Case Study - Now We Can Finally Talk
Comfort Zone is a 60-bed, for-profit intermediate care facility in northern California. The rehabilitative department manager Jamie Richards, has been working at Comfort Zone for only 6 months. She holds monthly staff meetings, as well as additional individual meetings with staff to address specific patient-related issues. On most days, she eats lunch in a quiet corner of the cafeteria so that she can catch upon her paperwork at the same time.
Catherine Williams, one of her staff members who has been working at the facility for more than 25 years, spotted her in the cafeteria one day and sat down uninvited. Catherine has never attended any of the monthly meetings and always has an excuse for not attending. Catherine said, "I've been waiting to tell you his ever since you began working here, but I wanted you to get adjusted first. Now we can finally talk. I have been here for a long time and have seen all kinds of comings and goings."
Catherine proceeded to tell Jamie about her staff who were constantly tardy or absent. She also told Jamie about the things the staff had been doing behind her back, such as using the Internet for personal matters, going shopping during lunch hour and coming back late, and going home early without permission. Catherine concluded with, "At your monthly meetings, the staff show up to tell you that everything's just fine, when I know differently. I'm too busy working to attend these meetings. If you want my opinion, I would fire them all since they are incompetent."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How should Jamie deal with the information that Catherine provided?
2. What do you think of Jamie's methods of communicating with her staff?
3. Do you think that she should use a different form of communication with Catherine?
Case Study- It's Not My Job
In the medical unit of the Northeastern Medical Center, Leah Hernandez is an insurance claims specialist who works with one nurse, one certified nursing assistant, and one medical assistant/receptionist. The physician and administrator are located in a separate building of the medical center. The administrator, Dan Jules, spends three hours a day in the clinic, from 9:00 to 10:30 every morning, and 2:00 to 3:30 every afternoon. He never varies the times that he is in the clinic.
One morning at 9:00 a.m., Dan was in the clinic with nurse Kate Williams, addressing the concerns of the patient in room 2, when the phone rang. A second phone line rang a few seconds later, and this was followed by a third line ringing. The nursing assistant was in room 1 with the physician, and the medical assistant was in room 3 with another patient. The only available staff member to answer the phone was Leah, who was holding on the line with an insurance company. She yelled, "Anybody? Somebody, pick up the phone already! It's driving me crazy!" Everyone in the clinic, including the patients, heard her shouting. Nurse Kate rolled her eyes and told Dan that it was like this every day. Dan excused himself and rushed into the reception area to pick up the phone. Later on Dan asked Leah why she couldn't pick up the phone. Leah answered, "It's not my job. I'm too busy with the insurance company."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What should Dan do to address the problem?
2. Should Dan meet with Leah individually or communicate with all staff?
3. Because Dan works in a different building, who should have communicated this ongoing problem to Dan?