> I'm always a little surprised when she talks about calling the doctor saying I need X, Y and Z and the doctor just being like cool I'll put in the order.
This is the best part. A lot of decisions like sleeping aids, antipsychotics, antiemetics don't have evidence to choose from the various options so it's a bit of trial and error. An ICU nurse typically covers 1-2 patients and knows them very well, so if the recommend/ask for something it's usually the right decision and reduces the cognitive burden on the physician. We obviously still do a safety/sanity check but ballpark estimate I'd say I disagree or order something else < 5% of the time.
Similarly I'd say the proportion of bullshit overnight pages (e.g. I fondly remember a 4am call that a patient has leg cramps) I've received from ICU nurses are even less than that.
General ward nurses on the other hand... A very heterogeneous bunch with high turnover (worse in academia, at my last hospital average career length was ~2 years before they leave for greener pastures) so the relationship is very different.
Not that I don't appreciate them or their work, but far less trust in decision making and they need more oversight.