What Is Your Honest Opinion?

[Happier]

My girlfriend called the other day just fuming because she was in the pediatricians office with her 19 month old son and he was running a fever and the nurse said that his throat and ears were just fine. My friend could smell alcohol on her breath and this was not the first time she smelled it on her. Her sister went to the same peditriancians but pulled her children from that office because her sister had smelled alcohol on her too.
My friend dismissed the alcohol smell as maybe she went out the night before and didn't think much about it.
But then her son who never wakes up started screaming around 3:00 a.m. the next morning and was running a temp. of 104. She took him to the pediatricians office the next day and he saw a different nurse there and his tonsils were so inflamed. My friend asked if they could have just gotten that way or were they that way when he was in yesterday. She said that they had to have been inflamed yesterday too. It couldn't have happened overnight this bad. Especially, if he was already sick when she brought him in yesterday.
My friend explained her story to whoever is higher up the ladder. She just felt that the nurse should be given a breathalizer. They just didn't seem to care at the clinic that the nurse smelled of alcohol and misdiagnosed a child. They didn't seem shocked at all about the nurse. What happened if it was much more serious and the child died? Well, I think my friend did the best thing and pulled her children out of the clinic. My friend had to take a valium after that experience. She does not sleep well.

It kind of makes you wonder how many Dr's are drinking when they are on call. I don't even want to go there!
Happier~

[Waves 2]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

My nephews life was saved by doctors when he had a transplant 16 years ago. My grand-daughters life was saved by doctors a year ago. My dad survived cancer for 21 years due to the care of nurses and drs. I am just thankful that there are so many wonderful health professionals out there.

You wanted honest.

[Finkle]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

I see where you are coming from, it would be unnerving to trust in a doctor who has seemingly been drinking, with your child. Its a catch 22 really. We are professional and working and also have an alcoholic scent in the mornings, sometimes into the afternoon. We cant ostracize another when we ourselves are all guilty of the same thing but on the other hand we don't have peoples lives in our hands... so in your case I would have done the same thing and reported the doc. at least if someone brought it to their attention they MAY seek help or have it offered to them thru their work!

[Happier]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

This post wasn't to Dr. bash in any way. I had a doctor save my life too! I LOVE Dr's

This post was about drinking on the job. Especially when it comes to peoples lives.

[eustacia]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

Dear Happier,

In the 80s (the decade of the three martini lunches), I would occasionally join my colleagues in having a glass of wine with our lunches. We would return to our offices and see patients. While no one ever said anything about it, I'm sure that a few patients who possessed particularly good senses of smell picked up on the fact that I had consumed alcohol. Maybe one of the reasons it went unaddressed is that my single glasses of wine were enjoyed with food, and I never returned to work impaired.

One of the reasons I joined MWO almost a year ago was that due to some pressures in my life I was occasionally drinking small (less than one drink) amounts of alcohol during the day. I was grieving the unexpected death of my mother and I had felt pushed to my limits by some uncharacteristically difficult behavior on the part of family members.

The reasons that I no longer enjoy a glass of wine with lunch include the fact that my body is three decades older and, unless I was a nervous wreck the way I was after my mother died, one glass of wine would relax me too much. Also, the times have changed (do you know anyone who currently enjoys the proverbial three martini lunch?) and people (including my patients) are much more sophisticated when it comes to alcohol abuse. One glass of wine would leave the same smell as three . . . or ten.

Unless you have more evidence than the smell of alcohol on someone's breathe, I would caution jumping to conclusions that the nurse misdiagnosed the child because of drinking. Diagnosis is an art as well as a science and nondrinkers as well as drinkers make diagnostic errors.

Eustacia

[Saint Jude]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

Good point Eustacia, as far as the alcohol smell goes...
When I'm @ work I'm constantly using a breath spray I keep in my apron, because I talk to people up close, & I also have a toothe that needs some work etc, so I'm very sensetive about my breath.
One of the girls I work with mentioned that she smelled alcohol when I was talking to her, it was right after squirting my breath spray (it's got alcohol in it!) I'm sure it's not much, but up close, it might smell that way to someone who's sensitive to it.

[Happier]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

I wish I could have met the nurse myself because I would have liked to have seen what she explained to me. I told her just because she smelled like alcohol doesn't mean she was drinking and she said she knew but she thought she should be watched more carefully.

Anyways, that brings up something that bothers me. My son has a job at a grocery store and he had to take over a position in the deli department for the day because they fired a gal there because she smelled like alcohol on several occasions. She only worked there for 2 weeks. I was wondering how that worked. She had to be loopy or something to have lost her job. My son had to be missing a piece of the puzzle. Don't you think?

[Happier]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

Finkle,
I love your avatar! Is that your doggy? Is your dog a movie star in Eight Below? I can watch that movie over and over again. Your dog kind of looks like Dewey. I just love Huskies.
I have a Collie myself. I don't see many Huskies like yours. He's a keeper!!!

[Flip]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

If that was my child and my experience I would be furious - if the organisation didn't do something about the nurse, then I would ring whoever is the controlling body and complain about them too!!!

There's no excuses when it comes to people's lives. This time it might have only been tonsilitis, but next time it might be meningitis.

[Guest]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

Happy, there have been times with my Grandson where we took him to the doctor and they sent him home with a "he'll be fine" just to have us show up the next day with him in worse shape. sometimes kids do spike overnight. As for the nurse I'd give her the benefit of the doubt, (what medical practice wants to run the risk of a lawsuit because of 1 employee?) She could be a diabetic, that can make your breath smell like you drunk and give the apperance of being so. Or as Judy says scope or mouth sparay. If your friend isn't comfortable she should swithch doctors. I once switched vets, because I didn't feel the one I was using appreciated my dog's unique personality,
Best Always
Mar

[Mags]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

I work in science labs a lot in the course of my job. I am constantly rinsing my hands with alcohol and then meeting with students. Some of the chemicals I use (e.g. DMSO) get into the breath. Smell itself is not a conclusive sign of alcohol abuse. At the same time, people in the medical field are no less vulnerable to abuse problems than anyone else. It is a high stress profession after all. So who knows? I would move to another medical practice if I have lost trust in this one.

[Pisces]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

I t might seem inappropriate, but does anyone just ask? 'Have you been drinking?'

And of course denial might be the answer, but the body language might tell, and if you said, well I drink too, that's why I noticed... and then your gut feelings in regards the answer might help.

People of all walks of life drink for an amazing variety of reasons, just like us, and I understand if it involves your childs health there would be a concern, big time!!

but look into it before casting judgement, is it a one time lunch thing, or an ongoing problem??, and if so, ask the person, it might be what they need to realise they have a problem.

And in a whole different senario, is the health care worker an arrogant ass who doesn't care, and they should be pulled up, BIG TIME!! we rely on them to be trained and honest.

Just looking at the grey area, love Jas

ps. I think most in the field do it because they care.

[Waves 2]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

They just didn't seem to care at the clinic that the nurse smelled of alcohol and misdiagnosed a child. They didn't seem shocked at all about the nurse. What happened if it was much more serious and the child died? Well, I think my friend did the best thing and pulled her children out of the clinic. My friend had to take a valium after that experience. She does not sleep well.

It kind of makes you wonder how many Dr's are drinking when they are on call. I don't even want to go there!
Happier~

I did not misunderstand the question. I do like many of the replies.

[hart]

What Is Your Honest Opinion?

(((Happier)))

I wouldn't feel comfortable with taking my son to that doctor anymore unless someone ELSE evaluated him besides the nurse. All the above hypothesis could be true....but I'd err on the side of the devil's advocate on this. My opinion.