any one with similar experience

[doconeonone]

I am doing my neuro residency. This program is mostly filled with FMGs, cos no american can stand this program due to its work ethics. anyways, I was threatened by my PD saying that if i complain, he would ruin life by messing with my fellowship & license application.
He keeps pulling that trump card on other FMGs resident also, and we are not able to do anything abt it. any advice? Cos I know the hospital will support him cos we are expendable. we feel like slaves. He even prepared us for ACGME survey& One on one interview with them. This Pd is so intimidating.

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[ILEMres]

Although I haven't started residency yet (will in 10 days), I would suggest just dealing with it & going with the flow. Maybe he'll get what's coming to him however, you probably don't want anything to do with that.

 

[UserNameNeeded]

That is just sad. Neuro is 5 years, too, right? What a miserable half decade that must be in a situation like that.

 

[error404]

I'm pretty sure there's a way to do anonymous reporting, but someone else may have better information.

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear about your situation-- it sounds AWFUL.

Secondly, if you complain to the ACGME anonymously, and your program really is in violation, your program director shouldn't be able to identify the whistleblower. (Provided there are more than a couple residents.) You always run some risk (of being identified, hurting future career chances,) but it sounds like you're already at risk.

And answer the ACGME survey honestly. Or else you'll just end up suffering alone and letting future generations suffer too.

 

[doconeonone]

ACGME survey: I know what your r telling me. BUt when the program got low rating, and had the possibility of probation. The chairman and the Pd, held a meeting with all the reisdents & were screaming at us. Again they said "if you are so unhappy with the program you can leave". since then no resident had the guts to write against the program. THis Pd is evil. he exactly knows which button to push to get his desired response. Thanks to u all for the reply.

 

[NeurologyICU]

Very sorry to hear about your experience and I hope someone is able to point out a solution for you here.

I'm going to be applying to Neurology this cycle and if you don't mind to PM me the name of this program, so I can try to avoid it by a 100 miles...

 

[epson]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Before you do anything rash think about this, now sure which year you are in. How badly did you fight and pray to get into a residency? Also, think about how bad it is now, would it be worse if you got fired from a residency and had to try to get into another program?

Don;t take this the wrong way but you worked long and hard to get into a residency program, folks envy you, just look at some threads hear or goto usmleforum.com and see how desparately some IMGs want to get into a program any program.

Can you suck it up and finish, start with the end in mind, how will you feel when spend that last day and walk out the door as Dr. XXX. best way to prove your PD wrong is to finish your training and finish a program. If you can talk to your PD and transfer into a better program that is fine but don;t give up on your residency, as bad as it gets it is worse not finishing your training and then finding that your options are limited. Look at a few threads here from residents that got fired from programs. Prospects are not great.

Good luck, hope it gets better. Life is what you make of it.

 

[doconeonone]

If I were an american, I would have exposed this program..for professional and emotional abuse. My hands are tied. Pls dont come south.

 

[turquoiseblue]

if you have a complaint about your residency program,
click here and send an email or call Marsha Miller.

http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/resInfo/ri_formalcomplaint.asp

Maybe in due time something will happen for the better.

sounds like a scary situation. i was in a similar situation in a different specialty where i had to deal with threats, and i voluntarily resigned from the program out of being scared, but it is tough to nearly impossible to get a residency spot afterwards if you do that. so maybe it's best that you just make do, stay quiet, no complaints, keep your PD happy, 'keep your head down', and live with the tyranny, until your complaint goes through to the ACGME, if at all.

Good luck!

 

[obpgy1]

I am doing my neuro residency. This program is mostly filled with FMGs, cos no american can stand this program due to its work ethics. anyways, I was threatened by my PD saying that if i complain, he would ruin life by messing with my fellowship & license application.
He keeps pulling that trump card on other FMGs resident also, and we are not able to do anything abt it. any advice? Cos I know the hospital will support him cos we are expendable. we feel like slaves. He even prepared us for ACGME survey& One on one interview with them. This Pd is so intimidating.

I don't have too much experience with this, but stay quiet, keep your head down and eat sh!! with a smile until residency is done and get the hell out of there.

Medicine is a small community and PDs are generally pretty worthless and petty people who are on power trips.

And the sad fact is that you aren't in any position to bargain. You're an FMG and although you might have some great credentials getting another residency spot is going to be tough, if not impossible.

As far as "anonymous" reporting goes. I personally feel it's complete BS and that a person who complains/reports violations will get outed somehow. Or the PD/Chair will conduct their own investigation and try to piece it together on their own.

Just count down the days and work through it.

 

[Taurus]

If you complain to the ACGME, your PD sounds like the type who will find out who did it, one way or the other. They will use intimidation and whatever else is up their sleeves. This is how Troy Madsen got forced out of Johns Hopkins' IM program. How Oscar Serano got forced out of Johns Hopkins' surgery program.

My advice to you is to keep your head down, do your work, and keep your mouth shut. You can speak up once you're done.

 

[PharmaTope]

I am doing my neuro residency. This program is mostly filled with FMGs, cos no american can stand this program due to its work ethics. anyways, I was threatened by my PD saying that if i complain, he would ruin life by messing with my fellowship & license application.
He keeps pulling that trump card on other FMGs resident also, and we are not able to do anything abt it. any advice? Cos I know the hospital will support him cos we are expendable. we feel like slaves. He even prepared us for ACGME survey& One on one interview with them. This Pd is so intimidating.

he can't ruin your life if he is dead, just saying.......







not serious

 

[PharmaTope]

If you complain to the ACGME, your PD sounds like the type who will find out who did it, one way or the other. They will use intimidation and whatever else is up their sleeves. This is how Troy Madsen got forced out of Johns Hopkins' IM program. How Oscar Serano got forced out of Johns Hopkins' surgery program.

My advice to you is to keep your head down, do your work, and keep your mouth shut. You can speak up once you're done.

yep, it is unfortunate but you cannot do anything about this unless it was SEXUAL HARASSMENT (HINT HINT, WINK WINK)

i hear a lot of stories like this. they do all they can to screw you and intimidate. i knew a program director that was monitoring everywhere a resident was at all times via swipe card histories. you were in this wing, you were in the cafe here, you went through this door there, etc etc. it was total bull****.

how much longer do you have? is it a lot longer? i hope not. try to hang in there. neurology is a real small world too. any mentors or neurologists you are friends with you can reach out to?

i saw this happen to a psych resident. it was such bull****. the one PD trashed him to other physicians made them doubt the guy at all times and evetually terminated him.

 

[odieoh]

I am doing my neuro residency. This program is mostly filled with FMGs, cos no american can stand this program due to its work ethics. anyways, I was threatened by my PD saying that if i complain, he would ruin life by messing with my fellowship & license application.
He keeps pulling that trump card on other FMGs resident also, and we are not able to do anything abt it. any advice? Cos I know the hospital will support him cos we are expendable. we feel like slaves. He even prepared us for ACGME survey& One on one interview with them. This Pd is so intimidating.

If the PD is actually verbalizing threats of messing with licensure etc, I would have my smartphone in my pocket recording things every time I went in there.

 

[xanthines]

Wiretapping laws vary from state to state so depending on where you are, that might not be a viable option. Also, ratting out programs/companies/bosses never work out well for the whistle blower.

See the following:

http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/Publications/TheNewPhysician/2004/tnp111.aspx
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/o...viation-security-lapses-8693641-80219982.html
http://www.highstrangeness.tv/2945-pentagon-whistleblower-punished-for-telling-the-truth.html
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/08/25/davey
http://marymontserrat-howlett.rushprnews.com/2008/07/08/whistleblower-punished-for-speaking-out
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704588404575124134271085018.html

If the PD is actually verbalizing threats of messing with licensure etc, I would have my smartphone in my pocket recording things every time I went in there.

 

[snowbank]

Sorry to hear your situation doco. I would echo what others have said, in that the cards are stacked against you as an IMG and maybe on a visa. If they kick you out, or you resign voluntarily like turquoise did (which you shouldnt do under any circumstances) you will risk losing your visa and your right to stay in the US. I dont know about your visa issues but I know several people who this happened to and they had to leave....
Just stick it out till the end and pray to whichever deity you believe in that things will get better.....

 

[dragonfly99]

This totally sucks. Your program is malignant. I think that you cannot count on anonymous reporting...you will likely go down if you report something. It's not that hard for the PD to find out who did it. If the ACGME is holding individual interviews with residents, they probably already know that it's a crappy program. If they had any intesting fortitude they'd clean house and shut down these type programs, or put new people in charge. I know it wouldn't be easy, but there's no point in having an ACGME if they aren't going to do anything about these type programs. It is really not realistic for them to think they are going to get real information from residents unless they have REAL anonymous reporting.

As a FMG, you very likely would not get another residency if you get kicked out of or resign from this one (at least not another one in the US). If you want to be a doc in the US, then I'd suggest either sticking it out in your current residency, or quietly look into getting another spot somewhere else. Your PD totally sounds like the vindictive type, though, so it will be very hard for you to switch/leave I would think...usually that requires a decent letter of recommendation from the current PD, which I doubt he would give.

Sometimes FMG's have a hard time adapting to the work load in US residencies. I think a lot of it is that they end up in crappy residencies that overwork residents, but also it may be that they are less "efficient" than US residents due to language and cultural barriers, lack of multiple years of training in US hospitals, etc. Also, if you are an intern, things are likely to get better since intern year is the crappiest one. Just some things to consider. And I'm sorry that your PD is not supportive. Matching is a gamble and unfortunately sometimes people are not what they appear/present themselves to be.

 

[dr2323]

Just to throw my two cents in, I can confirm that if your PD is inclined to abuse his/her power but the restraint not to step over a federally regulated line (e.g. overt racism, sexual harrassment, etc), you have virtually no legal protection and the PD is in the position to damage or destroy your career.

ACGME is toothless, and there is no whistleblower protection, even though ACGME makes all kinds of strong statements that such retaliation won't be tolerated. Even with gross misapplication or violation of ACGME regs in individual cases, as long as the program is "substantially in compliance" with requirements, they'll keep their accreditation, and there will be NO intervention on your behalf.

I tangled with my PD, complained to the DIO and ACGME, and I graduated nonetheless despite many threats such as you've experienced, but I've been fighting for my career ever since. The PD gets an opportunity to attack my reputation every time a request comes to the program for verification of training. It's been a challenge, despite the fact I have the advantage of 20 years of successful (clean record) medical practice before this residency, and a CV full of prestigious American institutions - helps with credentialing committees.

I feel for you. But be careful. You are not existing in a democracy or a domain governed by the rule of law and due process.

 

[dragonfly99]

ACGME is toothless, and there is no whistleblower ...


I feel for you. But be careful. You are not existing in a democracy or a domain governed by the rule of law and due process.

Quoted for truth.

 

[msdb786]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Before you do anything rash think about this, now sure which year you are in. How badly did you fight and pray to get into a residency? Also, think about how bad it is now, would it be worse if you got fired from a residency and had to try to get into another program?

Don;t take this the wrong way but you worked long and hard to get into a residency program, folks envy you, just look at some threads hear or goto usmleforum.com and see how desparately some IMGs want to get into a program any program.

Can you suck it up and finish, start with the end in mind, how will you feel when spend that last day and walk out the door as Dr. XXX. best way to prove your PD wrong is to finish your training and finish a program. If you can talk to your PD and transfer into a better program that is fine but don;t give up on your residency, as bad as it gets it is worse not finishing your training and then finding that your options are limited. Look at a few threads here from residents that got fired from programs. Prospects are not great.

Good luck, hope it gets better. Life is what you make of it.

Hi,
I just wanted to follow up to see if you were able to transfer to another program?

 

[wysdoc]

Hi,
I just wanted to follow up to see if you were able to transfer to another program?

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