This happened a few days ago, but a similar situation recently came up at work that has it in my mind again....
One busy day at work, I was struggling to get all of my morning surgeries and drop offs done because all three of us in the back (2 assistants and myself) kept having to focus on answering the phones. The receptionist was tied up making outgoing calls for the day (follow ups, appt reminders, etc) and therefore really not answering the phone at all. It was to the point where we were struggling to get anything done in the back, because the phones just wouldn't stop ringing.... it's nearly impossible (and definitely not safe) to draw blood, place an iv catheter, etc by yourself. Because it was such a busy morning, I went to the receptionist and asked her to please hold off on her outbound calls for an hour or two until the phones settled down and we were more caught up in back... I explained that maybe if she would answer the phones, me and one of the assistants could get things done while the other assistant helped her answer phones. She gave me a snippy response and basically refused to stop the outbound calls. I was the only doctor working and my practice manager was off, so I was technically the one in charge, but she claimed that I was trying to keep her from doing her job and she refused to listen. It surprised me, because she's a really sweet girl and normally very much a rule-follower, kiss-up, etc... but whatever.
A few days later, she came to me to apologize. Apparently she'd had a talk with the practice manager and "I just didn't realize that you, as a doctor, had the authority to make decisions about the hospital like that. I'm sorry, I just honestly had no idea."
What's sad? I believe her... I don't think anyone ever told her that the doctor is in charge because, in a corporate hospital, they aren't. Just like I've had patients offered dentals against my recommendation, been pushed to do elective anesthetic procedures on sick patients, etc., this is just one more example of how corporate hospitals tend to view the doctors as the low man on the totem pole. I've heard my practice manager and field director tell other team members (on multiple occasions) "your job is to keep the doctors moving and keep their pet counts and revenue up... make sure they aren't gatekeeping, because nothing should slow the flow of pets through the hospital."
All of that is old news, of course, but I just can't stop thinking of that receptionist (who has since been promoted to an assistant-manager role)... "I just didn't realize that you, as a doctor, had the authority to make decisions about the hospital like that. I'm sorry, I just honestly had no idea." So bizarre.