Is this harassment?

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2009

This is an HR matter.

Consider all documentation and consult someone you trust (a lawyer perhaps)?

Tread lightly. Physicians tend to be troublemakers too.

Good luck and good job in creating a work environment that is conducive to higher productivity, and I am sure, higher morale.

rph3664 · Dec 31, 2009

I can't believe nobody has told you to print everything, and keep copies in multiple locations. Don't delete any of the e-mails, either.

Batman25 · Dec 31, 2009

I agree with the others...no more communication with this doctor on this matter. Stop engaging at once. Keep a copy of all correspondence.

Let HR know of the situation ASAP and that you will not be responding further to the abusive and hostile situation.

His response to the situation isn't healthy. You shouldn't be dealing with this 3 weeks later.

cookienay · Dec 31, 2009

AGree with above suggestions. Perhaps a conference with your superior or HR to ask them what their plan is to stop the harassment- because it is indeed harassment. Document the meeting. Depending how far you wish to go, perhaps consulting an attorney may be in order.

physician harassment is precisely why i left a management job. too much politics and i suck at it. best wishes to you!

ilmbg · Dec 31, 2009

Hope you are keeping a PERFECT record. Hope you are keeping all emails. Who is your next CIC? Have equipment ready so you can record phone conversations. (easy to do with both landline and cell). Have it prearranged with someone that whenever he shows up in person that the other person is on hand to listen, make certain he/she records conversation in case it might need to be told to a superior/legal person. Minimal contact. Start climbing your ladder.

arnie1234 · Dec 31, 2009

Thanks for all the support. Yes- I have printed the emails and also forwarded them to my personal email address. Interesting enough, on the day of the termination, this nurse who is chummy with a few docs was calling them on their cells to alert them that she would probably be fired. They were lined up outside my office and leaving me multiple voice mails, creating an obvious distraction.BTW- The voice mails go directly to my email, hence I have forwarded those as well. I told the dept chair yesterday that I was considering any continued email correspondence harassment- while he was nice about it, he basically told me that he had been struggling to control this doc for two years and that this doc is practicing his rights to free speech. Can you believe that????

Otessa, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2009

Thanks for all the support. Yes- I have printed the emails and also forwarded them to my personal email address. Interesting enough, on the day of the termination, this nurse who is chummy with a few docs was calling them on their cells to alert them that she would probably be fired. They were lined up outside my office and leaving me multiple voice mails, creating an obvious distraction.BTW- The voice mails go directly to my email, hence I have forwarded those as well. I told the dept chair yesterday that I was considering any continued email correspondence harassment- while he was nice about it, he basically told me that he had been struggling to control this doc for two years and that this doc is practicing his rights to free speech. Can you believe that????

Where are your rights for a harassment free workplace????

Sound like that doc has already practiced his free speech and enough is enough!!!

A friend was harassed by a co-worker(found out the co-worker did NOT have a valid nursing license and was demoted-friend was the whistleblower) and received minimal help from her employer UNTIL she got her own lawyer who was just about to go to the newspapers since talks had stalled-the hospital did not want bad press about it-they fixed things speedy-quick. The co-worker was fired as well.

otessa

Otessa, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2009

To OP, also do not give them a reason to fire YOU. Be professional and on the up and up throughout this whole situation or you might be out a job as well.

otessa

arnie1234 · Dec 31, 2009

I am doing my best to remain professional and courteous while still getting my point across. I will keep you all in the loop.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Dec 31, 2009

Inform him that you will not tolerate or accept bad nursing work from anyone, not even from long term employees that think they know everything. Tell him that you had just gotten rid of one such dead weight and if more needs to be done, you will not hesitate to do so, regardless if the source is nursing or medicine. Tell him that though you're new to this department, it is your every intention to take back control of it so that nonproductive or counterproductive personnel aren't allowed to become long term problems.

I believe this is too much information. As TXJDRN said, silence may indeed be golden in this case. Especially given that there may be litigation, the less that is said about the specifics, the better.

cookienay · Dec 31, 2009

I just have to add...the dept chair is being a pantywaist. An individual does not have a right to free speech when they are on the job. Otherwise, we could all tell our annoying pts, family members, and co-workers what we really are thinking. There is a standard of behavior on the job and a facility has the right to enforce said standards. Even though the MD is probably not an employee per se, he does have standards of behavior included in his agreement I am sure.

He does NOT have the right to continue this behavior (speech included), and you DO have the right to a harassment free environment. THis department chair is using the First Amendment crap to hide behind because he is too much of a wuss to deal with the issue. Document all conversations with him as well. Seriously, if you were the CEO of this hospital what would you rather deal with? A toddler posing as a middle-aged physician or a big, scary, very public lawsuit headed up by a pit-bull attorney?

Sorry, but I had to comment on that one. Good Luck!

RhiaRN75, RN · Dec 31, 2009

I'm going to assume that your job is safe in all this. After three weeks of this, I'm sure this Doc has tried to have you replaced. The fact that you've not been replaced speaks for it's self. Above all -before you go any further- do you feel safe? What I mean is, do you feel the Doc is content to make your life difficult or do you think he has the potiential to let this spill over outside of work or possibly become violent? Has he called you at home? Has he threatened you? Beyond verbal confrontation, would you feel safe if you encountered him in a deserted parking lot?

Assuming your person and job are safe, I think you need to confront this head on, with wittnesses. Look up hostile environment on your state's dept of labor website- sound familiar? Look up your facility's policy as well.

Most likely, both you and Dr. Trouble will continue working at your facility. IMO, your problem is not so much whether the current situation is harassment- the problem is how to move beyond this without becoming entangled in a vendetta that will create a power-struggle for years to come. You're going to have to make sure you don't avoid Dr. Trouble and give him that positive reinforcement. He needs to see your serene face every day! You said in your post that the only unhappy people are this doc and you- you have the power to remove yourself from that list. Be professional to a fault- you don't want to give anyone the ammunition of 'Harrassed Nurse Manager said xyz slander against so-and-so.'

Request an official meeting with him- have a neutral HR person or mediator there as wittness. Be sure it's understood that this meeting is not to discuss Nurse Stellar. Stay calm and make him define the specifics of 'nursing care that puts his pt's at risk.' He'll try to turn it around to a 'ever since Steller Nurse was unjustly fired xyz has occured' situation- don't let him take over the meeting by doing that. Let him rant on at the beginning of the meeting without argument, HR needs to see that. He'll run out of steam eventually if you don't add fuel to his fire. After he's gone on a bit you'll need to take control. Think of him as a delusional pt- he has his delusions and you're not going to change them. You can argue until you're blue but he'll just dig his heels in deeper. Nurse Stellar is gone, it's not likely to change, so don't pick that battle. Instead, pick battles you know you can win and after a few rounds of not playing his game, things may get easier.

He's given you a perfect topic to jump on- he thinks the nursing care on your floor is substandard.

After he rants a bit- and I can almost promise you he will, it's your turn. Have an opening statement along the lines of- "I hear Dr. Trouble state that he is upset Stellar Nurse was let go. We have xyz policy at this facility for dismissing employees, a process that is ultimately governed by HR. Due to privacy laws, I'm not at liberty to discuss the specifics of her employment with Dr. T, nor is it aprropriate for me to do so."

Don't avoid the subject- You want to establish the fact that Dr. T needs to harass HR instead of you, and also that you're not arguing with him anymore because you have a legal and ethical obligation to protect Nurse Stellar's private information. Get the whole subject out of the way as soon as possible. If he keeps coming back to the dismissal, keep replying in the same manner.

Stay on track- pt care. Have an agenda of topics to cover- feel free to type them up neatly in a large font everyone can read if so inclined. Take obvious notes. Dr. T says "Your floor sucks", write a note that everyone can read saying "Dr. T dissatisfied with staff." He says "Nurse so-and-so is an idiot", write down "Educational opportunities Dr. T would like offered to staff." He says "You people ruined Nurse Stellar's life!", write down "Assess milieu and evaluate for hostile environment".

Continue on, follow your agenda.

"Dr. T has made complaint that our staff in xyz department provide substandard care and thus put our pt's at risk. I'm very concerned about this, it's my number one goal to provide our customers with not just safe care, but excellent care." (Tie in the hospital's mission statement to your opening statement, if possible.) "The reason why I requested this meeting was to establish how we can work together to provide our customers with excellent care."

I'm not fond of the whole 'the pt is a customer, the customer is always right' philosophy, but you might as well use it to your advantage when you can. So long as you can stay calm and focused on pt care, no one will be able to find fault. You don't want to allude to workplace romance or personal situations- it will be used against you. Make sure you have a few of your own counter-complaints. You don't want the meeting to become a 'trash my floor' event.

Be prepared to address any issue, turn all issues into a pt care matter, and make sure the solution is a "we" effort. Squash the mentality of 'what you nurses need to do to not suck.' Turn it into 'what can we do, Dr. T included, to ensure our pt care doesn't suck?'

Once you define his problems, beyond Nurse Stellar, you can come up with a method for addressing them. Pin him down to specifics- create 'standing orders for Dr. Trouble'. I once worked on a floor that had an index card for each surgeon- listing preferred methods of contact, whether or not they allowed standing orders, and general things they wanted to know/not know at 0200. That put a halt to many complaints- such as Dr. I-hate-standing-order's complaint that we didn't give tylenol per standing order. Also be prepared that Dr. T may have some valid complaints.

If you feel safe, you don't think you'll be fired, and you want to continue as manager- you'll have to deal with this doc eventually. Best to do it on your terms now instead of feeling like you always have to look over your shoulder. I admire you- management is not for the faint-of-heart! Give me a chaos filled night of ER mayhem anyday.