The story so far: In episode one, renowned surgeon Dr. Cliff D.’s angry outburst at a nurse and a physician colleague during a procedure prompted HR director Joelle K. to investigate. In episode two, she found nurse Janice L. and attending Dr. Gita K. were “walking on eggshells” in the presence of the volatile surgeon, [...]

In episodes one and two of the story, Dr. Cliff D. was overheard shouting at two colleagues during surgery. When HR director Joelle K. carried out interviews and found Dr. D. had ordered nurse Janice L. to remove a retractor and Janice questioned the procedure, prompting Dr. D.’s outburst. After attending physician Dr. Gita [...]

In the first episode of the story, Dr. Cliff D. was overheard directing loud, hard words to two colleagues during surgery. Someone—we’re not sure who—complained to HR director Joelle K., and she interviewed the participants. What emerged was that Dr. D. had ordered nurse Janice L. to remove a retractor, and Janice was [...]

The nurses in the corridor outside O.R. 6 could hear it, and when they heard it they cringed: the voice of Dr. Cliff D. in full explosion. “You take out the retractor because I tell you to!” Indistinct reply. Dr. D. again, louder: “Oh, for God’s sake!” Another reply, also indistinct. Dr. D.: “Gita, I run this show ‘til we’re [...]

When Physicians Lash Out Medicine is a high-pressure environment. It’s also an ongoing-learning environment where more experienced physicians are expected to show younger colleagues best practices and share their expertise with colleagues in allied fields, like nursing. Sometimes the high-stakes, high-speed, life-or-death [...]