Alia Paavola, Beckers Hospital Review, October 15th, 2019.
A former clinical pharmacist at Strong Memorial Hospital has filed a lawsuit claiming the Rochester, N.Y.-based provider fired her after she reported patient safety concerns and harassment, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.
Rabia Stevenson, PharmD, is suing the University of Rochester and its Strong Memorial Hospital in New York Supreme Court.
Dr. Stevenson claims that when she began reporting misconduct and mistakes by her white, male co-workers, she began receiving “misogynistic, racist and religiously intolerant comments.”
The lawsuit states that nothing was done by the hospital when she reported the comments or raised patient safety concerns. Instead, her supervisor began collecting complaints about her from co-workers, the lawsuit claims.
Dr. Stevenson ultimately was fired in October 2017 for violating patient privacy by accessing a patient chart after her shift had ended, according to the report.
Dr. Stevenson said she had been working late and was following a plan from her direct supervisor when she accessed the chart.
A University of Rochester hospital spokesperson told the Democrat & Chronicle that “the university takes allegations of any type of discrimination or harassment very seriously, and we are confident that any concerns previously brought to our attention were promptly and thoroughly investigated.”