Dealing with pompous ass doctors

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Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Give her a USB flash drive & show her how to use it.

Hell, give her 2 on a keychain & make a friend for life. :D

I've told her once they are dirt cheap. Hell I told her you can get them for like $14.00 at walmart. That was around a yr ago when you could get 1 gig for like 14 bucks. Now it's like 4 gigs for 27 bucks

Hell, just buy her a couple, make an appt with her to show her how to use them. You=bigger person & a hero.

Older docs think that by being a jerk they can slow or stop progress by being an ass, and frankly, they can, by pandering to her a little, suddenly you might have less bizarre requests.

I work with docs all day every day, my favorite are the surgeons, they're way into high tech that works, especially since that study that came out showing that surgeons that play video games are better surgeons, all of mine have XBoxes or PS3's :)

It's funny to hear someone that makes $200K+ a year to talk about getting the newest Halo release or XBox
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Originally posted by: paulxcook
Originally posted by: Cuular
This sounds like a pompous ass admin, that doesn't understand what their job is.

It's your job to provide the Dcotors with what they need to do their job.

And in case you haven't noticed, medical school teaches them to be a doctor not a technically inclined computer user. It's your job to help them become better computer users, and hopefully in a professional, understanding way.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, IT and it's related support fields are a service industry.

What you should have said is "Next time please let me know in advance the name of any software that you might use, and I'll make sure it's installed. If you'd like, and you have the installation media, I'll install what you need right now, for today."

Then you go back to your office/cube compose a neutral email detailing what happened, and what you did to fix the situation, send it to her, your boss, and her boss if she has one.

That way you let the bosses know what happened, and that you responded in a profesisonal mannner to the situation. Then offered to make sure in the future she has what she needs when she needs it.

Oh bullshit. It's 2008. If my 79 year old grandmother can figure this stuff out a doctor can. It's not a matter of not having time or being unable to comprehend it. It's about thinking you're above everyone else. It's just how many of them are.

I also think the more modern doctors that are currently comming out of medical school are being openly exposed to this on a regular basis. They submit their projects through computers and use computers on a regular basis. This woman had to be in her 40's or so.....
 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
tell her to get on her knees and give you an oral examination then you'll return the favor by giving her a rectal exam.
 

Sust

Senior member
Sep 1, 2001
600
0
71
Haha, some old habits die hard I guess... much like why I cant play these new video games that have more than 2 buttons on the controller and 2 frickin directional controls. I must have peaked on street fighter 2 with 6 buttons...

If you think that she was rough around the edges, be thankful that you weren't one of the residents or med students who have to answer to her daily.
People come in all shapes and colors. I wouldnt let her sour your disposition towards doctors just like I wouldnt let an experience with the bestbuy geeksquad taint my view of IT.
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Originally posted by: Sust
Haha, some old habits die hard I guess... much like why I cant play these new video games that have more than 2 buttons on the controller and 2 frickin directional controls. I must have peaked on street fighter 2 with 6 buttons...

If you think that she was rough around the edges, be thankful that you weren't one of the residents or med students who have to answer to her daily.
People come in all shapes and colors. I wouldnt let her sour your disposition towards doctors just like I wouldnt let an experience with the bestbuy geeksquad taint my view of IT.

It has soured my disposition more and more because she isn't the only one. I deal with many who are similar......
 

Geekbabe

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 16, 1999
32,167
2,399
126
www.theshoppinqueen.com
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Try working with a cardiologist that brings in a stopwatch and measures the time it takes to electronically sign and confirm an EKG and compares it to how quick he can do it on paper.

It takes him 6 seconds on paper, but 24 seconds on the computer. That's costing him $68 a day in EKG reading fees.

*uhg*

good for him,he values his billable hours.
 

SarcasticDwarf

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2001
9,574
1
76
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Try working with a cardiologist that brings in a stopwatch and measures the time it takes to electronically sign and confirm an EKG and compares it to how quick he can do it on paper.

It takes him 6 seconds on paper, but 24 seconds on the computer. That's costing him $68 a day in EKG reading fees.

*uhg*

good for him,he values his billable hours.

I suspect that he is ignoring the other benefits that save the time of OTHER PEOPLE.

Ex: Those documents are going to have to be digitized and archived at some point. What is the time and cost of that? What about the cost of storing paper vs microfilm?
 

Geekbabe

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 16, 1999
32,167
2,399
126
www.theshoppinqueen.com
Originally posted by: Cuular
This sounds like a pompous ass admin, that doesn't understand what their job is.

It's your job to provide the Dcotors with what they need to do their job.

And in case you haven't noticed, medical school teaches them to be a doctor not a technically inclined computer user. It's your job to help them become better computer users, and hopefully in a professional, understanding way.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, IT and it's related support fields are a service industry.

What you should have said is "Next time please let me know in advance the name of any software that you might use, and I'll make sure it's installed. If you'd like, and you have the installation media, I'll install what you need right now, for today."

Then you go back to your office/cube compose a neutral email detailing what happened, and what you did to fix the situation, send it to her, your boss, and her boss if she has one.

That way you let the bosses know what happened, and that you responded in a profesisonal mannner to the situation. Then offered to make sure in the future she has what she needs when she needs it.

Exactly right...

MD's are the stars of the hosputal show,they bring in the money that pays everybody,including IT.

Most of the doc's at my place rock,they're frighteningly bright,most of them are quite proficent at the computer and most of them are quite nice to me.
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Try working with a cardiologist that brings in a stopwatch and measures the time it takes to electronically sign and confirm an EKG and compares it to how quick he can do it on paper.

It takes him 6 seconds on paper, but 24 seconds on the computer. That's costing him $68 a day in EKG reading fees.

*uhg*

good for him,he values his billable hours.

That's understandable if your payed a fixed amount regardless of how long it takes you to perform the procedure and you would think it's the good nature of the doctor and for all people do to a job (with a fixed rate) in the quickest amount of time as possible so he can move on to other things. But then when the job is not billed fixed but by the hours you find the doctor won't care how long he takes. Knowing he gets paid more. You then have to deal with analyzing the conflict of interest. But that's a whole different mattter of medical insurance companies and greedy doctors....
 

KLin

Lifer
Feb 29, 2000
29,499
124
106
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Try working with a cardiologist that brings in a stopwatch and measures the time it takes to electronically sign and confirm an EKG and compares it to how quick he can do it on paper.

It takes him 6 seconds on paper, but 24 seconds on the computer. That's costing him $68 a day in EKG reading fees.

*uhg*

But how long does it take him to find that piece of paper if he needs it in the future compared to searching a database? ;)
 

foghorn67

Lifer
Jan 3, 2006
11,885
53
91
there are pompous asses in every industry. Healthcare isnn't immmune to this, nor is it the worst. I work in healthcare too, and most of the physicians are really nice people.

By far the worst is the partners in financial firms. Followed by social workers.
 

Geekbabe

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 16, 1999
32,167
2,399
126
www.theshoppinqueen.com
Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Try working with a cardiologist that brings in a stopwatch and measures the time it takes to electronically sign and confirm an EKG and compares it to how quick he can do it on paper.

It takes him 6 seconds on paper, but 24 seconds on the computer. That's costing him $68 a day in EKG reading fees.

*uhg*

good for him,he values his billable hours.

I suspect that he is ignoring the other benefits that save the time of OTHER PEOPLE.

Ex: Those documents are going to have to be digitized and archived at some point. What is the time and cost of that? What about the cost of storing paper vs microfilm?


4 star cardiologist's bring in HUGE money and praise for the hospitals they have priv's at,they don't grow on trees. Moving over into a totally electronic records keeping system is not without it's flaws.It's up to IT to show that cardiologist what he/she gains as result of the new system.

In our house the good doctor would have been asked if he'd tried out the ability to read
and sign off on those EKG's from the comfort of his office at home yet:)
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: Cuular
This sounds like a pompous ass admin, that doesn't understand what their job is.

It's your job to provide the Dcotors with what they need to do their job.

And in case you haven't noticed, medical school teaches them to be a doctor not a technically inclined computer user. It's your job to help them become better computer users, and hopefully in a professional, understanding way.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, IT and it's related support fields are a service industry.

What you should have said is "Next time please let me know in advance the name of any software that you might use, and I'll make sure it's installed. If you'd like, and you have the installation media, I'll install what you need right now, for today."

Then you go back to your office/cube compose a neutral email detailing what happened, and what you did to fix the situation, send it to her, your boss, and her boss if she has one.

That way you let the bosses know what happened, and that you responded in a profesisonal mannner to the situation. Then offered to make sure in the future she has what she needs when she needs it.

Exactly right...

MD's are the stars of the hosputal show,they bring in the money that pays everybody,including IT.

Most of the doc's at my place rock,they're frighteningly bright,most of them are quite proficent at the computer and most of them are quite nice to me.

Ok so your talking about a situation where the doctor's are smart and pretty proficient on the computer. Well there you go. If that was the case I wouldn't be posting in the forum. And of course I've heard this "Doctors generate the income" type of speech. Lets take that type of philosphy and apply it to everthing else.

Ex:

My wife is currently staying at home. I make the income. Technically I'm bringing in the money and I don't need her. Therefore if I have some problem about the job she is doing at home and I don't understand I can bitch her out. No there is mutual respect and understaning that exist.

Ex 2:

I'm a student working on my Master's. At my university I was also working on my Undergrade. Students are not generally treated very well by university support staff. However, the students are paying the salaries of all those staff. Hmmmmmm....


 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,716
417
126
tbqhwy.com
Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Please keep in mind this is a doctor who still is using a floppy disk to save all her files LOLOLOLOL.... She also doesn?t have enough technical vocabulary to explain to me what she needs. God I can't wait till I quit.

untill 2 weeks ago all my dads billing and patient information was backed up onto floppies, from a win 95 comp running a DOS program

he was forced to spend like 2K on a new comp and 4K on the new software that has a LOL 500GB tape backup drive to backup the 4 megs or so recs he has
 

Geekbabe

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 16, 1999
32,167
2,399
126
www.theshoppinqueen.com
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: Cuular
This sounds like a pompous ass admin, that doesn't understand what their job is.

It's your job to provide the Dcotors with what they need to do their job.

And in case you haven't noticed, medical school teaches them to be a doctor not a technically inclined computer user. It's your job to help them become better computer users, and hopefully in a professional, understanding way.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, IT and it's related support fields are a service industry.

What you should have said is "Next time please let me know in advance the name of any software that you might use, and I'll make sure it's installed. If you'd like, and you have the installation media, I'll install what you need right now, for today."

Then you go back to your office/cube compose a neutral email detailing what happened, and what you did to fix the situation, send it to her, your boss, and her boss if she has one.

That way you let the bosses know what happened, and that you responded in a profesisonal mannner to the situation. Then offered to make sure in the future she has what she needs when she needs it.

Exactly right...

MD's are the stars of the hosputal show,they bring in the money that pays everybody,including IT.

Most of the doc's at my place rock,they're frighteningly bright,most of them are quite proficent at the computer and most of them are quite nice to me.

Ok so your talking about a situation where the doctor's are smart and pretty proficient on the computer. Well there you go. If that was the case I wouldn't be posting in the forum. And of course I've heard this "Doctors generate the income" type of speech. Lets take that type of philosphy and apply it to everthing else.

Ex:

My wife is currently staying at home. I make the income. Technically I'm bringing in the money and I don't need her. Therefore if I have some problem about the job she is doing at home and I don't understand I can bitch her out. No there is mutual respect and understaning that exist.

Ex 2:

I'm a student working on my Master's. At my university I was also working on my Undergrade. Students are not generally treated very well by university support staff. However, the students are paying the salaries of all those staff. Hmmmmmm....

Your role,you know,those duties you get paid for? is to provide customer SERVICE and SUPPORT and to do so in a manner that doesn't leave your manager and the rest of your dept looking like pompous asses.

The situation you just described looked to me like a perfect opportunity to score some bonus points...you could have tried to get the software she needed installed and you could have dialogued a bit with the doctor's admin person about how to better ensure that next time they had the things they needed.

You lost an oppportuinity to shine within your organization..a shame really.
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Originally posted by: Anubis
Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Please keep in mind this is a doctor who still is using a floppy disk to save all her files LOLOLOLOL.... She also doesn?t have enough technical vocabulary to explain to me what she needs. God I can't wait till I quit.

untill 2 weeks ago all my dads billing and patient information was backed up onto floppies, from a win 95 comp running a DOS program

he was forced to spend like 2K on a new comp and 4K on the new software that has a LOL 500GB tape backup drive to backup the 4 megs or so recs he has

HIPAA and certain medical and federal standards are pushing docs to do this. It's downright negligent to be storing records in this manner let along any pertinent medical information.
 

TheKub

Golden Member
Oct 2, 2001
1,756
1
0
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: TheKub
Worst people to do IT work for are doctors, teachers, and judges.

I understand why for doctors but explain teachers and judges to me.....

I have never worked with doctors or teachers but I have many friends that worked with them and their descriptions of the day to day interactions with them where the same I had with the judges that I worked with.

You think doctors are the only people that can be pompous asses? Try working with someone whos job it is to be right all the time. When you are in court the judge is king, and they sure as hell keep that attitude regardless of the setting (not all mind you several I have worked with where fine).

I had very high marks for my service when I worked with them. I was one of the few techs in the department that during slow times would check in on people and see if there was anything they needed. The judges being the most "important" were usually the first to be checked in on. On several occasions I had checked in with several judges to see if all was well, which it was. Then an hour later something goes wrong. Do they call me? No. Do they call the helpdesk? No. They call my boss and complain that something isn't working.

There was one situation where a new judge got elected, and this judge did not like the location of the LCD monitor on the bench so she had it moved to the far corner. Now she couldn't read the text because it was so far away (Work order she entered read that there was something wrong with the monitor, as in it was broken). The only fix that was acceptable was to down to resolution to 800X600 (an no simply adjusting text size in windows would not work). The problem with that is that the main court app was designed for 1024X768 screen, and now she had to scroll on most of the screens to see all the info. From that point on she made mention of the incompetence of the IT staff for not being able to fix her very simple problem.

There were many more similar situations.


 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: Cuular
This sounds like a pompous ass admin, that doesn't understand what their job is.

It's your job to provide the Dcotors with what they need to do their job.

And in case you haven't noticed, medical school teaches them to be a doctor not a technically inclined computer user. It's your job to help them become better computer users, and hopefully in a professional, understanding way.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, IT and it's related support fields are a service industry.

What you should have said is "Next time please let me know in advance the name of any software that you might use, and I'll make sure it's installed. If you'd like, and you have the installation media, I'll install what you need right now, for today."

Then you go back to your office/cube compose a neutral email detailing what happened, and what you did to fix the situation, send it to her, your boss, and her boss if she has one.

That way you let the bosses know what happened, and that you responded in a profesisonal mannner to the situation. Then offered to make sure in the future she has what she needs when she needs it.

Exactly right...

MD's are the stars of the hosputal show,they bring in the money that pays everybody,including IT.

Most of the doc's at my place rock,they're frighteningly bright,most of them are quite proficent at the computer and most of them are quite nice to me.

Ok so your talking about a situation where the doctor's are smart and pretty proficient on the computer. Well there you go. If that was the case I wouldn't be posting in the forum. And of course I've heard this "Doctors generate the income" type of speech. Lets take that type of philosphy and apply it to everthing else.

Ex:

My wife is currently staying at home. I make the income. Technically I'm bringing in the money and I don't need her. Therefore if I have some problem about the job she is doing at home and I don't understand I can bitch her out. No there is mutual respect and understaning that exist.

Ex 2:

I'm a student working on my Master's. At my university I was also working on my Undergrade. Students are not generally treated very well by university support staff. However, the students are paying the salaries of all those staff. Hmmmmmm....

Your role,you know,those duties you get paid for? is to provide customer SERVICE and SUPPORT and to do so in a manner that doesn't leave your manager and the rest of your dept looking like pompous asses.

The situation you just described looked to me like a perfect opportunity to score some bonus points...you could have tried to get the software she needed installed and you could have dialogued a bit with the doctor's admin person about how to better ensure that next time they had the things they needed.

You lost an oppportuinity to shine within your organization..a shame really.

Again, I'm not David Copperfield. She needed this software within that second. Because she failed to PROPERLY notify us of this. Due to her lack of basic IT knowledge she couldn't project this. When I was called back down there was no way in hell I could of installed whatever software she needed (because she didn't even know what she needed) within that short amount of time. As far as me scoring bonus points. I'm well known for being very knowledgeable in my field and am spoken about highly for my abilities. Not only with medical staff but executives within the health system that have dealt with me in the past. And as others have said in this forum (many of them being IT people) agree.

Thank god that I'm young and have plenty of opportunities awaiting me.......
 

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
Originally posted by: TheKub
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: TheKub
Worst people to do IT work for are doctors, teachers, and judges.

I understand why for doctors but explain teachers and judges to me.....

I have never worked with doctors or teachers but I have many friends that worked with them and their descriptions of the day to day interactions with them where the same I had with the judges that I worked with.

You think doctors are the only people that can be pompous asses? Try working with someone whos job it is to be right all the time. When you are in court the judge is king, and they sure as hell keep that attitude regardless of the setting (not all mind you several I have worked with where fine).

I had very high marks for my service when I worked with them. I was one of the few techs in the department that during slow times would check in on people and see if there was anything they needed. The judges being the most "important" were usually the first to be checked in on. On several occasions I had checked in with several judges to see if all was well, which it was. Then an hour later something goes wrong. Do they call me? No. Do they call the helpdesk? No. They call my boss and complain that something isn't working.

There was one situation where a new judge got elected, and this judge did not like the location of the LCD monitor on the bench so she had it moved to the far corner. Now she couldn't read the text because it was so far away (Work order she entered read that there was something wrong with the monitor, as in it was broken). The only fix that was acceptable was to down to resolution to 800X600 (an no simply adjusting text size in windows would not work). The problem with that is that the main court app was designed for 1024X768 screen, and now she had to scroll on most of the screens to see all the info. From that point on she made mention of the incompetence of the IT staff for not being able to fix her very simple problem.

There were many more similar situations.

That's total B.S. Yeah, I've heard from many in my classes that Hosptial is the worst place to work for IT. You never go anywhere.

 

Geekbabe

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 16, 1999
32,167
2,399
126
www.theshoppinqueen.com
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Originally posted by: Cuular
This sounds like a pompous ass admin, that doesn't understand what their job is.

It's your job to provide the Dcotors with what they need to do their job.

And in case you haven't noticed, medical school teaches them to be a doctor not a technically inclined computer user. It's your job to help them become better computer users, and hopefully in a professional, understanding way.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, IT and it's related support fields are a service industry.

What you should have said is "Next time please let me know in advance the name of any software that you might use, and I'll make sure it's installed. If you'd like, and you have the installation media, I'll install what you need right now, for today."

Then you go back to your office/cube compose a neutral email detailing what happened, and what you did to fix the situation, send it to her, your boss, and her boss if she has one.

That way you let the bosses know what happened, and that you responded in a profesisonal mannner to the situation. Then offered to make sure in the future she has what she needs when she needs it.

Exactly right...

MD's are the stars of the hosputal show,they bring in the money that pays everybody,including IT.

Most of the doc's at my place rock,they're frighteningly bright,most of them are quite proficent at the computer and most of them are quite nice to me.

Ok so your talking about a situation where the doctor's are smart and pretty proficient on the computer. Well there you go. If that was the case I wouldn't be posting in the forum. And of course I've heard this "Doctors generate the income" type of speech. Lets take that type of philosphy and apply it to everthing else.

Ex:

My wife is currently staying at home. I make the income. Technically I'm bringing in the money and I don't need her. Therefore if I have some problem about the job she is doing at home and I don't understand I can bitch her out. No there is mutual respect and understaning that exist.

Ex 2:

I'm a student working on my Master's. At my university I was also working on my Undergrade. Students are not generally treated very well by university support staff. However, the students are paying the salaries of all those staff. Hmmmmmm....

Your role,you know,those duties you get paid for? is to provide customer SERVICE and SUPPORT and to do so in a manner that doesn't leave your manager and the rest of your dept looking like pompous asses.

The situation you just described looked to me like a perfect opportunity to score some bonus points...you could have tried to get the software she needed installed and you could have dialogued a bit with the doctor's admin person about how to better ensure that next time they had the things they needed.

You lost an oppportuinity to shine within your organization..a shame really.

Again, I'm not David Copperfield. She needed this software within that second. Because she failed to PROPERLY notify us of this. Due to her lack of basic IT knowledge she couldn't project this. When I was called back down there was no way in hell I could of installed whatever software she needed (because she didn't even know what she needed) within that short amount of time. As far as me scoring bonus points. I'm well known for being very knowledgeable in my field and am spoken about highly for my abilities. Not only with medical staff but executives within the health system that have dealt with me in the past.

Thank god that I'm young and have plenty of opportunities awaiting me.......


Do you know how many young,eager and equally knowledgible IT experts are collecting unemployment?


Your knowledge gets you in the door,your people skills keep you there afterwards..did you try to pleasantly solve today's problem with the doctor's admin person? Did you pleasantly clarify with her the process by which she should make these requests in future..even maybe letting her know that she could email or voicemail you personally to help when needed?

Did this customer come away from you not only not getting what she needed today but also having been made to feel ignorant and spoken down to or did she come away feeling that today was unfortunate but that you'd done everything possible to help her do her job and given her a postive connection for future use within your dept?
 

jonks

Lifer
Feb 7, 2005
13,918
20
81
when you say pompous ass doctor, to you mean a very pompous doctor, or a pompous proctologist?