Day 19: Dr. Devil

Across your time in the wards and floors you will most likely meet people you will seldom remember, and others you will NEVER FORGET !!! ( lol). Let me introduce you to Dr.Devil (not his real name. But thats what I will call him) He is one of the Attendings in the hospital. He is an infectious disease specialist. He is one of the most feared and disliked doctors in the hospital. Yet he is probably the most loved doctor according to the patients. Basically this guy treats all the interns and residency like crap when he wants to, but treats the patients like they were his own children. Ironically he is one of the most beloved doctor accoring to the patients I have spoken too. Let me tell you how I met Dr.Devil. It must have been my first week in the wards, and I was my happy and excited self. I was introducing myself to every attending I saw, and waving and greeting all the staff and nurses when I saw them. I was like a little kid in the candy store-Happy that I was fullfiling my dream. Needless to say, I think some of the nurses smelled blood, when they saw me. (lol) I was like a lamb put in the lions den. I guess I was too friendly with the nurses and some doctors. I think the nurses when they saw me were like "who the hell is this happy go lucky young doctor? Damn, he is annoying as hell". Needless to say it didn't take long for me to realize that you have to be a nice person, but you have to be serious and assertive, or SOME nurses will step all over you, and not take you serious. I think I even had nurses that started giving me orders! lol. Anyways, back to Dr.Devil. So here I was, Dr. marry poppins, "singing" down the hallways of the ICU, when I met Dr.Devil. He was called into an Infectious disease consult into one of the patients I was 'in-charge" off. I notice that he had pick up the chart and I immediately went over, and introduced myself,. He just looked at me and walked away. I didn't think anything of it, but I has a sense I was going to be in trouble the next 5 minutes. He then started reading the charts and turn to me and asked what was the O2 sat on the patient. I had a bunch of papers in my pocket with some labs that I had written out, and I took out my crumbled stack of papers in front of him and started muffling through them. All I could say was "UMM.. UMM". While I was going through this paper, and while my heart began to panic, I notice the expression on his face changed. MY goodness you should have seen it, if he had any magical powers, I think he would have thrown a bolt of lightening and torched me on the spot. I kinda felt like he was about to stab me. I have never seen anyways so pissed off, and this was without him even saying a word!!! (Lol) Man, while all this was going on. One of the senior residents looked over, and saw my expression, and since she was the senior on the floor she came real fast and started talking to the doctor in attempts to stop him from blowing out my brains and stabbing me with his pen. Man I have never been so nervous. I didn't know some of the labs by memory, and was kind of scared. Thank God for the senior that covered my back. She told him "I will check the chart. I will look at the labs, give me one second." By the way he was also chewing gum. And man, was he chewing it hard...lol.. Anyways I stood right behind him and the senior and I tried to find a hiding place but couldn't, and he left the ward a few minutes later. I was saved by the senior. I will never forget this senior’a help, and she didn't even seem to friendly either. But since that day I was thanking her every minute. Anyways, fast foward a week later, and then I saw Dr. Devil again. He was on the case of this other patient, who had been seriously sick, and no one really knew what was going on for her. I was on call again. It was Saturday. But this patient was actually HIS PATIENT !! I still remember when I saw him this second time. I almost crapped in my pants. I was going to walk away, but my senior grabbed me and said, lets go talk to DR. Devil. Boy, if this guy had known what he was gettinghimself into. It just happen that, this day, DR. Devil was REALLY in a bad mood. He started looking to the chart and started screaming "do you guys know what the hell you are doing?" He said at my senior (3rd year) "What the hell are you people doing? what do you think this is? nigeria? This is not how you practice medicine !" (the senior just a happen to be african american by the way) Man, you should have seen the seniors face, and the nurse that was standing next to me, when he said it, and it was the way he said it. "What do you think this is? africa? " Man, I was shocked. He then went on to sift through the chart and insult the orders that had been given. He even insulted his own note, without even knowing it..lol he was like "why is this patient on anti-biotics? oh, you don't know... ok.." So he then went on and wrote in the chart stop all antibiotics: due to the fact no one knows what the hell she is on them for. After he got up from this trashing of me and my friends and the medical staff, he went to another patient that he had on the other side, and he took her off her antibiotics too and he also took another patient of their antibiotics. Basically, anyone that was on the floor that day, he took off anti-biotics. Man this guy was on a tear. He then asked my friend "who is covering the ICU? My friend said it was Dr.Tina (fake name) He then said, "well call tina and tell her that I'm coming !! and get ready !!" While all this was going on I went to the phone on called Dr.tina. When I told her that Dr.Devil was looking for her she was like "what?.. huh? he's looking for me.... ummm...ummmm.." She was like "are you sure?" (lol) I was like "yeah he's right here he wants to see you. She was like "ok" (she said it with a really sad voice by the way. After I hung up with her, my senior went up to me and said "you didn't call dr.tina did you?" I was like "umm.. yeah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean too" He put his eyes down a bit, he looked worried and said "its ok, lets go" So we went over to the ICU. By this time I was walking 5 steps behind. Trying to stay out of the fire. When he walked into the ICU, Dr.tina was their holding her papers looking very nervous. I told myself 'man, this girl is gonna get killed." however, due to my surprise dr.devil sensed the fear in her, and decided to take it easy an her, being that he already released his fury on the other senior, who looked like he just ran the new york marathon. Anyways, the rounds ended, and Dr.devil took off. Later that day, my friend spent the next few hours in shock and disbelief. He was like "he never ever talked to me like that. I have known him for years, and he never treats me like that. he treats everyone else like that, but never me." (lol) I was like "well it was your turn today." Ever since that day I just stay away from most attendings. I give them space and try not to smother or be overly friendly. But this story doesn't end here. you should see Dr.Devil with the patients!! It’s like he's an angel sent from GOD. He puts his hand on their shoulders and counsels them as they were his own kids. He spoke to one of the patients who was their for alcohol intoxication "what the hell all you doing. Your gonna hurt yourself. Look at your self, you don't want to live like this. We are here to help. you have to clean up your life. You have a sickness and its not your fault. I want to help you and you have to let me help you." when he talks to the patients, they are almost crying because they feel relief. I couldn't believe it, when I saw it. I was shocked. And for the next few weeks when I hear his name from patients its nothing but praise. They LOVE this guy!! Seriously. He probably has more patients that any attending in the hospital. Overall, it was amazing to see the contrast. I guess in the end, all the matters is how you treat your patients. But I don't know if I could work along side my peers and treat them like garbage. I rather treat people as I would like to be treated.
God BLess
Dr.Mike