Need advice- think I may be fired

[kelly1289]

Hi,
Yesterday I received news that stunned me. I was told in confidence that during a staff meeting there was discussion about possibly not renewing my contract at the end of the year. A little background. I am a PGY 3, in a small community based program. I've done well academically (ABSITE scores well above reproach) and , I thought, I was doing fine in my patient care activities.

The reasons listed for my possible dismissal included "not taking things seriously", "dumping work on other residents", and "not taking ownership of my patients."

I can tell you now that this is not true. I get along well with my fellow residents, I work my butt off everyday...but there is this preception of me in the department that looks like it's threatening my standing.

ANyway, any advice from anyone whose found themselves in similar situations or has seen something like this happen. To be honest, I really didn't think anything like this could happen to me (I apologize for hte cliche), but I'm thinking, should I be talking to a lawyer?????

Thanks
Kelly

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[Pilot Doc]

, should I be talking to a lawyer?????

YES. Get an employment lawyer NOW!

 

[Chief Resident]

but there is this preception of me in the department that looks like it's threatening my standing.

Do you know why there's this perception of you?

 

[pjr]

Go talk to your program director and address the issue up front....

I did my residency at a fairly heavy-hitting academic program, and firings were not at all unusual. The problems a lot of times happen because one attending gets a negative perception of you and then poisons the well with the other staff. What I always advised my junior residents in that position was to go their files, review all of their evaluations and make copies of them, and go sit down with the PD. I don't know how approachable your PD is, but you usually won't go wrong with an up-front discussion of the issues to present your side of the story. A lot of times this type of thing can happen because of one pissed-off person, and the people that I know that tackled it directly almost always were better off for it.

good luck

 

[Pilot Doc]

All good advice from PJR above. Definitely try to fix the situation constructively.

Nonetheless, get a lawyer ASAP. (This doesn't mean you need to tell the program you have a lawyer or threaten legal action, but you need someone advising you.)

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
You need to look at a couple of things: First, find out what the grievance procedure is at your program. You need to be totally familiar with this process so that if the worst happens, you can immediately file a grievance.

Second, as you have been advised, consult a lawyer who is familiar with the residency process. Ask around and find out who is out there and get them on retainer. Sometimes people have been known to change their opinion of you once they know that you have legal representation.

Third, have a talk with your program director. Most program directors would rather have someone correct any short-comings than try to replace a resident at your level. If your environment is truly unrepairable, then your PD might help you get another position. It does not hurt to be ready to move on. Get your resume out there and ask around. You may find that moving to a new program gives you a fresh start and you can shine.

If you have a faculty advisor (and you should), then try to find out how you can get your situation changed. Your faculty advisor should be your advocate in these types of situations. You need as many people to counter a negative opinion of you as possible.

Good luck and start doing your best from here on out. It is easy to be depressed when you feel that people are against you but try to have the most positive attitude possible.
njbmd

 

[kelly1289]

Do you know why there's this perception of you?

This may sound stupid, but I really think it's because I'm "too happy". I have been told that I'm "happy go lucky". People have noticed that I hum while I work and tend to laugh a lot. It just my personality. I have had the same problems as other residents. I have made mistakes. However, I think since I tend to stand out, everything is amplified. I have been told to conform and I, honestly, thought that was bull****. I felt that if I did the job, my personality should have no bearing on it. I have been told just to "play the game". And resisting that advice, struggling to be myself, has put my job in danger.

 

[kelly1289]

Thank you for all of the wonderful advice.
I will definitely talk to my program director and consult a lawyer.
This has been mentally exhausting, but I will survive at this program or somewhere else!!!!!

 

[dr.evil]

First, I preempt my comment by saying I'm not trying to be harsh or flame or be mean or whatever.

I think you have to first take a hard look at yourself and your overall performance for the last three years. Do you tend to push things off on the call team? Are there times where you could have done the work but it was easier to let someone else do it? Being a "happy-go-lucky" person doesn't usually get you the title of "dumper" so you have to look hard at yourself.

There is a 3rd year at our program who is under the same scrutiny. He truly cannot see that he is a poor surgical resident. He is very well read, knowledgable, and a safe physician. BUT, in the microcosm of a surgical residency, he tends to make life as easy as possible on himself, usually at the cost to others.

All surgical residents work their butt off. It comes with the job. But in a surgical residency, double effort is required.

Also, in smaller programs the chain is much shorter so a weak or missing link is much more noticeable.

I'm not judging you in any way but I've seen how peopl have difficulty be introspective at times, especially when they're being scrutinized heavily.

BTW, I agree with most things that are said here.

 

[davvid2700]

dont take this lightly.. get a lawyer.. if you are in a union ( some residents are) contact the person in charge of the union and discuss this at length with them.. better early then later... play hard ball with them.. although im in a totally different specialty i know of at least 3-4 people that have been thrown out of surgical residencies..

 

[Chief Resident]

dont take this lightly.. get a lawyer.. if you are in a union ( some residents are) contact the person in charge of the union and discuss this at length with them...

There's such thing as unions for residents?

 

[robotsonic]

This is kind of frightening. How could someone have no idea they weren't performing well and then suddenly be fired? Don't they have to warn you first? And wouldn't someone, like the program director, speak to you about your performance and tell you to improve before just throwing you out of the program?

Throughout your residency, you don't get any feedback on how you are doing?

 

[davvid2700]

many residents in the north east are in Committee of Intern and Residents.. thats the biggest union........


getting thrown out of a residency happens all the time

 

[kelly1289]

We do have biannual evals. Last eval I was doing a great job and encouraged to keep up the good work. That's why this is sooooo unexpected. I have another eval coming up a month from now, but how the heck is that going to help me halfway through the year? Believe me, I have taken a cold hard look at myself because if there is a problem it begins with me. I actually made a list. What kills me is that earlier this year I was reprimanded for working too much, not taking enough days off,and told to delegate more. Now after signing out a few post -op checks, I "dump" on other residents. I cannot win. BTW this is something that was said at a confidnetal staff meeting. Haven't heard this from fellow residents. But whatever is said, whether or not it is true, for all intents and purposes I have to adjust something in my behavior to give the appearence of whatever it is they want.

That's how the game is played apparently. God, I hate sounding cynical, but I still can't quite believe this is happening to me. I mean there are residents in my program who have had disaterous outcomes because of bad judgement, but they ....now i'm bitching.....I digress and again I appreciate the objectivity you guys bring to the picture.

 

[kelly1289]

First, I preempt my comment by saying I'm not trying to be harsh or flame or be mean or whatever.

I think you have to first take a hard look at yourself and your overall performance for the last three years. Do you tend to push things off on the call team? Are there times where you could have done the work but it was easier to let someone else do it? Being a "happy-go-lucky" person doesn't usually get you the title of "dumper" so you have to look hard at yourself.

.

I appreciate your candor. In answer to your question, I don't tend to push things onto the call team, but I will sign out post-op checks if we are operating late, I have had the on call intern f/u on getting consent signed or check xrays done late in the day. But that happens rarely. We usually get our stuff done during the day. And the second question , the answer is yes, but again it is rare. We have known dumpers in our program...people who go on vacation and don't arrange to have anyone rounding on their service, people who refuse to get up in the middle of the night and see patients (recently, patient died because of behavior like this), and people who dump tons of scut. I'm not one of them. But it doesn't matter because for whatever reason the attendings think I am.

 

[Chief Resident]

BTW this is something that was said at a confidnetal staff meeting. Haven't heard this from fellow residents. But whatever is said, whether or not it is true, for all intents and purposes I have to adjust something in my behavior to give the appearence of whatever it is they want.

How did you find out about it then? You might want to make sure it's not just a rumor before proceeding.