Sorry about this rant, but it needs to be said

     I'm not a nurse because I'm not smart enough to go to med school. I'm not a nurse because I wanted an easy job. I'm not a nurse because I couldn't find something else to do with my life.  I'm a nurse because I love taking care of patients. I love almost every aspect of my job.  I love the fact that I can save your life. I know I can't do it alone,  but I know what to do and what needs to be done in many critical situations.
      Nurses take crap from everyone (and I'm not just talking code brown).  Nurses are disrespected by their patients,  patient's families, hospital administration, other nurses and worst of all, doctors.
     I promise that I didn't call you at 3am because I thought it'd be nice to talk to you. I called you because something is going on with our patient and you need to know and to give me orders to fix it.  You went to medical school, you wanted to be the doctor, you get paid to take my call in the middle of the night. Oh, you are sleeping?  I'm sorry. I'm at the hospital actually keeping the patient alive.
      I work in a very stressful unit. My patients are all in critical condition and I've had to go with them into the OR many times to save their lives. I work with an amazing surgeon. He is highly talented and has great outcomes even on his very sick patients. We all respect him.  I've rarely heard our nurses talk bad about him. But he has crossed the line of acceptable behavior. He has begun to talk to us like we are idiots. He is rude and condescending to me in front of my coworkers.  I accept a lot of crap because I love my job, but I'm thisclose to quitting my job because of him. It's crazy.
     In the last year, we have lost our float pay and our call back pay, we have spent many weeks only getting part time hours (and we don't get paid if we aren't there), they have made it much harder to get raises or bonuses and have remodeled out unit and removed our break room and 50% of our space. We have stayed loyal. But this is pushing me to my breaking point. I'm not cocky or conceited,  but I'm a good nurse with many years taking care of critically ill people. And the way he talked to me today,  Christmas day, made me want to quit my job. 
     Please, if you get nothing out of my rant, please treat your nurses nice. We are here to help you or your family heal. If we are late with something,  it's not cause we didn't think it was important. It just might mean that something or someone else pulled us in a different direction and that may have had a higher priority. I've gone 13 hours without food, water or a bathroom break because I'm taking care of someone that can't take care of himself.  Gifts,  flowers, food aren't necessary in respecting your nurse, but a please, thank you and a smile or joke always makes my day go a little easier.