Need advice about an MD harrassing staff..

Nurses General Nursing

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please note - this thread was originally posted in 2001 - nurse ratched 5/12/04

hi all,

i need some desperate advice about one of our doctors at the clinic. i hate to be long winded, but i have to tell the whole story or it won't make sense. we have a doc in our clinic who was recently repremanded for having an affair with a married nurse. this is not his first affair as he has had one other with an ma at the clinic and 2 dialysis nurses. anyway, the most recent rn affair still works at the clinic and they see eachother every now and then. she is very jealous of anyone else working for the doc. however, since she is no longer allowed to work for him, the rest of us have to fill in until a new rn can be hired. several of the rn's and cma's who have filled in with him have complained about him acting inappropriatly. mostly it is jsut comment he makes and such. last month while working for him the first time, he began telling me, out of the blue, all about his "sexual affair" with his ex-rn. he told me all the details and kept asking me my opinion of what he had done. i told him several times, point blank, that i wasn't comfortable talking about it. he kept on. than, he told me, "in my office we talk and we flirt and if you don't like that you can leave." so, i took the charts i was working on and put them on his desk and left the office. he came running after me, saying "don't be like that! come back!" i told him again that i didn't want to talk about his affair...i just wanted to do our schedule and be done with it. so, i happened to tell a couple of the other staff about this incident, and they expressed that they had had similar expereinces with him. a week later, i had to work with him again. he shuts the door and corners me in the office and says, " i heard that you have been lying about me to other nurses." he proceded to tell me all of the events that had happened the first time i was with him ( someone i talked to in confidence must have blabbed) and than demanded that i admit it never happend. i told him i was uncomfortable with the whole thing. than, he gets his ex-nurse on the phone, with me standing right there , and than he gave me the phone and said, "tell her you lied about it and that i never said those things to you." i turned and wlkaed out of the office! i barely made it through the rest of that day. this is getting out of hand! our don knows about this behavior with others, though i haven't told her about my expereince. she says that the clinic system can't fire him. is there anything we can do? do you have any advice on warding him off? unfortunately, a qualified rn hasn't been found for him yet so we all have to take turns filling in. any advice will be appreciated. i have 4 more times to woprk with him!

thanks,

lisa

Do you have an ethics committee? Talk to the administrator of the clinic. Someone hired him- someone can fire him.

His behavior is absolutely unacceptable-If all else fails, quit. There are plenty of nursing jobs out their where the physicians respect your priofessionalism.

Lisa, You did the right standing up to this doctor. Of course I have a few other chosen words for him. Flirting is one thing. But to explicitly tell you about his affair and to degrate you is another. I think several people have given you some wonderful advise. You've done the chain of command, going to administration. Unfortunately, they want to keep their ears closed, because there is something they could do about it. I do think you need to follow up with attorney regarding this. If you want to be really sneaky and diffently nail is but to a wall!--use a tape recorder. Get every nasty little comment on tape. The evidence would be there. And then my darling, there putty in your hands. I know that sounds very under handed, but you've done everything the right way, but yet no one wants to listen to you. Plus you never know if he's pushing is attority on another nurse that isn't as smart as you. The medical field is hard already, we as care givers take alot of crap, we don't need to take crap like this. Hang in there. Your a smart and intelligent individual!

aarh he sounds like a total creep, nurses hell :angryfire

oh my!!! Sweetie, I wish I were near you,,I'd like to have a conversation with this *&UIK. I have some suggestions for you. 1. Don't let him win. He is, obviously, very insecure to pursue the entire staff. And, I have a few more opinions that I will not post here,,,but pm me if you'd like em:) . From an advanced practice stand point, if your DON is aware of the problem, that shifts the responsibility. You have to make her/him aware that you will not tolerate this type of behavior and that YOU KNOW it is their responsibility to provide a safe workplace for you. If that doesn't help,,2. Let your DON and the "dude with a medical degree" know that you have the option of pressing sexual harassment charges, that you intend to exercise this right, and that you are aware such offenses and alligations are not appreciated by the Medical Board which governs his practice. I suggest you file a complaint, or grievance if the above suggestions don't give you comfort. The AMA as well as all Boards of Nursing are very concerned with conduct of this nature:)

Hi all,

I need some desperate advice about one of our doctors at the clinic. I hate to be long winded, but I have to tell the whole story or it won't make sense. We have a doc in our clinic who was recently repremanded for having an affair with a married nurse. This is not his first affair as he has had one other with an MA at the clinic and 2 dialysis nurses. Anyway, the most recent RN affair still works at the clinic and they see eachother every now and then. She is very jealous of anyone else working for the doc. However, since she is no longer allowed to work for him, the rest of us have to fill in until a new RN can be hired. Several of the RN's and CMA's who have filled in with him have complained about him acting inappropriatly. Mostly it is jsut comment he makes and such. Last month while working for him the first time, he began telling me, out of the blue, all about his "sexual affair" with his ex-RN. He told me all the details and kept asking me my opinion of what he had done. I told him several times, point blank, that I wasn't comfortable talking about it. He kept on. Than, he told me, "In my office we talk and we flirt and if you don't like that you can leave." So, I took the charts I was working on and put them on his desk and left the office. He came running after me, saying "Don't be like that! COme back!" I told him again that I didn't want to talk about his affair...I just wanted to do our schedule and be done with it. So, I happened to tell a couple of the other staff about this incident, and they expressed that they had had similar expereinces with him. A week later, I had to work with him again. He shuts the door and corners me in the office and says, " I heard that you have been lying about me to other nurses." He proceded to tell me all of the events that had happened the first time I was with him ( someone I talked to in confidence must have blabbed) and than demanded that I admit it never happend. I told him I was uncomfortable with the whole thing. Than, he gets his ex-nurse on the phone, with me standing right there , and than he gave me the phone and said, "Tell her you lied about it and that I never said those things to you." I turned and wlkaed out of the office! I barely made it through the rest of that day. This is getting out of hand! Our DON knows about this behavior with others, though I haven't told her about my expereince. She says that the clinic system can't fire him. Is there anything we can do? Do you have any advice on warding him off? Unfortunately, a qualified RN hasn't been found for him yet so we all have to take turns filling in. Any advice will be appreciated. I have 4 more times to woprk with him!

Thanks,

Lisa

The facility is accountable as they continue to employ this doctor. They are risking a lawsuit and if they don't see that they are stupid. Stay professional, try to stick together with the other nurses who are sick of this, and try to get the facility to address it. If the harassment and retribution continue, document and bring it to a lawyer. In fact you may be smart to get one involved now so he can advise you as to how to proceed. These kinds of facilities that say 'the doctor is always right' when they are being harassing and abusiveare still out there, but they are fools to go against laws.

The doctor is trying the old 'divide and conquer' strategy with the nurses, but if you stick together you can change this.

PS also sounds like this doctor has problems: borderline personality or something of the like. :uhoh21:

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