PSYC305-Leadership and Motivation

Scenario

As leaders, there are times in our lives when we will be faced with very difficult moral dilemmas. And even more, when we lead teams of people, we will find ourselves helping them navigate their difficulties. So, here's the scenario.

The hospital's newest employee, Tom, a bright medical social worker has a full case load. Tom has been on this job for 3 months, but is a seasoned professional in this field.

However, Tom's past experience is from a small hospital with a caseload of 12 patients per week. Here at Mercy Hospital, he has a caseload of 45 patients each week. he is required to the do the following:

1. Lead a Coping Skills group twice a day

2. Call and schedule services for 9 patients per day

3. Meet with 4-7 patients per day

4. Close 20 cases per week

Tom is feeling overwhelmed by the high volume. Each of his cases are protected by strict HIPAA laws. But he doesn't want to appear incapable by his new boss. Tom takes 10 of his files to his home and works on the patient information there. One day, while looking through the files at home, he realized that 2 of the folders were missing. The folders contain patients' full names, diagnosis, home address, etc.

Truth is, Tom only takes paper copies of his patient files with him to his home, so his supervisor would never know that he had misplaced his patients' personal and medical information as he can still access the originals saved on his computer at work. What is unsettling for him is that he can't find the paper copies of 2 of his patients. Tom recently had about 20 people in his apartment for a "Goodbye" party for his younger brother heading off to college, so lots of unfamiliar people had access to the files that sat on his desk. Tom alls you panicking because he can't find the files. What should Tom do in this situation?

Consider:

1. What is Tom's responsibility?

2. What are the patient rights?

3. What is the hospital protocol?

4. Would Tom make a good leader?