Residency Program Sued Over Drug Testing Of Resident

[2021Doctor]

A former participant in Augusta University’s neurosurgery residency program has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the school and state officials, saying she was singled out to take multiple, random drug tests and eventually forced from the program because she is a woman.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Fulton County Superior Court by Sarah Kavianpour, says the drug tests violated state and federal policy. Kavianpour said she was the only woman in the seven-member program and the male participants weren’t tested.
Kavianpour said none of the tests showed drugs in her system. She said program administrators made false claims, including saying she was on a random drug testing program as a condition of her employment. The lawsuit says one official, John Lott, recognized the university’s “unlawful actions” but was removed from his position by other officials who are defendants in the case.

Gender discrimination suit filed against Augusta University

Neurosurgery resident files gender discrimination lawsuit against Augusta University, state officials

www.ajc.com

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dave1980]

Probably because she got a DUI

https://augustacrime.com/sarah-kavianpour/

 

[Dave1980]

Just read the article. She couldn't take a test because she was on a sick day and one of the tests came back as dilute. That sounds shady AF.

 

[hallowmann]

Probably because she got a DUI

Could certainly be the reason, but that didn't stop a surgery resident in my institution from getting a competitive fellowship a year after their DUI. Also, looks like she got the DUI after they started drug testing her.

Just read the article. She couldn't take a test because she was on a sick day and one of the tests came back as dilute. That sounds shady AF.

I was curious, so I read it. She had a total of 8 drug tests across a 6 month period. One happened to be ordered during a sick day, and another she had to repeat because it was too dilute and she did. That's really not all that shady. Having too dilute urine for drug tests happens if you just happen to drink a lot of water that day. Given that all tests came back negative and she had multiple that were negative in addition to those "shady" ones over a pretty short period, I think its pretty unlikely she actually was taking anything.

Personally, I think the DUI should probably be enough in and of itself, but there are probably thousands of doctors that have DUIs on their record.

 

[Dave1980]

I don't disagree with anything you are saying and good detective work seeing that the drug testing started before the DUI.

Overall this story just doesn't pass the sniff test for me. Why would the same people who recruited you for their program turn around and fire you a few months later unless there were serious issues? Minorities and women are coveted members in programs that lack diversity. She was both...I'm sure they were pumped when she matched there. For this to actually be a case of gender discrimination seems highly unlikely. They also filled her empty spot with another minority woman.

On the face of it is seems like her being a woman seemed to give her a big boost. She only has 2 publications listed on pubmed and they are from 6 and 8 years ago.

And yes I am somewhat ashamed by how invested I seem to have gotten into this random story that has nothing to do with me.

 

[Goro]

I don't disagree with anything you are saying and good detective work seeing that the drug testing started before the DUI.

Overall this story just doesn't pass the sniff test for me. Why would the same people who recruited you for their program turn around and fire you a few months later unless there were serious issues? Minorities and women are coveted members in programs that lack diversity. She was both...I'm sure they were pumped when she matched there. For this to actually be a case of gender discrimination seems highly unlikely. They also filled her empty spot with another minority woman.

On the face of it is seems like her being a woman seemed to give her a big boost. She only has 2 publications listed on pubmed and they are from 6 and 8 years ago.

And yes I am somewhat ashamed by how invested I seem to have gotten into this random story that has nothing to do with me.

Residency dismissals are the zebras of medical employment.

Being a firm believer in that there are always two sides to every story, is it likely that this woman was on someone's radar for a reason???

 

[DoctwoB]

Obviously we’re only hearing one side of the story, who knows where the truth lies. I will say though that a female or minority resident at a small “old school” program in a male dominated field being forced out without firing through discriminatory behavior would sadly not be surprising to me. I personally know a few women who transitioned specialties for this very reason, both at small surgical programs in the south. If this is true (once again, I have no thoughts/insight on the facts of the case) then the program and everyone involved need to be taken to task and made example of.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Yeah, I generally don’t know how to take these kinds of stories. It is abundantly clear that minorities and women can be discriminated against in any field, but without the program’s side of the story it is difficult to accept these claims at face value.It’s probably best to wait for the case to actually be tried before passing judgement when we can see the entire case laid out, but these kinds of one-sided articles sure are juicy click-bait...

FWIW, even if the DUI came after she started the random drug tests, it’s entirely believable to me that she was being tested for reasons that have nothing to do with her gender or race.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Smells like the story of the resident that got fired because she was “discriminated against” for “having cancer”. When the actual court documents come out I suspect we’ll get a whole different side of the story.

 

[Mass Effect]

FWIW, even if the DUI came after she started the random drug tests, it’s entirely believable to me that she was being tested for reasons that have nothing to do with her gender or race.

This.

I actually find it more troubling that the DUI came after testing started. Putting aside the millions of reasons she shouldn't be drinking and driving (first and foremost, even if you don't care if you kill yourself, it's also my life you're playing with on the road), she knew she was on the radar at her program. Why would she risk it like that? Had the DUI happened before testing, I'd (a) understand testing and (b) think maybe it was a one-time lapse in judgment. The fact that it came after/during testing tells me there's more to the story here and perhaps the program had reason to believe she had a problem.

 

[MeoMio]

This.

I actually find it more troubling that the DUI came after testing started. Putting aside the millions of reasons she shouldn't be drinking and driving (first and foremost, even if you don't care if you kill yourself, it's also my life you're playing with on the road), she knew she was on the radar at her program. Why would she risk it like that? Had the DUI happened before testing, I'd (a) understand testing and (b) think maybe it was a one-time lapse in judgment. The fact that it came after/during testing tells me there's more to the story here and perhaps the program had reason to believe she had a problem.

In that case shouldn't the testing have been for cause rather than random?

 

[Mass Effect]

In that case shouldn't the testing have been for cause rather than random?

Just because she says it wasn't for cause doesn't mean it wasn't. Frankly, the fact that she got a DUI while being drug/alcohol tested makes me question her judgement. A physician with a DUI should absolutely be held accountable by the medical board and perhaps I'm being harsh, but I think any discipline they face should follow them the rest of their career. There should be long-term consequences for that kind of nonsense. It's not a mistake. It's deliberate disregard for the safety of others.

 

[hallowmann]

Just because she says it wasn't for cause doesn't mean it wasn't. Frankly, the fact that she got a DUI while being drug/alcohol tested makes me question her judgement. A physician with a DUI should absolutely be held accountable by the medical board and perhaps I'm being harsh, but I think any discipline they face should follow them the rest of their career. There should be long-term consequences for that kind of nonsense. It's not a mistake. It's deliberate disregard for the safety of others.

I also completely agree with this. That said, we know nothing really about this case. She certainly may have been discriminated against and the stress associated with that may have resulted in her doing things she normally wouldn't. She also could be someone who displayed symptoms of problematic drinking or intoxication, prompting them to drug test in the first place, and just happened to get caught driving while intoxicated.

The whole thing is speculation at this point. I will also say that even if the latter is true, it doesn't mean she wasn't discriminated against. Its very possible that had she been a Caucasian male in that program they would have been more lenient with her. That doesn't necessarily mean she wouldn't deserve dismissal, but simply that these cases tend to be more complex.

 

[Mass Effect]

I also completely agree with this. That said, we know nothing really about this case. She certainly may have been discriminated against and the stress associated with that may have resulted in her doing things she normally wouldn't. She also could be someone who displayed symptoms of problematic drinking or intoxication, prompting them to drug test in the first place, and just happened to get caught driving while intoxicated.

The whole thing is speculation at this point. I will also say that even if the latter is true, it doesn't mean she wasn't discriminated against. Its very possible that had she been a Caucasian male in that program they would have been more lenient with her. That doesn't necessarily mean she wouldn't deserve dismissal, but simply that these cases tend to be more complex.

Agreed, but I have very low tolerance for DUIs. Even if she was discriminated against or acting as she normally wouldn't, etc, it doesn't excuse the DUI. Until you can prove you're not a danger to others, you shouldn't be allowed to continue in a field where you hold other people's lives in your hands, especially as a neurosurgeon.

 

[operaman]

Oh my, another one of these. This will probably cost me my medal in the woke olympics but I just don’t buy that this kind of blatant discrimination truly happens. I think a lot of people like to claim it, especially against southern programs that happen to be in a region of the country with a terrible track record on that front, but I’ve yet to see it pan out as true.

It’s a convenient thing to claim, especially when federal employment law basically requires you be part of a protected class. Based on the story so far, people I know at that program, and their choice of replacement, I’m gonna say 0.00001% chance that there was any kind of discrimination at play here.

Here’s my guess at the real story:
Girl had a solid app and program was excited to get her but showed up as the worlds worst resident. Multiple issues with judgement, professionalism, etc. Program likely worked hard to remediate her and like many who come under the microscope, she probably starting getting worse and coping poorly. They probably had good reason so suspect substance use and appropriately ordered testing just like any of our institutions would do to us the moment there was any cause for suspicion. Once it was clear they couldn’t remediate her they dismissed her from their program.

Sadly this will probably get tossed in summary judgement and we will never get to see the other side.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Trying to discern what actually happened from a plaintiffs complaint is an exercise in futility.

 

[Raryn]

Probably because she got a DUI

Thread should have ended here. In and of itself this shows poor judgement - poor enough to get yourself fired from most training programs.

 

[PieOHmy]

I don't condone drinking while driving but 1st offense should end someone's career and livelihood. Seems kinda harsh.

 

[deleted480308]

I don't condone drinking while driving but 1st offense should end someone's career and livelihood. Seems kinda harsh.

As you should be in jail for years, it should definitely delay that career

 

[PieOHmy]

As you should be in jail for years, it should definitely delay that career

come again

 

[deleted480308]

come again

A drunk driver should go to jail, which would delay their residency training

 

[Mass Effect]

I don't condone drinking while driving but 1st offense should end someone's career and livelihood. Seems kinda harsh.

First offense can end someone's life. Why shouldn't it end the driver's career? No sympathy from me.

 

[PieOHmy]

A drunk driver should go to jail, which would delay their residency training

You think first offense drunk driver should spend be punished by jail time?

 

[PieOHmy]

First offense can end someone's life. Why shouldn't it end the driver's career? No sympathy from me.

That is not even reasonable. You aren't allowed to weigh in on this anymore.

 

[Mass Effect]

That is not even reasonable. You aren't allowed to weigh in on this anymore.

I'm just going leave this here so others can reflect on the absurdity of it.

 

[deleted480308]

You think first offense drunk driver should spend be punished by jail time?

I stated so clearly, twice prior but I can do it again. Drunk drivers should go to jail

 

[rokshana]

You think first offense drunk driver should spend be punished by jail time?

Yes...you think this is the first time that they drank and drove.? Just the first time they got caught.

 

[PieOHmy]

I stated so clearly, twice prior but I can do it again. Drunk drivers should go to jail

I dont drink. never had a DUI but i still dont think that's reasonable.. I would get behind eliminating alcohol from society period before i would agree with jail time for the first offense..

 

[rokshana]

I dont drink. never had a DUI but i still dont think that's reasonable.. I would get behind eliminating alcohol from society period before i would agree with jail time for the first offense..

So say the first time someone robs someone or assaults someone, or sells cocaine...they should not serve jail time?

Basically you are tacitly saying that driving drunk really isn’t that bad...

 

[PieOHmy]

So say the first time someone robs someone or assaults someone, or sells cocaine...they should not serve jail time?

Basically you are tacitly saying that driving drunk really isn’t that bad...

Punishment doesn't fit the crime.
If they were 7x the legal limit and killed someone, sure. If they are barely over the limit asking for jail time is absurd.

 

[nofliesonme]

Someone with a level 7x over the legal limit would not have to go to jail, they would be in the mortuary.
The LD 50 for alcohol is .40. So if driving 4000 pounds of steel at 60mph 12 inches away from a family isn't jail worthy,
how would you feel about an intoxicated surgeon operating?

 

[Apollyon]

Yes...you think this is the first time that they drank and drove.? Just the first time they got caught.

I read somewhere in the distant past that the average drunk driver drives drunk about 100 times before they're caught.

 

[rokshana]

Punishment doesn't fit the crime.
If they were 7x the legal limit and killed someone, sure. If they are barely over the limit asking for jail time is absurd.

No it seems that you don’t think it really IS a crime...

 

[Mass Effect]

Punishment doesn't fit the crime.
If they were 7x the legal limit and killed someone, sure. If they are barely over the limit asking for jail time is absurd.

It's honestly cringe-worthy that you think this. Frankly, I think that if you drive drunk even one time (which, come on, people never drive drunk "just once"), you lose the privilege of a driver's license for life and you serve a jail sentence of one year, assuming you didn't hit anyone/anything.

 

[deleted480308]

I dont drink. never had a DUI but i still dont think that's reasonable.. I would get behind eliminating alcohol from society period before i would agree with jail time for the first offense..

Your drinking habits have no relevance to how much someone who risks others lives with problem drinking should be punished

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

It's honestly cringe-worthy that you think this. Frankly, I think that if you drive drunk even one time (which, come on, people never drive drunk "just once"), you lose the privilege of a driver's license for life and you serve a jail sentence of one year, assuming you didn't hit anyone/anything.

I think that may be a bit harsh, but there definitely needs to be more than the nothing that some are suggesting and I don't really like how often people get a 30 day suspended license and probation.

That said, a repeat offense, even if no harm to others is done, should be punished quite severely since you clearly didn't learn anything from the first time.

 

[rokshana]

I think that may be a bit harsh, but there definitely needs to be more than the nothing that some are suggesting and I don't really like how often people get a 30 day suspended license and probation.

That said, a repeat offense, even if no harm to others is done, should be punished quite severely since you clearly didn't learn anything from the first time.

In Virginia, you do lose your license for a year, period.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

In Virginia, you do lose your license for a year, period.

I think here in SC it's 60 days immediately, can be more depending on what the judge does.

 

[PieOHmy]

why dont they just make drinking ANY alcohol unlawful regardless of the amount

 

[deleted480308]

why dont they just make drinking ANY alcohol unlawful regardless of the amount

I would be fine with that for driving

 

[FalconSlice]

I dont drink. never had a DUI but i still dont think that's reasonable.. I would get behind eliminating alcohol from society period before i would agree with jail time for the first offense..

Regardless of what you believe, most of the 50 states have jail time as a requirement (or at least a very real possibility) even for first-time DUI offense. DUI Laws by State

To weigh in with my personal opinion: it only takes one instance of drunk driving to destroy and end lives... one DUI is one too many. Having harsh penalties for any DUI is one way governments try to prevent this (along with those commercials ad nauseam "buzzed driving is drunk driving," etc.). I can express more Draconian thoughts, but on an online forum... we all know how that'll go. So I'll stop now.

why dont they just make drinking ANY alcohol unlawful regardless of the amount

Umm... you mean like... Prohibition? Wonder what George Santayana would say...

 

[nofliesonme]

why dont they just make drinking ANY alcohol unlawful regardless of the amount

Remember prohibition? It still doesn't work.
Are you really an attending?

 

[PieOHmy]

Remember prohibition? It still doesn't work.
Are you really an attending?

No im not im a pretending

 

[PieOHmy]

Regardless of what you believe, most of the 50 states have jail time as a requirement (or at least a very real possibility) even for first-time DUI offense. DUI Laws by State

To weigh in with my personal opinion: it only takes one instance of drunk driving to destroy and end lives... one DUI is one too many. Having harsh penalties for any DUI is one way governments try to prevent this (along with those commercials ad nauseam "buzzed driving is drunk driving," etc.). I can express more Draconian thoughts, but on an online forum... we all know how that'll go. So I'll stop now.



Umm... you mean like... Prohibition? Wonder what George Santayana would say...

WHy don't you advocate charging people for attempted murder for a dui? WHy stop there? How about making it a capital offense? Life sentence for the 1st offense?

 

[BoardingDoc]

WHy don't you advocate charging people for attempted murder for a dui? WHy stop there? How about making it a capital offense? Life sentence for the 1st offense?

Because that isn't the crime they are committing. Drunk drivers should be charged with the equivalent to whatever the state's reckless endangerment statute is. In most states, that includes the possibility of jail time, and appropriately so.

 

[FalconSlice]

WHy don't you advocate charging people for attempted murder for a dui? WHy stop there? How about making it a capital offense? Life sentence for the 1st offense?

I will reply to your post by quoting my previous post. See bolded portion:

I can express more Draconian thoughts, but on an online forum... we all know how that'll go. So I'll stop now.

:troll:

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I'm just going leave this here so others can reflect on the absurdity of it.

You can tell that to the husband of my sister’s friend. A first offense drunk driver blew through a red light and killed her. Or my shipmate who spent a month in the ICU after a first offense drunk driver plowed into his motorcycle at a red light. If you drive drunk you put everyone on the road at risk. If you get lucky and happened to get caught before you kill or maim someone, you shouldn’t get off easy because you got caught first.

 

[PieOHmy]

You can tell that to the husband of my sister’s friend. A first offense drunk driver blew through a red light and killed her. Or my shipmate who spent a month in the ICU after a first offense drunk driver plowed into his motorcycle at a red light. If you drive drunk you put everyone on the road at risk. If you get lucky and happened to get caught before you kill or maim someone, you shouldn’t get off easy because you got caught first.

Listen I get it!!!!

But I think you're beef is with the alcoholic beverage industry who I would guarantee is lobbying to make it more lenient. Make it more strict and less people will drink and drive and by proxy less people will drink period. Bad for business.

It would be interesting to know the dui incidence in other countries.

I know with me I started not drinking when I would drive. I would not have one drop of alcohol when i went out if i was driving. This went on for a bit. then i found out how stupid drinking is, so i stopped completely. I have no use for it. I cant even be around people when theyve been drinking.

 

[deleted480308]

Listen I get it!!!!

But I think you're beef is with the alcoholic beverage industry who I would guarantee is lobbying to make it more lenient. Make it more strict and less people will drink and drive and by proxy less people will drink period. Bad for business.

It would be interesting to know the dui incidence in other countries.

I know with me I started not drinking when I would drive. I would not have one drop of alcohol when i went out if i was driving. This went on for a bit. then i found out how stupid drinking is, so i stopped completely. I have no use for it. I cant even be around people when theyve been drinking.

if that is true about industry (and likely is) then the problem is with industry AND you.

You said the punishment shouldn't end a career and shouldn't include jail at first. You said that

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Listen I get it!!!!

But I think you're beef is with the alcoholic beverage industry who I would guarantee is lobbying to make it more lenient. Make it more strict and less people will drink and drive and by proxy less people will drink period. Bad for business.

It would be interesting to know the dui incidence in other countries.

I know with me I started not drinking when I would drive. I would not have one drop of alcohol when i went out if i was driving. This went on for a bit. then i found out how stupid drinking is, so i stopped completely. I have no use for it. I cant even be around people when theyve been drinking.

The industry shares some blame but no one puts a gun to your head and makes you drink let alone drink and drive. It’s been shown that speeding tickets are effective at stopping people from speeding. If we were as strict on enforcement of DUIs as we are on speeding, I bet the incidence would drop.

There are just so many ways to prevent drinking and driving, there’s just no excuse.

My wife and I also don’t drink. Haven’t had any alcohol in 7 years.