11/09/2015    Jeff Kass, DPM

Compliance or Ridiculous?

This past week, I attended a monthly podiatry
division meeting at a restaurant given by a drug
company. A lecture was given and food was served.
A podiatry resident entered the room after the
lecture had ended and had ordered a meal. As he
was about to start eating, a woman rushed to his
table and started "yelling" at him that he
couldn't eat the meal.

She started ranting how he came late after the
lecture and that because of this he wasn't
allowed to eat the meal. The resident was polite
and was trying to explain how he was in a case
and came to the restaurant immediately following
and had just arrived. The woman wasn't interested
and continued to inform him he was not allowed to
eat. Hearing the conversation, I interjected
informing the woman that once the food was put
down on the table the restaurant could by law not
take the food back and so if it was going to be
thrown out she should just let the resident eat
the meal. There was no changing this woman's
mind. The resident at this point decided to
leave.

The food ended up being brought to the resident
as he was exiting the parking lot in his car.
A few days have passed since this episode, but I
am still bothered by it. I understand there are
laws now and this is why we don't get pens, etc.
I get that the idea is you need to be present for
the meal least there be some misconception that a
bribe of some sort is taking place. But, the
individual in question here is a resident.

In the hospitals I work in, the residents don't
even write the scripts the attending needs to
sign them. So where is the bribe here? It's the
politicians who need to be more closely
monitored, not a resident trying to grab dinner
after a case. As president of my division, I
publicly apologize to Jared the resident for
having to deal with her.

Jeff Kass, DPM, Forest Hills, NY

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