You are the administrator of the surgical department of a busy teaching hospital located in an urban area. You have two anesthesiologists on staff and are actively recruiting for a third in order to be able to meet the demands of your surgical department.

Earlier today your surgical nurse manager, Jane, came to you concerned about Dr. Jones, your senior anesthesiologist. Jane reported to you her concerns that Dr. Jones may be coming to work intoxicated and consuming alcohol while supervising surgical procedures. Upon review of Dr. Jones' employee file, you realize this is not the first time a complaint has been made about him. There are two previous complaints in his file, one made by a nurse who he allegedly was verbally abusive toward, and a second made by another physician who accused Dr. Jones of parking in the on-call physician parking space when he was not the on-call physician. The documentation for both complaints is sparse, but completed correctly, and Dr. Jones was disciplined with a verbal warning each time. There have been no further issues until today. There is currently a shortage of anesthesiologists in your area, and without Dr. Jones, your department can only run at half function.

Your second anesthesiologist is new to the department and has recently expressed dissatisfaction with her schedule, she would like to reduce her hours as soon as possible. You know you need to address Jane's complaint, and schedule a meeting for later this morning with Dr. Jones, but you are worried about the possible ramifications.

1. What are some of the things you need to do prior to meeting with Dr. Jones to discuss the complaint? Remember, you MUST follow employment/HR law.
2. Discuss how you would address the complaint? What would you say to Dr. Jones? What would you say to Jane?
3. Would you discipline Dr. Jones? If so, what would you do? If not, why? Provide support for your answer. (Hint: think ADA/Addiction vs lapse in judgment)
4. Are there options other than discipline for addressing the concern with Dr. Jones? If so, what are the other options? (Hint: think Employee Assistance Programs)
5. What can you do to help your new anesthesiologist adjust to your department? Are you able to help her with her schedule? If so, how? (Hint: think employment law, contract law, and what happens if she quits).

Make sure to provide references