Right, I order surgeons to do my bidding all the time...

[skeptic53]

Our clinic is open 7 days a week except Thanksgiving and Xmas. I'm on call this weekend, part of call duty is working in our urgent care section. Last night, Friday night, half an hour before we close at 8:00 PM, a very big young guy (he's 6' 1", 339 lb, works as a bouncer) comes in. He's hurting pretty bad from a groin hernia that has been there for a month and hurting fairly bad for 2 days. It won't reduce (go back in place), he's in too much pain, but otherwise he doesn't look too bad. He doesn't have a fever and his blood tests don't indicate a raging infection. I talk to the surgeon on call, who has me send him to the ER, where they do an ultrasound and determine that the protruding material is inner fat and not bowel, so it's not an emergency. They send him out with pain meds and instructions to see a surgeon on Monday. Today, Saturday, his mother calls, demanding that I get a surgeon to fix his hernia TODAY!!!

We call back to tell her this is not possible, he answers, he's totally understanding & cool with it. But his mom is screaming in the background that she's gonna sue us if we don't get a surgeon to help him TODAY!! NAOW!!!!

I understand the whole Mama Bear instinct but we're family docs, we don't order surgeons around. Best we can do is tell her to take him to a different ER and see if she has any better luck. Or go back to the original ER if fever starts up or he can't poop all of a sudden. Again, he's cool with that, but he hangs up with his mom still shrieking in the background. Poor guy...

[Pixelated]

That isn't Mama Bear instinct; that's pure stupidity. I'm sorry the guy -- who seems quite reasonable -- has such an idiot of a mother. "SURGEON - NOW" only works when a person is bleeding out or obviously two minutes away from death.

[Shyla]

You have to get a surgeon to do what she wants, not what is medically necessary. You also have to get an open operating room, anaesthesiologist, all the nurses and other staff, etc. I’m sure he’s in pain but his mother isn’t helping. She must be causing him a raging headache on top of everything else.

[workerbee222]

Everything's a specialty now.

I went to the emergency room last summer for a broken arm. I knew the bone was broken, I heard it break. The area hospitals have been taking over different locations. When we Googled, it wasn't clear if the closest urgent care was open or not, so off the emergency room we go.

A nice doctor came in to tell me the bone was broken, and they'd stabilize it. Boyfriend was a little peeved they weren't going to set it. I figure it's my dominant hand, I use it to make a living, and really, an orthopedic surgeon is a better choice. I suspect the nice man who saw me Sunday afternoon *could* have applied traction and shoved it back into place *almost* as well as the rather abrupt man with the "orthopedic surgeon" designation, but that wasn't his job.

[jedimaster91]

Surgeons don't like it when you say anything other than "Yes, my liege," to them. :eyeroll:

[skeptic53]

Surgeons don't like it when you say anything other than "Yes, my liege," to them. :eyeroll:

Well, they depend on us for referrals so we do have a bit of influence. But asking favors is only useful if you don't abuse the privilege. The surgeon on call had been up all night in the OR, I wasn't about to ask him to do a non-emergent surgery on a Saturday.

[Buzzard]

The surgeon on call had been up all night in the OR, I wasn't about to ask him to do a non-emergent surgery on a Saturday.

Non emergency for something that can safely wait? Even if... ESPECIALLY if it's my hide in pain, I want the best people, in the best condition, to be the ones tinkering with my innards.
Anybody trying to rush a surgeon who's going to be working on me... had best stay outta MY reach.