Dear Ultrasound Tech:
You are dealing with a woman who is 38 weeks, 4 days pregnant. She was told an hour ago that the ultrasound she got that morning might point to heart problems (*note* everything turned out to be fine), and she is understandably freaked out. She also got a call that morning that her grandma is on her deathbed. Even if she was in perfect health, you may not:
1.) Ask her "What on earth are you in here for anyway? You don't need another ultrasound. Are you just trying to get attention?" Her doctor scheduled it, not her. She's not even sure what they think is wrong.
2.) Accuse her of smoking because the weight measures low, and then berate her when she said yes. Yes, she did smoke...UNTIL SHE FOUND OUT SHE WAS PREGNANT! She quit cold turkey at that point.
3.) Tell her mother that it's all her fault because she set a bad example for her child by smoking herself.
4.) Tell the pregnant woman that she's going into labor (she wasn't for another 24 hours).
5.) Push so hard on the belly with the ultrasound wand that you make her cry, then call her a wuss, and tell her that labor's going to be so much worse, she better get used to pain.
6.) When the sister calls and says that grandma's looking worse, and if the mother wants to say goodbye, she needs to come now, do not tell the mother:
a.) If she leaves now, she'll miss the birth of her grandchild
b.) That as a tech, she can't even assure the mother whether or not the baby is fine. Yes, I understand that she may be right on that account, but you've been handing out all sorts of advice/negative comments, you can't even reassure them that everything's okay?
The entire tone of the lady was just...rude. Pregnancy is supposed to be a happy time, and every other appointment has been smooth and professional. The one time they fear that something's wrong, they get the Ultrasound Tech from Hell. Everything turned out to be fine with the baby (they couldn't get a good view of the heart on the ultrasound that morning, hence the emergency one later that day), but grandma did end up passing away later that evening. And of course, my friend actually went into labor 12 hours later, so no official complaint's been filed yet. As soon as she gets out of the hospital though, she's writing a letter to the office.