Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Unprofessionalism

Recently I went to a neuroloigical consultation and multidisciplinary team meeting with my senior to discuss the progress and future care plan for one of my patients. What utterly shocked me the most was the extreme unprofessionalism of the meeting particularly on the neurological consultants behalf. I had been preparing myslef thoroughly for the meeting so that I could provide all the health professionals with the best handover I could so that the team looking after my patient and the consultant knew his progress (and also so I didn't look like a really unintelligent student and make a fool of myself). I had always looked up to consultants, respecting them completely for the amount of hard work, effort and years of dedication that they had given to their field of expertise.
The meeting opened with jokes and comments regarding flatulence, with the consultant proceeding to ask all 15 people in the room their preferred way of using toilet paper (folding/scrunching). I thought that this was highly inappropriate especially for someone like me who was new to the meeting and had never met many of the health professionals before.
It took over 45 minutes to begin the actual discussion on each patient and even then the consultant continued to make bizarre and inappropriate comments about patients and other topics.
On leaving the meeting over 1 hour and 45 minutes later, my senior proceeded to tell me that she also felt that the situation was very unprofessional however I would have to draw my own conculsions on the matter. Was it purely just a bit of fun and humour? I feel not, I felt like all the staff there also thought that the behaviour was unaccebtable but laughed along anyway because it was the consultant, a senior staff member. However to me he will not be so respected in regards to his communication with other staff.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is such a tricky situation as we are supposed to think quite highly of consultants and their knowledge. Its nice to see that he has a sense of humor but it needs to be dampened for the environment he is is. especially when it is wasting everyones time... and who is going to say something? hopefully that was just a once of