It seems like Hopkins is yet again on the cutting edge of medicine these days. According to the article, a former surgical resident, Dr. Oscar Serrano, with a seemingly impeccable record up until his dismissal had gotten the axe from his program after allegedly his superiors erroneously assumed he was behind a complaint that initiated an investigation of their surgery residency program. Furthermore, the article also states that, Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag, chief of surgery claims that this was not the case and that he was terminated because he was MENTALLY ILL! I am quite frankly nauseated to keep hearing about former residents who were just booted out of their program, have been put on probation, are afraid of pending probation, or dropped out altogether because of the hell they have been put through with their programs. In any other job if you get fired you can simply get back up on your feet and just work somewhere else. However, this is not the case with residency. It is like being dropped in the middle of Death Valley in the middle of July and left to fend for yourself without any food or water. Essentially, an MD without residency merely equates to that of a BA degree. In this case, MD stands for "Massive Debt". Furthermore, you have all the years you already invested into medical school and the six figure debt that does not go away. This is why this is such a scary scenario and sadly it happens way more than it should. I hope this resident takes Hopkins to the cleaners and a precedent is set that an environment of bullying and intimidation with the threat of constant dismissal will no longer be tolerated.
Fired Hopkins Surgery Resident Sues for $24 Million
Absolutely agree. Hope this goes all the way.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is a way other residents can show their support. I swear, I think residents need a union of some sort. There is so much abuse that wouldnt be tolerated in any other profession. Even fields like Investment Banking have a level of etiquette that needs to be adhered to. I have seen fellow residents screamed at, belittled and threatened to be dismissed all the time!!
ReplyDeleteI was fired from orthopaedic surgery residency during my chief year. That was 8/2008. I still have not found my way back. I wish there was a better system out there.
ReplyDeleteYou got the axe in your senior year and you were a chief! Mind numbing and absolutely repulsive. There is NO excuse for this in my book. Have you considered seeking out legal counsel?
ReplyDeleteResidents don't get fired for no reason. Especially not in their chief year. One has to have done something quite negligent or unethical.
ReplyDeleteYou are gravely mistaken. The politics in medicine makes what goes on in Washington seem as cordial as that of the Mickey Mouse Club. All you need is one PD with a vendetta whose on some maniacal power trip and your career can be ruined. We will really see how "blameworthy" Dr. Serrano really is with the outcome of this case.
ReplyDeleteHi,Same story for several other residents.When you report to ACGME,instead of taking action on the perpeterators,ACGME retaliates against the residents and protects these individuals and tries to cover up.There are multiple cases like this
ReplyDeleteYou are wrong, residents get fired all the time at various levels of training. Just look at studentdoctors.net and see how many medical school graduates are looking for jobs.
ReplyDeleteWas there ever an outcome to the Oscar Serrano case? This was over a year ago. Did he get his $24M or what? This will set a great precedent for future bullying.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it goes to trial in early january according to the maryland court database
ReplyDeleteResidents are fired for no reason all the time. Here at Brand X we've had 2 R3s terminated 6 months prior to graduation. Another resident, having completed 4 years of a 5 year program left instead of coming back for a 5th year. Another R2 just was let go, and yet another plans to not come back for an R3 year. All told, there are around 8 dead bodies in the past year and a half. Office politics have been the reason for most if not all of them.
ReplyDeleteDamn, which specialty was this?
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