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I am a first year resident, and previously received an after hours call from an attending about a hospital consult. I passed the message on to my co-resident who was on call, and informed the attending that i did this. Then the attending gave me more details to pass along to my co resident. I texted the attending my co resident's phone number so that he could communicate directly with my co-resident (we were both just getting started), and the attending called me and went off on me, called my chief resident and I was asked to apologize to the attending, which I did.
Since then, for the past several months, this attending has been unusually demanding and expects very fast responses when inquiring about their patients. I always respond back within a few hours if not immediately, and do what I am asked. Then one weekend morning the attending texted me for an update. I got ready, went into the hospital, started rounding and texted back that i was rounding. The attending asked what time I would see the patient, and I didn't immediately respond. A few minutes later, I was in a room with a patient, and the attending started calling and texting non stop until I finished with the patient and left the room. The workload was unusually high and I had the normal several other attendings that I was rounding on. I then answered the phone, and was told that this is strike two, and that the attending isn't afraid of me and will tell everyone in the hospital from physicians to residency administrators to administration, etc. what a bad resident I am, that I will be fired, and basically to the effect that my future will be ruined. When the attending said this, I said "I feel like such a meeting with a mediator or administration would be helpful to clarify expectations." I was feeling very uneasy as the attending was yelling and cursing at this point. The attending then responded "you are not important enough for a meeting. You will never see any of my patients again." That was the end of the conversation.
I then called my residency director who apologized for the attending's behavior, said this attending is "no angel" and said for me to document the threats, and that its no big deal if I don't work with this attending.
What should I do? Contact an employment lawyer? Am I at risk of being terminated? If so, I figure it would be difficult to get another resident job if terminated already. I have received good evaluations thus far and feel like my performance has been at least satisfactory, but it is scary for me. Thank you in advance for any advice.
Unfortunately, this is currently a topic of discussion on the resident board also, with several posters (including myself) discussing how the process can be changed to make residents more protected.
So, here's the deal: If your PD really has your back, then you'll be fine. Chances are, this attending is a jerk to everyone -- including the PD. That means that your PD will need to stand up to him if he starts to make a stink. I can't tell you whether he/she'll do this, or cave in and then create problems for you in the future.
That being said, I don't see how you can "not work with this attending". What happens if you're on call and one of his/her patients has a problem? How's that going to work? Routine overlap might be prevented, but I doubt you can work in this program without ever working with this jerk again.
Next, we're only hearing your half of the story. You need to ensure, as much as possible, that the problem is really with the faculty member and not with you. If you really are slow to return pages, pass off work to others, slow, incomplete, lazy, etc then you need some honest feedback. I do see this -- a resident who starts to struggle is often picked out by my most "discriminating" faculty. Others are willing to make excuses -- a new intern, a busy schedule, etc.
Don't forget about making sure that you're doing OK. Being mistreated like this at work can cause depression, insomnia, etc.
OK, so what do you do?
1. Hiring / contacting an employment lawyer is a waste of money. If they terminate you, it will be because they have documented that your performance is sub par. I highly doubt a lawyer will be able to help -- this is not a contract dispute.
2. You need to document, as best as possible, every conversation (good or bad) that you have with this person. I'd try to recreate the timeline above. As acurrately as you can, as much detail as you can. How long did it take you to respond? How many patients were you managing? Had you triaged them based upon their illness severity? You continue this forever. Every conversation.
3. You will have regular reviews with your PD regarding your progress in the program. You should request a copy of a written summary of each meeting, and keep these in your own files.
4. Some have advocated for a pocket recorder to record these conversations. Many smart phones can do this also. Be very careful with this -- wiretap laws are state specific, and you can get in tons of trouble for recording people without their permission or knowledge. This is a question that you could pose to a lawyer.
5. You'll need to decide whether you want to "play the game". If he pages you again, do you drop everything and call him back right away? Essentially give him what he wants. It isn't right, but sometimes (sadly) it's the best way to address the issue.
6. You need a plan, in writing from your PD, about how you are supposed to "avoid" this person without getting into trouble about shirking your work. As mentioned above, I'm certain that you and this guy will cross paths again -- best to be prepared (both from what you will do, and what your program expects of you).