A surgical resident’s legal battle with her program
My new post on Physician's Weekly is about a dispute between a resident and her surgical residency program that has escalated to court and the news media. Click here to read it.
The resident did the right thing by using the court. These directors behave like dictators above the law. They mistakenly see the demand for their programs by the applicants, who outnumber the residency positions, as a success for their programs. The directors treat the residents like slaves who have no place to go and it does not matter if they don't give them good GME. The directors think that they pay their salaries and can destroy their careers. But the reality is that the residents pay the hospitals to get good GME. For the sake of good GME, I believe that Congress should shift the balance of power by not paying the hospitals directly, instead it should issue vouchers to the residents in order for the hospitals to recognize that the residents are customers who pay for good product which is good GME in this case.
As a former residency program director, I admit some possible bias. I know it sounds like she has a great case. However as I said in the post, we've heard only one side of the story.
Scalpel, do you know whatever became of Dr. Oscar Serrano, the surgery resident who sued Johns Hopkins Surgery Dept. and some of his after he was terminated? His ordeal was more about whistleblowing for duty hours, but I think the whole thing quietly went away (probably with a truckload of cash). Like the case mentioned above, we never seem to get the full story. In no way am I saying these residents didn't or don't have legit claims, but suing a residency program over disciplinary and/or remediation issues could be a bit of a slippery slope.
I googled him and found that he completed his training at Montefiore in the Bronx. He is now practicing general surgery in Minneapolis. [https://ubrp.arizona.edu/627/ and https://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-oscar-serrano-2nmgg]
I could not find anything about how his lawsuit ended. I think you are right. It must have been quietly settled.
8 comments:
The resident did the right thing by using the court. These directors behave like dictators above the law. They mistakenly see the demand for their programs by the applicants, who outnumber the residency positions, as a success for their programs. The directors treat the residents like slaves who have no place to go and it does not matter if they don't give them good GME. The directors think that they pay their salaries and can destroy their careers. But the reality is that the residents pay the hospitals to get good GME. For the sake of good GME, I believe that Congress should shift the balance of power by not paying the hospitals directly, instead it should issue vouchers to the residents in order for the hospitals to recognize that the residents are customers who pay for good product which is good GME in this case.
I think we can read a lot between the lines here.
As a former residency program director, I admit some possible bias. I know it sounds like she has a great case. However as I said in the post, we've heard only one side of the story.
The flip side: nurses being criticized by nursing supervisors for acting too much like a doctor. Yes, I have bee derisively referred to as Dr. Fool.
I would say it's much more likely that a nurse would be accused of acting like a doctor than the other way around. :-)
You are too kind, Dr. skeptical!
Scalpel, do you know whatever became of Dr. Oscar Serrano, the surgery resident who sued Johns Hopkins Surgery Dept. and some of his after he was terminated? His ordeal was more about whistleblowing for duty hours, but I think the whole thing quietly went away (probably with a truckload of cash). Like the case mentioned above, we never seem to get the full story. In no way am I saying these residents didn't or don't have legit claims, but suing a residency program over disciplinary and/or remediation issues could be a bit of a slippery slope.
I googled him and found that he completed his training at Montefiore in the Bronx. He is now practicing general surgery in Minneapolis. [https://ubrp.arizona.edu/627/ and https://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-oscar-serrano-2nmgg]
I could not find anything about how his lawsuit ended. I think you are right. It must have been quietly settled.
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