Collaborating When there are Differences:                               Case Study  

Continuing to work with Dr. McGinn, we follow her through her career and meet up with her again as she begins a new role with St. Joseph's Assisted Living as Chief Medical Officer.  

St. Joseph's is a publicly funded, privately-run 100 bed residence for semi-autonomous clients.  Although a Catholic institution, it does accept residents of all faiths.  The residence is located in a large urban center but has many residents from the smaller, surrounding communities.

Dr. McGinn is excited with her new role and looks forward to working with a seemingly strong, inclusive and diverse team.   She has met and chatted with each employee, many of whom who are aware of the NBC Pride Month Report in which she shares the story of her trans-gendered journey.    

Dr. McGinn prides herself on keeping an ear to the ground by being personally involved with at least one case a week.  The case she is leading this week is Jim's.  The team's introductory meeting will  discuss care plans, goals, and needs.

The team members are: 

Client:  In this case study, the client, Jim, is a recently admitted 85-year-old gentleman who has lived openly as a gay man since his late 20's.  When Jim came out of the closet, his family, devout Muslims, immediately ostracized him.  Jim has not, however, revealed his sexual orientation to the care team at St. Joseph's.

Family:  Ross is Jim's partner of 25 years.  He is Jim's primary caregiver and support. They have a small close knit family of friends form the gay community but no children of their own or blood-kin.

Physician and Case Lead:  Dr. McGuinn

Unit Lead:  Frank is the supervising RN on the floor.  He is hoping to retire within the next ten years.  A devout Catholic, he misses the daily prayer meetings that St.Joseph's used to have when he first began working there over 25 years ago.  As a Catholic, he is opposed to same-sex marriage and gender reassignment surgery but he feels that he can work both with Jim, Ross and Dr. McGinn without overly compromising his personal values or overtly expressing his distaste for their lifestyles and choices.  He sure does miss the previous 'normal' chief medical officer, however!  

Social Worker:  Karen is a 25 year old recent graduate from a Bachelor of Social Work program of a small mid-west university.  St. Joseph's hired her immediately after graduating.  The last six months have been stressful as she navigates the move from school to employment and also from her close knit family to a studio apartment in the big city.  She is appreciating the support she has been getting from Olivia, the Recreation Therapist, who has made a point of taking her under her wing.  

Dietitian:  Jack is a 20-year old nutrition intern doing his first field placement at St. Joseph's.  His supervisor is currently away on extended sick leave and so Jim's case is his first 'solo' client and he is a little nervous.  Dr. McGuinn has been very kind and supportive of him but he is a little uncomfortable around her and finds himself staring sometimes to see if he could 'guess' her birth gender if he hadn't seen the NBC report.

Physiotherapist:  Jack is a 35 year-old married dad of three young boys.  He has a speech impediment that makes his speech challenging to understand at times so he will often speak up only as absolutely necessary in team meetings.  He was often the target of bullies as a child and into his adolescence and those memories stay with him today.

Recreation Therapist:  Olivia is a 40-year-old Recreation Therapist who has been working at St. Joseph's for the last five years.  It was a challenging transition to switch form a large institution with a large allied health team to smaller residence like St. Joseph's.  When she first started there, most of the staff had little understanding of the filed of Recreation Therapy and she still struggles to both educate her colleagues and establish her credibility on the interdisciplinary team.  She has heard and tried to brush aside the comments of 'playing' for work but they still irk her.

Care Aide:  Phil is a recent immigrant to Canada.  He resents being force to work with Jim and is struggling with having Dr. McGuinn as Chief Medical Officer.  He finds the whole situation disgusting and wonders why these people can't just be normal.  He finds it amazing that Jack brought his boys to the staff appreciation BBQ and allowed them to spend time with Dr. McGuinn.  Who knows what sort of perverted things she might have them do! 

1. For the purpose of our discussion forum, please assume one of the above roles.  If your chosen role has already been take and there are still others free, please choose from them.
2. As you assume your role, what are some of the challenges of collaboration that you imagine with this team?  How might you address it?  What suggestions would you have for the Kaleidoscope's and Dr. McGuinn as they attempt to create a 'cheatsheet' for collaboration with this multi-functional team?