u/Tinpocket6

This literally happened during my morning shift and I still have adrenaline pumping through my system. I am a PGY2 general surgery resident and my attending is one of those old school guys who treats everyone like a servant. He is technically brilliant but has the emotional stability of a toddler.

We were finishing up a routine laparoscopic case. Everything went smoothly, no complications, patient was stable. The attending was in a massive rush because he apparently had some private clinic patients waiting across town. As we were closing up the ports, he aggressively pulled the light cord and camera attachment off the console. I saw him yank the fiber optic cable instead of disconnecting the adapter properly. I was busy finishing the skin sutures so I didnt say anything in the moment because you do not correct this guy unless you want to get screamed at in front of the entire OR crew.

Fast forward to three hours later. I am in the resident lounge trying to swallow some cold coffee when my program director calls my cell. She tells me to come to her office immediately. When I walk in, my attending is sitting there looking like he is about to explode. He points at me and says I mishandled the scope during cleanup and shattered the internal glass elements. He claimed he saw me drop the camera head onto the stainless steel cart. The cost to replace or fix this specific scope is thousands of dollars, and since it belongs to a specialized surgical suite, our department is losing their minds over the downtime.

I was completely blindsided. I told the PD exactly what happened, that I was occupied with closing the incisions and that the attending was the one who disconnected the equipment in a rush. The attending immediately flipped out, called me a liar, and said my incompetence is a liability to the program. The worst part is that the scrub tech in the room is a traveling nurse who has only been here for two weeks. She was already busy counting instruments and cleaning up the back table, so she told the supervisor she did not actually see who unplugged what .

So now my PD is launching a formal review because the attending wants a reprimand placed in my file. If this note goes into my permanent record, it ruins my chances for the fellowship I have been working toward for the last four years. I am so sick of residents being the default scapegoats for these miserable old bastards who cannot admit they made a mistake. They have all the power, their word is treated like scripture, and we just have to sit here and take the hit for their expensive screw ups.

I have to meet with the risk management rep tomorrow morning. If anyone has dealt with a toxic attending trying to pin equipment damage on you, please let me know how you handled the investigation. I am losing my mind.