I have one MD that is very much about getting in your face.  He and I had at "heated" discussion the other day, because he just signs things and doesn't read what he is signing.  Needless to say, he went to the Administrator of our practice who had my back.  My best suggestion is be polite as possible and instead yelling simply be aggressive with your words.  I don't want to sound like a tattle tale, but let someone know how this MD is talking to you and how you feel.  Just because they have MD behind their name, doesn't make them better then you.  They put their pants on one leg at time like the rest of us.  I have found, no matter where you work, you will always have that one MD that gets in your face or carries a huge attitude.  There has to be a head Physician above him....

Having been a travel RN for around 10 years, one of the first things I realized is you can not rock the boat.  They'll find any reason to screw you over.  Apparently at this facility by standing up for yourself and writing up the doctors and you wrote them up for good reasons, they have now labeled you as  not a good fit. 

As a traveler  you do not have the same "clout" you would have as a staff member.  Your credibility, performance, expertise must be higher than others.  you're scrutinized and held to higher standards than staff.  Sad but true.

You always must be non confrontational.  Rather than having said something confrontational, it would have been better to say nothing and just listen and not take it personally.  I've been known to quietly hang up and then call them back apologizing for 'accidentally disconnecting' or saying, I'm sorry Doctor, I'm not sure what happened but we became disconnected."

Doesn't matter if the physician is younger or older, there are always going to be arrogant, egotistical ones out there. 

As either a patient or family member, I get in their face.  You either treat me or my family member with respect and talk to me as a human being or guess what?  You're fired.  They don't want to lose your business, it's money out of their pocket, so they usually straighten up. To often, non medical people don't have the chutzpah to do this or are to ill or under a lot of stress.

As  staff members, if all stood together and told administrators, hey we are not going to allow this kind of treatment and behavior anymore and every stood united this would stop.  I know many facilities now make physcians take anger management courses or they are suspended  from practice. 

Having been a travel RN for around 10 years, one of the first things I realized is you can not rock the boat.  They'll find any reason to screw you over.  Apparently at this facility by standing up for yourself and writing up the doctors and you wrote them up for good reasons, they have now labeled you as  not a good fit. 

As a traveler  you do not have the same "clout" you would have as a staff member.  Your credibility, performance, expertise must be higher than others.  you're scrutinized and held to higher standards than staff.  Sad but true. Dmazement..this is so true.I was a traveler until about 2 years ago and unless the traveler has a nurse manager with "guts" agains the personal attacks against the nurses be it a traveler or not. As you say...just don't rock the bpat.I had one cardiovascular surgeoncall me an "f----g" idiot in front of pt.,and all the nurses station.I had jsut gotten to work and taken report.The night charge nurse had CLAMPED a chest tube..and he tried(notice i said tried) to blame me..the patient was alert and furious(also scared) my nurse manager tried to put it on me and i pulled out the shift report and showed her in BLACK and WHITE where other nurse had written she had clamped it.All backed off of me and MD did not speak to me for 3 months ,so i kinda taunted him everytime I saw him..'Like Hi,not speaking to me"? we actually became friends and I was one of the few nurses he would ALLOW to care for his pts..even though i wish i wasnt on his "Preferred"list....he actually was called before the board at the hospital on numerous occasions for his bad behavior...and then he would tone it down a bit...

Definitely right AbusyRN   ..and pee the same way and put on their pants the same way...:)

I try to remain professional and keep the conversation short. I am not  tolerant of verbal abuse and I believe we all need to treat each other with respect.  When a physician becomes outraged and verbally abusive I try to imagine what his upbringing was like for him/her to have so little control of his/her emotions.  I know it doesn't change things, but it prevents me from taking things too personal.  Oh, and remmember...at the end of your shift, you don't take him home...Thank God!!!

 I am very blunt and straight forward when dealing with doctors in person and on the phone, you need to sound confident in your tone, no bs, you have to be confident in what you are saying or asking. Today I called a doc to get orders for a patient while I was in the patients home, the MA said "The doc is in with a drug rep can he call you back" I said uh NO! Tell him I think his patient is more important that some free pens and I need to speak to him now! A few seconds later the doc got on the phone, he did not say a word about the drug rep comment, he DID give me my orders.  I have gotton into  a screaming match with a few doctors over the years, and because I was right I did not back down, one doc came up to me afterwards and said he had never had a nurse stand up to him before, he asked me "who I thought I was" I replied "your collegue, equal to and just as important to the patient as you are, who do you think YOU are"? He said "an ass hole from what I hear", I said well that  sounds like a personal problem, he laughed and we have been friends almost 15 years now. You must show the doctors that you are an equal and hold your head up high!

I've been in the health care industry for 35 years as a patient care tech, LVN, and RN.  I've worked in just about every setting from school nurse, to home health, to public health, to hospital (all roles), to law firms.  I've been a direct caregiver, entrepreneuer, Legal Nurse Consultant, clinical auditor, insurance auditor, QA coordinator, and hospital risk manager.  LOL.  With all that said, I have only had to deal with about a half dozen physicians with attitude problems.

When I've investigated occurrence reports such as have been noted on this thread, I have the written documentation of the staff turning in the incident, and often a statement from a fellow employee who also witnessed the offense.  A summary of the report, minus names of involved staff, is sent to the Medical Staff Office, and the report automatically goes into the physician's credentialling file.  That file is accessed and summaries of his care, occurrence reports, etc. are pulled for review by the medical committee that oversees that physician.  For instance, if he is a surgeon, it goes to the Surgical Committee.  If he's a pediatrician, it ges to the Pediatrics Committee.  The physician is sent a letter to request his side of the story and any corroborating evidence.  The Committee reviews all information and make a determintion as to whether the doctor erred, and depending on the findings, they will make a recommendation for him to attend anger management classes, make a formal apology to the staff, go to counselling, etc.  At the doctor's annual review, all of these reports and other reviews are looked at by a physician-directed credentialing committee who decide whether he is to remain on the staff for the next or following years. 

The hospital has to have corroborating evidence from the staff in order to help the case against the physician.  It's hard to objectively review when it's he said/she said.  So, our recommendation is that if you are calling or needing to talk with a physician with behavioral issues, including his/her not returning pages, etc., then have another nurse on the phone or with you when you have to call or talk to him, and document the calls in the medical record.  DO NOT document his exact words, like, "You idiot, SOB nurse!  Don't call me back for any reason!!"  In the medical record you would just document, "Dr. X notified of patient's elevated BP, need for IV fluids, and rash on left leg.  Dr. gave no response re: care issues."  Then complete an occurrence report with the exact wording.  Of course, there is no need to actually write out the f>>k word (do like I just did).  Just state the facts, not your opinions.  Please, though, follow the guidelines from your hospital or facility on what I just relayed, because some risk management departments vary in how they want these things handled, okay?

When talking with a doctor on the phone, I recommend staying with the issue at hand and don't get into a yelling match or one-upmanship, but be firm regarding the patient's condition, etc.  The NUMERO UNO thing that pisses off doctors is nurses NOT being prepared and organized when they return a call or when they call to ask the condition of their patients.  They tell us (and believe me I've heard from plenty of doctors at numerous hospitals) that many nurses keep having to ask someone nearby them for info re: the patient, fumble with the chart, not even know the status or diagnosis of the patient in question, not be prepared with the last vital signs, lab values, I & O, etc.. 

So, if you are one of the great nurses that does everything right, and you get a call from a nasty-ass doctor, BE NICE, BE PROFESSIONAL, and realize that he may not be use to dealing with a "professional" nurse, okay?  It doesn't excuse his behavior, but it may explain it and help you to understand not to take it personal and YOU are in charge of the final outcome, including the patient who is your most important priority.

Hope this helps!!