Meet Dr. Dewshe Bagghe

Since leaving Utopia ER, last year, I have come to accept that quality care (and quality ER docs) are a matter of perspective. One individual who should just hang it up I will refer to as Dr. Dewshe Bagghe. Cranky, sour, condescending, everything the experienced physician was, oh, say 35 years ago; which is about when he should have retired. He is just plain mean. Honestly, I feel sad for the patients who have the misfortune to have him for a doc. He actually said, not only in my presence but IN FRONT OF A PATIENT, "I hate this fucking job, it sucks". Nice. He hates me because I have a brain, 30 plus years of experience, and usually anticipate what he's going to do. If I get out a certain med, he won't want it. If I draw blood, he won't order any tests for awhile. If I order a cardiac workup, he'll cancel it. If I ask him for pain meds, he'll dance around the issue. He makes it the most unpleasant place to work. One night I had a sick 2 year old, a tough stick with a fever, vomiting, and a nervous mother who was used to getting her child's emergency care at Big Metropolitan Children's Hospital and not Regional Pseudocity Medical Center. A master of communication and a real team player, old Doc. Dewshe Bagghe told me to put a line in the child. OF COURSE he was going to order cultures and labs, he just neglected to tell me (or was waiting to give me enough line to hang myself with so he could confront me). And OF COURSE as I was drawing the blood anyway after a successful stick the Charge Blond comes barreling in to tell me to draw the bloods. Sorry, already on that. Ha!

I'm pretty sure the rest of the world has progressed to the point where this kind of behavior is not tolerated. I throw him under the bus whenever I can, though, so that's fun. When the patient's complain, I give them the name of my boss, the name and phone number of the administrator and encourage them to complain. Guess I will have to come up with something else though, because he's still there.