Is this harassment?

[arnie1234]

Hi- I am a nurse manager new to a dept. I have terminated an employee who has been longstanding but a troublemaker for years. I have a few doctors really upset with me- to the point that I am now receiving repeated emails from one in particular on a daily basis. He claims that the quality of nursing care left in our dept puts his patients at risk. ( rumor is that he has been having an intimate relationship with this nurse for years- so she has been protected by him so to speak). He barely gives me time to reply to an email before he blasts me with another 400 word email asking about how I itend to fix the situation. I have told his dept chair that I am considering the emails harassing and that if he cannot control this doctor- I will report his behavior to the chief medical officer. It is making me nauseated and lose my appetite. I do not enjoy my job. My remaining staff is very happy that the problem child is gone, they work better now than ever before. Everyone is happy except for me and this doctor.

[arnie1234]

There have been many nights of lost sleep, days of lost appetite over this. The thing (often only thing)that keeps me going is that I see the morale shift, people working together, more smiling nurses, than ever before. I have a great group of nurses that have been beat down and bullied for years ( I did my homework- reading the personnel file of nurse stellar). Believe me, I often wonder, why am I doing this?, wishing I could go back to taking care of my patients and going home with less stress. I think the good guys on my floor need me-that is the only reason I continue.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

arnie1234, :kiss

Remember the saying, "Grace and Works are One".

Do what needs doing. Steady on course. Your team needs you. You are in the right.

After all, you are a leader, this physician is not.

So it shall be written, so it shall be done.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Forward every stinking email to HR.

[leslie :-D]

even though i agree about getting the 'appropriate' people involved, i don't trust hr or upper mgmt to defend nsg.

do not respond to any further emails.

keep meticulous notes for your private use.

keep ONE trusted person aware...

the real trouble starts when you start telling too many folks and before you know it, you're being sued for slander or defamation of character.

stay cool and 'smile' at him...in words or in person.

when you feel you've gathered all needed data, submit the 'packet' to chief medical officer with a cc to the don or chief nsg officer.

but the bottom line is, you do not want this bozo turning the tables on you.

if you care to get a buzz word out there, you can tell dr. x that he needs to stop harrassing you.

do let us know what happens.

and happy new year to you and yours.:balloons:

leslie

[Freedom42]

I agree with the lawyer who advised that silence is golden. No meetings, no chats. Turn everything over to HR.

It seems to me that the OP's harassing doc is not the only problem here. I'm baffled that the OP's senior managers have failed to recognize that the OP has explicitly told the doc, in front of them, to knock it off, yet he persists. I wonder what their own liability is.

[erroridiot]

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????

Well, who fired the person, you or the HR? The HR should be the target here, not you. Managers are often used to do certain tasks, and then used to take the blame for doing the task. I was once told to go in and clean up a unit which had multiple patient care and pt. safety type of issues. When I cleaned up, I was criticized for doing what I was told to do. Staff were not happy when things changed for the better and they actually had to do their jobs correctly. They (administration) suddenly liked it the way it was before! I don't manage at all, because I have seen this happen so many times over and over to managers and supervisors. To the hospital, corporation or facility, all are expendable when they have served their purpose and the actual purpose is often conveniently forgotten.

Don't forget that the doctor generates revenue.

[rph3664]

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

Was the fake nurse related to someone prominent in the community or a big shot at the hospital? I can't think of any other reason why the whistleblower might have been fired, all other things being equal.

[Otessa, BSN, RN]

Was the fake nurse related to someone prominent in the community or a big shot at the hospital? I can't think of any other reason why the whistleblower might have been fired, all other things being equal.

The whistleblower wasn't fired she was being harassed by the non-license holder. The non-license holder was eventually fired.

otessa

[gmw1975]

Wow...tough situation. Maybe in your next reply to him just let him know that you understand how he feels, but you still feel that the move was best for the hospital. And, maybe add a note in there that his emails are becoming excessive, and if he doesn't stop, you will report the problem to the Chief Medical Officer. If he doesn't relent, then go right ahead and report it. Whatever you do, don't say a word about the rumors of his relationship with the former nurse. That'll get you in some hot water for sure. I know it's tough, but staying professional even while someone else is not, is a part of management. Hang in there, and good luck!