What Would You Do | How to Manage Inappropriate Work Conduct

By: Karine Wong, Pharm. D.

You are a staff pharmacist at a local hospital. Since you have the most clinical skills, the director appoints you to work on the Pharmacy & Therapeutics report. After spending countless hours at the computer, you finish the warfarin dosing protocol, revise the complex pneumonia pathway order sheet, and complete the adverse drug reaction reports. At the Pharmacy and therapeutics meeting, while you are instructed to remain silent, the director presents the reports to the committee and receives praise for his work. He tells the committee that he worked very hard on these reports and does not mention your contribution. You are furious with the director and want to quit the hospital.

What is the best way to handle this type of situation

By: Lois Bui, Pharm. D.

At one time or another, we have experienced a situation such as this. You may have spouted out an idea but someone else was quicker to say it out loud or in this case, you do all the work and your boss gets all the credit. It's upsetting when we've put our heart and soul into something and someone else takes the credit without hesitation.

The fact that you were there at the meeting and told not to say anything would make anyone frustrated. The best way to approach this is to wait until the meeting is over. Then speak to your director privately. Ask him/her why you were not given credit when you had prepared the majority of the report. Let them know that it has upset you and you did not appreciate the lack of recognition. Express your feelings and discuss how to work together on future reports and meetings. By doing this, you are establishing a relationship with your director and letting them know that you are not one to be “pushed over”. For some people, this is easier said than done. The introverted employee may not be at ease with this confrontation. However, keeping it bottled up is not going to fix the situation and will only make you an unhappy employee. Without saying anything, the director will not realize his/her mistake and the scenario will re-occur.

The worst thing to do is to make a scene at the meeting. This will upset your director for embarrassing them in front of their colleagues and no good will come out of two people who are angry. It will only create an uncomfortable work environment. Another solution to consider is to invite other committee members to ask you for more information about the report if needed. You will have then discreetly alerted them of your involvement on the report and now, credit is self-awarded.

Wanting to quit is not going to solve anything. We will encounter this situation countless times in our career. The grass is not necessarily greener somewhere else. It's best to simply create open lines of communication, which can lead to a better work environment.

About the Authors and Series

What Would You Do is a weekly column highlighting real life cases involving pharmacist-related work conflicts. Authors include Karine Wong, Pharm. D. and Lois Bui, Pharm. D. Karine has a 10 year history of working in hospital management, and 2 years as a graveyard hospital pharmacist and outpatient pharmacist. Lois has an extensive history working in HR management prior to her pharmacy career.

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