"The latest Laisvės TV journalistic research shows that the
harassment, exploitation and psychological destruction of doctors is a systemic
problem that is widespread and hidden in almost all Lithuanian hospitals."
Surveys show that at least a third of Lithuanian doctors experience
psychological violence on a daily basis.
The study reveals what methods are being used to destroy the doctor and
force him to quit his job. Documents show that state-funded hospitals
intimidate and legally persecute those medics who dare to talk about the
violence they have experienced.
Experts say the ongoing psychological violence,
exploitation and burnout make medical services unsafe.
Even future doctors face bullying, insults, humiliation and threats already
during their studies. From the first days, they realize that there are
different rules of communication between doctors. "A joke like that: a
woman, it's a temple on two legs. Or: I find the most pleasant sound when a
girl asks to repeat. And this is usually the case if the student asks to
repeat, because she simply did not manage to write down something that the
teacher dictated, ” - said Rasa, a medical student studying at the Lithuanian
University of Health Sciences (LSMU).
Young people in their medical student's years are either
frustrated or learn to adapt to a violent culture.
"Silk wool is made from a student," says A. Gerliakienė.
Representatives of LSMU did not answer the written questions.
Residents are forced to work for free
Later, when the residency begins, future doctors have to endure not only
humiliation - they also have to put up with exploitation. In order to establish
themselves in hospitals, residents are required to work for free during their
holidays, to be on duty instead of their managers, and even to write research
papers for them. "I remember working all night and wanting to go home the
next day. I’m already putting things in when one doctor comes and says, where
are you going? How are you going home here? You what, not a man? What will you
do at home? I say: I would like to sleep. He just laughed,
and went away,” - says surgeon Vytautas, who did a residency in Kaunas clinics. The
Laisvės TV research shows real documents of Kaunas clinics, which show that the
official schedules according to which salaries are paid do not correspond to
reality. There are cases where a young doctor has a day off scheduled, even though
patient examination reports show that the doctor actually worked. And he didn't
get a penny for it. “The time sheet that is on the paper, it does not correspond to
reality even 5 percent. In my practice, I did not receive at least one extra
euro for the hours worked during my employment,” - said the resident Vytautas.
Tomas Lapinskas, one of the managers of Kaunas clinics, says that the hospital
administration learned about this problem recently and has now started looking
for solutions.
The method of destruction is the manipulation of the work schedule
Not only young but also experienced doctors face psychological violence
in Lithuanian hospitals. The Laisvės TV study highlights key methods used to
disrupt an unbehaving physician. One of the most common methods of mobbing is
everyday schedule. Danutė Andriulienė, the head of the cardiology department of
Šiauliai Hospital, suffered from the schedule of her line manager for two
years. The hospital management illegally restricted her ability to perform her
duties and she was forced to resign. "I can say: get up in the morning,
brush your teeth, and feel sick, you can't brush your teeth. It was a
humiliation, the crush was complete," - said the cardiologist. Finally, D.
Andriulienė appealed to the Labor Disputes Commission and proved that she was
forced to work in emotionally unhealthy working conditions. She received
compensation of € 500. Remigijus Mažeika, the former head of Šiauliai Hospital,
says that the hospital did not agree with the conclusions of the labor dispute
commission, but they were not disputed out of respect for the doctor.
Another method of psychological pressure is to change work schedules.
Doctors often work in more than one hospital to earn a decent salary.
So they desperately need a flexible work schedule. And that gives extra
power to their managers, who can use schedules as a means of pressure. If the
doctor does not suit his / her supervisor, his / her work schedule may be
arranged in such a way that additional work, studies or raising children
becomes impossible. “Because I was studying, I said from the beginning that I
wanted to work nights and days in a row to simply have more of those holidays. They made me
work for days from Monday to Friday, ” - says Jurga, an assistant nurse working in
a Vilnius hospital.
Crying surgeon request: allow surgery
Deprivation of surgery or patients from another doctor is another common
method of psychological violence. "One surgeon from an adjacent ward tried
to kill himself precisely because he was deprived of all operations," - says
A. Gerliakienė, the head of the Medical Movement. Lina, who worked in the
Vilnius Medical Institution, tells a similar story: “I saw a surgeon standing
at the door of his Department head's office and begging him to have more surgery. The
request ended in tears. The male surgeon cried. And says: I have a family, I
have children, give me a job. And the head replies: Go away from my office.”
The study tells a specific story when two surgeons from Klaipėda
University Hospital were left without surgery because they were critical of the
management of the pandemic at that treatment facility. In retaliation, one of
the surgeons was overwhelmed with official warnings.
The leader's command to the team is to ignore one colleague
There are also cases when the managers of a medical institution turn one
unbehaving doctor into a target for the whole team. "When you come to
work, you say 'hello', but if there is a boss, all the colleagues even turn
away," says psychologist Janina, who worked in Šiauliai. "You go
alone and see that everyone is somehow avoiding you, they are afraid to
communicate." Although Janina initially rejected the offer, she eventually
decided to leave the job, unable to endure the psychological pressure and
reduction in number of patients. "One employee went to the office secretly, the one with whom we
agreed very well. Imagine: see if anyone sees, comes to my office, hugs,
kisses, wishes to have a good road, a good life. And when she needs to leave the
office, she says: open the door, see if anyone can see it,” - says Janina.
Classical threat - audit threat
Sometimes, in order to get rid of an unbehaving doctor, efforts are
made to find even the slightest medical errors. Then even a trifle can make a
doctor lose his job. Last year, Izabelė Juškienė, a family doctor at Antakalnis
Polyclinic, was fired. During the pandemic, she headed outpatient fever clinics
where COVID-19 tests were performed. One of the tests was not delivered to the
laboratory on time. It was decided that this was a grave violation and Izabelė
was fired. The secret audio recordings held by Laisvės TV reveal how Evaldas
Navickas, the director of Antakalnis Polyclinic, was pressuring just before her
dismissal. "There are two options," - E. Navickas said in the
recording. - "Either you write a request and quit voluntarily (you don't
have to smile here, there's a very serious offer here), or we'll actually do an
audit that will put you to shame in this office." She applied to the Labor
Disputes Commission and achieved a kind of victory there - Antakalnis Polyclinic
concluded a peace agreement with the doctor. The serious violation allegedly
committed by the doctor was revoked, and the grounds for dismissal were changed
to dismissal by consensus. Antakalnis Polyclinic also paid compensation of about
20 thousand euros. Rūta Vanagienė, a representative of Antakalnis Polyclinic,
stated that after concluding a peace agreement with the doctor, both parties
had signed a confidentiality agreement, so they could not comment on the
situation.
Most doctors feel burnout
Surveys of doctors show that more than 60 percent Lithuanian medics need however do
not seek psychological help. They are afraid that this will be known at work
and that they will be ashamed of it.
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