liposuction on a patient while completely intoxicated. The nurses in the OR made him scrub out and they had to call another surgeon to come in and complete the botched procedure. The 45 minute procedure ended up taking 4 hours and the family demanded an explanation. It took teeth pulling to find out that the doctor left the OR because he was *impaired*. The drunk doctor checked himself into rehab so there were NO CONSEQUENCES. Needless to say there is a lawsuit pending. The patient had massive swelling and infection that should have never happened during a routine lipo procedure.