After reading Chapter 3 in Frankie Perry's book about Rolling Meadows Community Hospital, (Perry 2002) I wanted to comment on a personal experience I recently had at my own workplace. I was promoted to supervisor after working as a staff pharmacist for three years. In my fourth year in that position, a male manager was hired to be my new boss. I had also applied for this management position, and after rigorous interviewing by a male director and male out-going manager, they offered the job to a male colleague. I accepted their decision and hoped that my new manager and I would have a mentor-type relationship. Things went very well for one year, and then he started to criticize my performance. During this time, he was also accused of sexual harassment by another female colleague, and she decided to leave the company rather than pursue her legal options. My relationship with him was never anything but professional, but I always had the feeling that he was not comfortable with me being female. After one more year of severe criticism, I resigned my position as supervisor. My manager went on to hire a male colleague in my place.
There are many more details to my story, but the bottom line is, I felt that I was being discriminated against because of my gender. There were many examples, but one that comes to mind is when I was told by my manager that it was easier for him to complete disciplinary action with two of my male direct reports "because men can talk to each other better when there aren't any women in the room". To this day, I still do not know what was discussed. I was just told that they had worked it out.
Before I resigned, I met with the Human Resource Director (a female) who completely took my manager's side. There was no support there at all. My manager handed her a completely false list of criticisms about my performance, and she asked me to sign them. I refused to sign the document, and she placed it in my personnel file. Thankfully, I was enrolled in the Human Resources class at the time and my professor advised me that I had two choices - leave the company or move back to a staff position.
My decision to stay on as a staff position has been good. I do not have any direct contact with my manager (who is now the director), but I still feel that I was coerced into resigning as supervisor. I am hopeful that there is a way for women to progress to higher levels of management with men as their bosses, but I also know that gender discrimination is a real problem that can derail a woman's career.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel for me since I am about to graduate with a MSHA degree, and I will be looking for a different position. Hopefully, I will find that mentor I have been looking for!
Reference:
Perry, F. (2002) Chapter 3, Gender discrimination: Rolling meadows
community hospital. The Tracks We Leave: Ethics in Healthcare Management. Chicago: Health Administration Press.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Will reform come for the US Healthcare System?
The United States has a big problem. Equal access to healthcare for every US citizen is not considered a right. Millions have little or no access to basic care, and many middle class citizens can not afford the health insurance being offered by private insurers. (Thomasma 2001)
The reform of our healthcare system seems inevitable, but how (and when) will real change happen? Part of the problem is that there are two different (and opposite) reasons for revamping the system; 1. The ethical concern that basic care should be a right for all citizens and 2. the financial need to control the upward spiral of increasing costs. These interests seem to compete with each other, but other countries are figuring out ways to combine both interests. Greater coverage at less cost is the goal, but is it possible in the United States? (Thomasma 2001)
The most recent place where this debate has taken place is the current presidential election. According to some polls, a national healthcare insurance program is the top priority for many voters. Since we only have two candidates left, I believe my vote will depend on who convinces me that they will keep healthcare as an early priority and be able to carry through on their promises.
John McCain wants to provide affordable access to healthcare for all by "encouraging personal responsibility" and "promote insurance competition". (Henry Kaiser 2008) Families will pay for health insurance with a tax credit, but he does not know how his plan will be paid for. Barack Obama will require all children to be covered, and will increase public plans. Most of the money to pay for his plan comes from discontinuing tax cuts put in place by President Bush. (Henry Kaiser 2008)
Of course, there is much more to each plan, but the bottom line is that McCain is going to expect people to be accountable for their healthcare costs. Obama is going to make health access more available through more government involvement (public programs). I have to believe that Obama's plan has a better chance of implementation if the financing can be figured out. McCain's plan would require a culture shift that may in the end be the better way, but may take many tens of years to implement. I don't think we have that kind of time. Obama's plan will provide universal coverage for children which is so very important, and in my opinion, will be easier to sell to the American public then "personal responsibility."
I do believe we need to be more accountable for how we spend our money, but quality healthcare is going to need both personal and public effort to achieve.
Lynne
references:
Thomasma, David (2001). Access to healthcare. Managing Ethically: An
Executive's Guide. Chicago: Health Administration Press.
Henry Kaiser Family Foundation (2008). 2008 Presidential candidate
health care proposals side-by-side summary. Health08.org.
Retrieved July 16, 2008 from
http://pdf.kff.org/health08/compare_5_16.pdf
The reform of our healthcare system seems inevitable, but how (and when) will real change happen? Part of the problem is that there are two different (and opposite) reasons for revamping the system; 1. The ethical concern that basic care should be a right for all citizens and 2. the financial need to control the upward spiral of increasing costs. These interests seem to compete with each other, but other countries are figuring out ways to combine both interests. Greater coverage at less cost is the goal, but is it possible in the United States? (Thomasma 2001)
The most recent place where this debate has taken place is the current presidential election. According to some polls, a national healthcare insurance program is the top priority for many voters. Since we only have two candidates left, I believe my vote will depend on who convinces me that they will keep healthcare as an early priority and be able to carry through on their promises.
John McCain wants to provide affordable access to healthcare for all by "encouraging personal responsibility" and "promote insurance competition". (Henry Kaiser 2008) Families will pay for health insurance with a tax credit, but he does not know how his plan will be paid for. Barack Obama will require all children to be covered, and will increase public plans. Most of the money to pay for his plan comes from discontinuing tax cuts put in place by President Bush. (Henry Kaiser 2008)
Of course, there is much more to each plan, but the bottom line is that McCain is going to expect people to be accountable for their healthcare costs. Obama is going to make health access more available through more government involvement (public programs). I have to believe that Obama's plan has a better chance of implementation if the financing can be figured out. McCain's plan would require a culture shift that may in the end be the better way, but may take many tens of years to implement. I don't think we have that kind of time. Obama's plan will provide universal coverage for children which is so very important, and in my opinion, will be easier to sell to the American public then "personal responsibility."
I do believe we need to be more accountable for how we spend our money, but quality healthcare is going to need both personal and public effort to achieve.
Lynne
references:
Thomasma, David (2001). Access to healthcare. Managing Ethically: An
Executive's Guide. Chicago: Health Administration Press.
Henry Kaiser Family Foundation (2008). 2008 Presidential candidate
health care proposals side-by-side summary. Health08.org.
Retrieved July 16, 2008 from
http://pdf.kff.org/health08/compare_5_16.pdf
Sunday, July 6, 2008
The ultimate responsibility
As I read "Making Life-Ending Decisions" by Sister Irene Krause, I started to think about why more people do not make plans for their inevitable death. After being bombarded with the much publicized case of Terry Schiavo here in Florida, I am certain that most people are aware of the dangers of not accepting the responsibility of planning for their ultimate end-of-life decisions.
I can certainly understand why it is hard to think about your own mortality, especially if you are still relatively young and healthy. I myself did not draft a living will until after I had two of my three children and decided that I did not want them to have to make hard decisions about my health care. The kindest thing I think you can do for your family is to leave information about how you want to be cared for in a terminal situation.
Sister Krause kindly gives us 5 questions from an ethicist, Elena Muller-Garcia, to consider when trying to determine if a possible medical intervention is worth performing to sustain a life. The idea that we would be creating physical and emotional pain, suppressing mental capacity and spending too much money if heroic measures are used is a helpful guideline in making a decision to end life-support.
I can think of no harder decision that deciding to let someone you love pass away. Everyone's ultimate responsibility should be yto make this decision easier for their caregivers.
Lynne
reference cited:
Krause, Sister Irene (2001) Making life-ending decisions.
Managing Ethically. An Executive's Guide. Chicago: Health
Administration Press.
I can certainly understand why it is hard to think about your own mortality, especially if you are still relatively young and healthy. I myself did not draft a living will until after I had two of my three children and decided that I did not want them to have to make hard decisions about my health care. The kindest thing I think you can do for your family is to leave information about how you want to be cared for in a terminal situation.
Sister Krause kindly gives us 5 questions from an ethicist, Elena Muller-Garcia, to consider when trying to determine if a possible medical intervention is worth performing to sustain a life. The idea that we would be creating physical and emotional pain, suppressing mental capacity and spending too much money if heroic measures are used is a helpful guideline in making a decision to end life-support.
I can think of no harder decision that deciding to let someone you love pass away. Everyone's ultimate responsibility should be yto make this decision easier for their caregivers.
Lynne
reference cited:
Krause, Sister Irene (2001) Making life-ending decisions.
Managing Ethically. An Executive's Guide. Chicago: Health
Administration Press.
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