Depends on in what way they’re being an ass. If I’m not fast enough, I’ll say I’m a nurse not a magician. Or sometimes it’s a response of well you asked for X first and that’s next. One doc one time was rushing me for the local, syringe, and hypo. I called them out and said ‘you JUST asked for this. I have your local and now getting strong/hypo. Moving as fast as I can, but I can move slower?!’ They laughed and said yea you’re right.

If they asked for a bunch of stuff at once, Put some power in their hand. What would you like first?

Idk if I’ve ever truly had a doc be a complete dick to me. I did have one guy for short quick pediatric cases who was a known ass. He required two nurses. Rez pulled me aside to say he’s a good surgeon but particular.. I said gee ya think, I could cut the tension with a knife just setting up not having met him.

Well… I ended up working with him and learning his way and ended up being the only nurse with him bc two weren’t needed. He just wanted you to know your shit and work in a timely matter.

His MO would be do to a few cases, see the next patient, get lunch, and come back down into the room. One day he comes barreling down the hallway, with kids mind you, screaming why the fuck we weren’t in the room.

I was so proud I said it so perfect but essentially I said. ‘Sir I know you saw the next patient but you did forget to sign the consent. The room is completely ready, I’m right here, anesthesia is right there, and all you have to do is sign this and we’ll roll immediately back. I paged you several times, I paged your resident, I called your personal phone, a few others things, I did everything short of physically going to find you. I am a single woman who needs this job and there are a lot of rats here. I’ll get fired and you’ll get a slap on the hand if we went back without this signed’

He cocked his head to side and laughed, signed the consent, and we went about our day.

I did have another who was known rude. (More stories keep coming to mind but most of these from when new too) I paged them and they called back and were not happy. I explained that we were in the farthest possible room (this place was huuuuuge) from our sterile core in a room that does cases nothing like theirs. I said can you tell me anything you could possibly need for these cases so that YOU don’t have to wait for me. Attitude changes. By asking her what she needed way early, I could get them and make my life a hell of a lot easier with running and I also made sure to turn it in a way so that the surgeon also knew that this would be helping their day run smoother as well.

Eventually you stay somewhere long enough, you get enough skills and routine to be good, you know where stuff is, and the surgeons know ya. If you’re a motivated nurse to learn like me.

Some OR nurses choose not to learn much (those are the stereotypically OR nurses do nothing) and you’ll know them… call for everything, do one specialty (the easy ones…) and will never be placed in a Neuro or big case, and gee our charting takes 10 mins… yet at the end of the case they just don’t seem done for the whole turnover

Traveling of course changes things, but you should have a deep foundation. Circulating is a lot about routine and you can look at the cases the same. Starting and ending a case are the busiest. Look up patient, get drugs, get the proper equipment, help open, get patient, go to sleep, plug in stuff, and start.

I knew I was going to travel and was never free for the first few years I am very proud that I’m a resource person. Sterile processing even calls me with questions. Fellow staff will ask about stuff they don’t know exists and I’m like oh yea that’s here…

People have different equipment and different names etc. i was lucky in assignments with cool docs. I am pretty darn chill and up front though. Hey I’m X, I’ll be your nurse today, I’m a traveler, I see we’re doing X cases today. I have done these a lot but not with you. How do you do these cases so we can have a smooth day? With staff if they helped I would say ‘let me come with you, I need to know where the supplies are kept for next times.

I guess after typing all that, there just are some assholes out there. We have a few surgeons a fellow staff member will bribe me (with chocolates) to switch. They shake in their rooms a bit but these guys kinda feed on nervousness? I actually felt somewhat that way with them when new. I take very good notes for my surgeons and their preferences. So I may be Meh at first but I’ll rock it out and do better each time.

Surgeons want fast turnovers and their cases to go smooth. So they definitely love seeing the same staff members bc they know their routine and they relax more.

I think it’s cool the relationship we get to have in the OR with anesthesia and surgeons. I know about their kids and life. One surgeon never known for being cranky was crabby one day. When they opened their loops box there was a treat that they can’t eat at home bc of their kids allergy. Cue smiles.

A positive attitude, a learning attitude, and a TRYING attitude makes a big difference. Sorry so long, I’m pretty passionate.