Do most of you feel that you have often received better advice for our parents from nurses who do the ‘hands on’ care over their doctors?

Yes. X 1000

Edit: although I have MUCH respect for the Doctors that tell it plain.

For the ballsy who read the riot act to a frequent faller. "Choose your nursing home or your family WILL!"

For the calm one who asked "has your Mother ever expressed her wishes if her heart was to stop?" (mid emergency)

The two wonderful Docs with common sense approach - natural consequences method. Each made more sense to me than all the advice before. Who explained 'enabling' in such a quick & easy way.

They vary, but nurses aren’t usually self employed. With specialists you risk them treating you on and on and on just for the money and/or because they don’t want to admit defeat.

MJ,

Your story about nurses when we are pregnant reminds me of my story. When I gave birth to my youngest daughter. The nurse did the majority of the care.

I had a difficult pregnancy, high risk and in labor for 14 hours. My sweet nurse was at my side the entire time.

Well, the doctor shows up at the tail end and he was checking the position of the baby. All of a sudden, I hear him say, “Oooops!”

I’m sorry, but no woman after being in labor for 14 hours wants to hear her doc say, “Oooops!” So, I am wondering what the h*ll does he mean by that comment.

I was running fever, blood pressure spiking, very uncomfortable, etc. I asked him very blatantly, “Why did you say, “Oooops!?

My poor husband was concerned about me but was also apologizing to the doctor for me freaking out. Hahaha…🤣

The doctor tells me that he accidentally flipped the baby and she is now in the breech position and I can’t deliver her vaginally because she would rip me apart. Plus, her shoulders were a bit too wide for my small frame.

So, he decided to do an emergency c-section. By the way, the nurse anesthetists do most of the work too!

My friend who is a nurse said that he probably should have scheduled a c-section beforehand , knowing my history and he could have prevented the 14 hours of torture that I endured. Men will never know how it feels to be a woman giving birth!

Here’s another funny story! When my mom was at the hospital to have me, the doctor went to the wrong hospital and the NURSE delivered me!

My mother had four children, no difficulties with any of her pregnancies, delivered each of us in under an hour’s time!

Back then they used gas for women in labor. Two of us were born naturally because with one of my brothers the tank was empty, the other brother the tank was broken.

My aunt, mom’s sister had lots of troubles like I did.

I bet there are a bazillion stories about doctors, nurses and childbirth.

Of course I am prejudice, my daughter is an RN. A very compassionate one. She started out as an LPN and 10yrs later got her RN. She has worked Nursing homes most of her career ending up doing wound care in the last NH she worked in. This led her to overseeing a Wound care Unit in a Hospital. She had tried Administration before that but found it was not her forte. She will tell you Doctors do have a God Complex but she worked well with most of them and they honored her opinions. All except one she dealt with while working in the Wound care unit. She cannot figure out what she said or did but this doctor tried to have her fired. She worked for a sub-contractor so that was not easy since she wasn't an employee at the hospital. Too many doctor's backed her up. They worked it out that one of her employees took her place when he was there and she stayed home during the morning he was seeing his patients.

So yes, I would trust a good nurse's opinion before a doctors. But I have worked for Nurses and like anything else, there are some not so good ones out there. Only there for the money. My daughter at the time she was an LPN confronted a DON concerning my Dad's care in Rehab. The DON agreed with her on every count.

If I had a doctor I could not talk to, I would find another doctor.

You are correct. They have more contact and they have more time. I often diagnosed things doctors did not. For instance a man having all the sophisticated tests for headaches. One backrub showed the cause --knotted muscles neck, all the way down back and under scapula. Got PT consult. He was relieved almost at once, and diagnosed with muscles spasms. I find PT people to know the body almost better than doctors. I find them more "interested" in the "mystery " presented by each patient. Good observations on your part.

I prefer my doctors over the nurses; both in the hospital and in the office. I have had two serious medication errors because of a nurse. I've also had a nurse screw up one of my dialysis instructions from the doctor. I have liked all of the surgical nurses I've had.

Oh, heck yes. That goes for my own care and my kids' care, too. Nurses tell you the truth, can explain things without "mansplaining them," and they put the patient first rather than what their textbook or ego told them. I truly believe doctors are overeducated and are unable to use common sense.

I had the same maternity nurse after two of my kids were born, and she would have thrown herself on a grenade for me. She really fought to get me a night in the hospital, and though she lost, she cussed out the doctor as he left the room. She was my hero.

My mom's GP erroneously diagnosed her with depression when my mother was having breathing issues. That error was actually her lungs drowning in fluid, which led to vascular dementia and changed the whole course of her life. Her last months were made better by the loving care of her hospice nurse who diagnosed her correctly with gout and fought the MC doctor who said there was no way she had it.

Nurses rock.