When Love Turns Sour

by JLGerardo

Workplace romance blooms not only in the corporate offices but also within hospital corridors. The love bug strikes doctors and nurses, too. With their prim, white uniforms, nurses attract doctors and form romantic relationships with them. It’s normal. And usually, the result is a happy satisfying marriage.
“ My husband is a doctor, “ says Pam McDowell, an RN from Delaware. “ We met while I was doing the duty rounds. I often assisted him when he performed surgical operations. Eventually, we got married and I never regretted my decision. And the good thing is, we go to work together at the same hospital. We now have two kids.”
“ I have a doctor as my boyfriend, “ says Belinda, another hospital nurse on a night shift. “ I love him and he loves me. We get on along fine. We plan to settle down as soon as he finishes his internship. I am so excited with our marriage.”
Several nurses echo Belinda’s sentiments. These RNs are either dating doctors , currently engaged with their MD boyfriends, or married to doctors.
However, not all doctor-nurse romantic relationship have happy endings. One particular case even ended up in tragedy. The doctor stabbed his nurse girlfriend and then committed suicide afterwards.
Dr. Marc Daniel, 50, who worked at Windsor’s Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital, attacked and stabbled to death his long time beau Lori Dupont, 37, in the surgery recovery room. Three days later, Daniel died to apparent self-administered medicine overdose.
As with any other love affiliations, doctor-nurse romantic relationship pose some risks. To protect yourself,, experts give the following tips:

1.)TAKE YOUR TIME
Don’t rush into a relationship with a doctor suitor. Take your time. There are other matters that may need your immediate attention. Have wholesome fun and enjoy hospital work with your friends.

2.)KNOW HIM WELL
Remember the doctor mentioned above who figured in the stabbing incident? He were already going steady with Lori, his nurse girlfriend, when he was diagnosed with polar disorder. It’s always a good idea to know a person well before committing yourself in any romantic relationship.

3.)GET A PERSONAL LIFE
To prevent you from being emotionally dependent on your doctor boyfriend, find something worth doing in your spare time. Get into an enjoyable hobby. It could be gardening, crochetting, sewing, painting, or ballroom dancing. You should have a life away from your boyfriend.

4.)BE WARY ON TELLTALE SIGNS OF YOUR BF DOCTOR’S VIOLENT BEHAVIOR
Raising his voice against you in angry tone, pushing, slapping, and any other signs of physical and verbal attack against you are telltale symptoms of violent behaviors. Be prepared and deal with it. Break off the relationship, even if it entail transferring to another place to secure your safety.

5.)EXERCISE CAUTION AND DISCRETION
Set some personal limits on how far you will go with your romantic relationships. Many dating nurses set curfew time. They make sure they are home before 10PM on every dates. Others avoid going to wild parties on their dates. Some RNs refuse to engage in sex on their dates. These may appear prudish but it’s better to err in the side of caution than live a life of sorrow and regret.