Case Study: Molly

Case Study 3: Molly

Kayla Colombo

December 08, 2014

COMM 215

Currently, Molly has had some issues with the other caregivers slacking off on the job, and is unsure of what may happen if she turned them in.  Molly has worked at Evans House, a local Alzheimer's facility, for roughly six months. Molly has had passion for this kind of work due to her grandfather having Alzheimer's for many years. Molly was fond of her grandfather and took care of him before his death. She grew to have a great mind for the medical field. Evan's House has multiple caregivers that Molly doesn't associate with much. She tends to stay out of there gossiping groups and drama. She has seen them be rough with the patients as well as give medications incorrectly.

As I review her case, I see more and more why Molly would be upset with her fellow coworkers. Molly understands that her patients need her guidance and help on a daily basis, and she feels as though her colleagues are not taking their job seriously. Her coworkers do not even seem to interact with the patients the same way she does. Recently Molly witnessed two of her coworkers trying to cover up an error they had made with medication. Medication for these patients is a severe part of taking care of them.  Molly and the other caregivers are being counted on by the patients' families to facilitate medications correctly and as needed. One of her coworkers administered medication to one patient twice when they were only supposed to receive the medication once that day. Her other coworker gave a rowdier patient a sedative without proper permission.

As I had mentioned before Molly tended to stay out of the other girls business. They often gossiped and took their job so lightly. She also knew that the others weren't very fond of her because she didn't join in on the drama. Knowing that the others didn't care for her made her nervous about telling a supervisor about the dangerous adverse actions that were taking place at the house. She knew that if she told it would be no secret that it was her that opened her mouth. How could she sit back and let them get away with what they were doing? Something serious could happen to a patient if medications kept on being administered incorrectly. As I look in her case, there are a few things that would probably make Molly feel better about letting a manager know of these mishaps.

In the workplace, there is a retaliation law. The retaliation statute was enacted to protect employees who file a complaint of employment discrimination from harmful actions by employees for exercising their rights under equal employment laws. Retaliation is a detrimental action taken by an employer against an employee as a result of the employee's act of seeking remedy from unlawful employment practices. ("Retaliation: legal ramifications and practical implications of discriminatory laws in the workplace," 2010). Molly should know that she cannot be harmed or discriminated against for letting management know what happened in the workplace. She should let a supervisor know that medications were given without permission and that she overheard her coworkers talking about how they had planned to cover it up. If her coworkers were to give her any trouble for doing so their jobs would be in danger of termination. I believe their jobs should already be at risk for what they have done.