Rounds

No, this post will not be about these kind of rounds:

nor these (although, I kind of really want one of these right now)

Instead I will be talking about medical rounds aka the really boring meetings I have to attend Tuesdays-Thursdays.  I had always wondered what rounds would be like.  I had always heard about doctors "making rounds" on patients and for whatever reason it sounded really cool and was excited when I found out part of my job included going to rounds 3 times a week!  As I have learned with other things in my life, my imagination is usually a bit more exciting than reality.  The rounds that I attend look pretty much like this:

The doctor sits at the head of the table and the various staff from each discipline report on how the patients are progressing. The MD gives the commands, tells people to hurry up if they are too slow and declares the discharge date.  

For my part I usually just say what diet the pt is getting and how much they are eating.  Every once in a while I will say a little more, but more often than not the nurse will actually say my part and I will mutter something like "no nutritional concerns." 

Today I had something important to say.  A pt was receiving an inappropriate diet for their condition.  I confirmed this with my co-workers and they agreed so I knew I could confidently go in there and make my professional and educated recommendation.  So, when my turn came I said, "doctor, this diet is not appropriate for the pt. I recommend this instead!" (in actuality I was a little nervous because I hate having all the attention on me and I said it  more like "Doctor, this diet is not appropriate for the pt. I recommend this") And then he said something unintelligible

(he has a thick accent and mumbles, which I'm not really sure anyone really understands him), but what I think he said was that he didn't really care what I said because he was right about the diet (although he actually wasn't).  It really was unfortunate (but a little funny, too) because part of me wanted to say something back but I couldn't because I didn't know exactly what he said!   So, I just pretended I understood and agreed. I then left early because I felt unappreciated as a professional, which was very liberating and the best part of the day.