Nephrology Clinic Case Summary

Background Statement
This case study involves an office manager of a nephrology clinic and the Chief Medical Officer. The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rosenberg, established a scheduling policy, stating doctors are not to cancel their appointments unless there is a family emergency, and the cancellation needs to be approved. In this case, the office manager, Sandra, allowed one of the doctors of the practice, Dr. Griffith, to cancel his afternoon appointments so that he could go golfing. Sandra and Dr. Griffith are friends, so Sandra approves this without first getting the approval from the Chief Medical Officer, as the policy states. Another co-worker, Tanya, overhears the conversation and tells Dr. Rosenberg (who asked Tanya to spy for him), …show more content…
They obviously have gained the trust of their community and are held to high standards. Dr. Griffith is said to be impressive, with no complaints. Overall, it seems that this organization runs smoothly and is successful, but from the information presented in this case, we can see that the organization has many weaknesses. One being issues within management. At one point, Dr. Griffith did not want to create an issue with the CMO and decides to stay out of the situation with Sandra. In a properly functioning management system, the staff should be able to approach upper management and create a healthier internal environment. The regional manager was even afraid to approach the practicing physicians. The CMO is considered the leader of the organization and should have absolutely refocused the policy on cancellations and reprimand both responsible parties. Unit coordination is also a weakness within this team. Tanya was recruited by the CMO to essentially spy on the other staff. As a leader, the CMO should have trust in the staff that they will complete their work while the CMO is out of the office. This builds high morale and overall