All through residency, I remember being wisely told by my seniors to ‘make sure you stay on the nurses’ good side.’ The person giving the advice would usually go on to explain that the nurses can really ‘make or break you’ in the hospital and especially in the OR. Sometimes they would re-tell a particular story of a prior resident who didn’t follow that advice and how badly that came to affect them…

This type of counseling from your seniors is just one of many items of unsolicited advice that you have probably become accustomed to hearing during your tenure as a resident. I certainly followed this advice and tried to make the best of every situation even given some challenging personalities of some nurses. As a resident and as an attending, I have had the opportunity to see just how true this statement can be and some of you may have had the same opportunities already. Despite our position of responsibility as physicians, Hospitals and Surgical Centers are truly the domain of the nurses.

It is the nurses that deal with the reality of implementing our orders and acting as the eyes and ears to alert you in times of concern. Wise practitioners listen keenly to the recommendations of their office nurses and never ignore those sometimes nagging phone calls from the hospital floor nurse who has a concern about a post op patient.

Nurses week has just passed last week, but it’s not too late to remember to thank the nurses you work with everyday and make sure you stay on their ‘good side.’

If you have something you would like to suggest for a topic for a future Residency Insight, please email it to me at jsteinberg@podiatry.com