Risk Management
Risk Management
Week 10 discussion/case study
Employee Liability issue Physician Harassment
As risk manger it is brought to your attention that a Nurse Green in the OR is upset with her rotation schedule and what she feels is slander against her professional abilities. The OR supervisor when asked indicated Ms. Green, had complained to her that a physician, Dr. Ray, had made several passes at her, made suggestive remarks to her and asked her to go out with him repeatedly. Nurse Green indicated she had told him no but he still persisted. She is upset because the new rotation schedule is out for the OR and she was removed from the type of surgery she specializes in which includes all of Dr. Ray’s cases. When she asked why she was told the physician requested she not be in his rotation until she gained more experience. The nurse is upset and indicated she never had a problem with any of the surgeons prior to this and requests a meeting with the supervisor and risk manager/Human resource director.
Case analysis: 1. What are the risks identified for this hospital?
Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Harassment becomes unlawful when enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment or the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive. Petty slights, annoyances and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to the level of illegality. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile or offensive to reasonable people. The employer will be liable for harassment by non-supervisory employees or non-employees over whom it has control, if the employer knew or should have known
Week 10 discussion/case study
Employee Liability issue Physician Harassment
As risk manger it is brought to your attention that a Nurse Green in the OR is upset with her rotation schedule and what she feels is slander against her professional abilities. The OR supervisor when asked indicated Ms. Green, had complained to her that a physician, Dr. Ray, had made several passes at her, made suggestive remarks to her and asked her to go out with him repeatedly. Nurse Green indicated she had told him no but he still persisted. She is upset because the new rotation schedule is out for the OR and she was removed from the type of surgery she specializes in which includes all of Dr. Ray’s cases. When she asked why she was told the physician requested she not be in his rotation until she gained more experience. The nurse is upset and indicated she never had a problem with any of the surgeons prior to this and requests a meeting with the supervisor and risk manager/Human resource director.
Case analysis: 1. What are the risks identified for this hospital?
Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Harassment becomes unlawful when enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment or the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive. Petty slights, annoyances and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not rise to the level of illegality. To be unlawful, the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating, hostile or offensive to reasonable people. The employer will be liable for harassment by non-supervisory employees or non-employees over whom it has control, if the employer knew or should have known
References: Chubb Health Care. Date Unknown. Workplace harassment: Awareness and prevention. Retrieved from http://www.chubb.com/businesses/csi/chubb1164.pdf U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Date unknown. Harassment. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/harassment.cfm Youngberg, B. J. (2011). Principles of risk management and patient safety. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Barlett Learning, LCC.