Physicians have the daunting task of not only being exemplary in their field, but running a business at the same time. One of the worst things you have to deal with is having to fire someone on your staff. Sometimes they hold on year after year and sometimes it’s because the doctor can’t work up the courage to let them go. But there are four reasons why they should.
1. Patients deserve better
2. Co-workers deserve better
3. The practice deserves better
4. YOU deserve better
An office with a bad apple is not good for the rest of the staff. It creates low productivity in the office, problems within the office and problems among the office staff and makes the work environment suffer. It’s interesting when that person is on vacation or has called in sick, the office seems to be at peace and functions better. You wouldn’t want to lose your best employees to a bad one. That is a sign that this person needs to leave.
If employees are caught in a serious policy violation or have placed a patient or co-worker in danger, the best time to terminate them is when all the facts have been accumulated and verified. It should not persist for weeks or even days. It is best to handle the situation as soon as possible. When someone has been fired, they should leave immediately. You never want to fire someone and then tell them we’d like you to finish the week. That could cause another set of problems. What do they have to lose at that point? It is not known what they might do to retaliate.
Another suggestion is to fire the person during the week and not on a Friday because he will have the weekend to think about his condition. By doing it during the week, this gives the person an immediate incentive to look for another position.
Termination must take place in private and with the presence of another staff member. This is very important, especially if the doctor and staff member are of the opposite sex. The process should be short and direct. Make it clear that you are determined and that there is no room for negotiations. There’s no need to bring up everything the person has or hasn’t done because you don’t want to get into an argument.
Document the meeting and keep it in the employee file. It is always good to keep good records from the beginning of a person’s employment and it is also good to have a performance review from time to time that can also be documented and placed in the employee file.