Med-Student claims unnecessary discipline by department

A first-year McGill medical resident at St. Mary’s Hospital claims he is being punished by the McGill faculty of Medicine for standing up for patients.

According to the McGill Daily, Dr. Alexander Nataros received a dying patient last November after senior doctors made what he said were “significant life-threatening medical errors.”

Nataros says that by correcting and reporting the errors allegedly made by senior physicians, he was able to save the patient’s life.

In a meeting last December, two of the physicians arrived with several letters written by different doctors stating that they found it difficult to work with Dr. Nataros.

But Nataros isn’t the only one who finds talking to their supervisors challenging.

Other residents say they’ve experienced humiliation when asking questions to their supervisors.

This in turn discourages open communication and can be detrimental to patient care.

A medical resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told the McGill Daily that someone in a position of power can so easily shame and embarrass young doctors if they feel their authority challenged.

Nataros is currently on a forced paid leave of absence.

The incident is still under investigation.

Flickr Photo by: cursedthing

STORY WRITTEN BY: JENNA MONNEY-LUPERT