Consciousness Raising Exercise #34

Dr. E has plenty of patients. Unfortunately, he has very little patience. He knows what he wants and he knows when he wants it.

Dr. E will frequently dictate a series of reports in mid morning and then drop down to the Medical Record Department expecting that (regardless of the volume of work being handled in a transcription unit that services a 500-bed hospital) his reports will be ready for his signature as soon as he walks in the door. If his reports are not ready, he chooses which transcriptionist he thinks should work on his reports and paces up and down behind her chair until the work is completed.

The older transcriptionists do the best they can to accommodate Dr. E's interruptions. However, whenever a young transcriptionist who considers herself to be quite professional, asks Dr. E to wait outside the transcription unit while she does her work, he tells her to "just shut up and type."

Irked by the idea that anyone would challenge his authority, Dr. E has responded to this woman's requests by insisting that she now do all of his work. For the past six weeks he has kept pacing back and forth behind her chair. With her concentration shattered, the transcriptionist's productivity has dropped precipitously. She has received two warnings from the transcription supervisor (who herself is so intimidated by Dr. E that she refuses to confront him about how his behavior is ruining her department's productivity).

The young transcriptionist is so unnerved by the change in her work situation that she has requested a transfer to another transcription facility on the other side of town. Although transferring to this facility would add an hour to her daily commute, she feels trapped in an untenable situation and sees no other option available.

In 100 words or less, explain how Dr. E's behavior is effectively sabotaging the work of a fellow member of the patient care team. Describe how Dr. E might react if the transcriptionist gave Dr. E a taste of his own medicine by walking in on one of Dr. E's cardiac catheterizations and refusing to leave until Dr. E answered her question about the proper spelling of a medication.