URGENT HELP: Have I Screwed Up My Chances of Being a Registrar?

Anonymous for obvious reasons

tldr: job I hate in a field I want to go into seems to be getting worse and worse. Only been in a place for less than 3 months but due to a lack of support from an toxic line manager, I am now in a position where I am being forced to quit without support from my professional union. Still want to go into speciality but field is small, I fear about getting blacklisted if applying for speciality.

Long version:
I want to get into PH as a Registrar as I have had previous experience in PH and passed the assessment to become one, albeit failed the interview / want to apply again this year. Was recommended by some medical PH consultants to turn down a far more lucrative oncology job in a non-medical field (im a non medic btw) to gain experience in a local authority to add to my cv but this has backfired horribly. In a nutshell, too much corporate red tape (have to go through various people to do something rather than doing things yourself) and my line manager hates me, always making passive aggressive comments since day 1 include to speak less intellectually, that I am overwhelming them with work and questions, that I keep doing half assed work ( I have never had anyone say bad things about the quality of my work in over 14 years and that includes being in far more senior roles), that I don't deserve to be at my pay grade (which btw is 2 paygrades less than my previous roles in various sectors) and they seem to dislike chatting with others for a few minutes when they spend literally 2 hours in the morning doing that :colonhash:

. They also seem to want to use me as admin staff even though I am technically a manager role and I find myself doing most of their admin work which is not at all what I signed up for. I had multiple projects to do and essentially was handed a project which should take 3 months of work with under a month of work to do, most stakeholders were unavailable and despite various agreements being in place (sadly not in their format), there have been massive delays in work due to things out of my control. I am having to rely on their line manager to help me out but my line manager is furious I am "going over their head" when they themselves are skiving work quite a lot (and not getting clocked) and very unapproachable. I send things to them and it takes days or even a week to get a response, or if they clock off hours early without notifying anyone, off course I am going to look for help elsewhere!
Sadly their toxic attitude, and lack of support in my role has been so bad that they (as I feared based on last few weeks) actually got a big fat 0 for my performance review during probation (my 1st ever which is a massive shock working in healthcare for 11 years) and have essentially put me in a position where I need to have a formal review to discuss work going forward and suggested bringing someone (i.e. Union). Problem is, my professional union doesn't want to help as its not what a vast majority of people in my health profession do and am stuck. I wanted to hand in my notice 2 months ago when I realised how bad things were but wanted to stay because I wanted to be involved in pH initiatives and projects. Sadly this was a failure and will have to resign earlier rather than later (it also seems like a lot of conversations I've had in private confidentiality were actually brought up in my most recent review and taken out of context from what was said, which I find alarming as it seems even people like very senior people in my workplace are **** stirrers / or the toxic line manager was taking out of context in order to elicit a reaction from me).
Also rather unsurprisingly the cow of a line manger weeks ago confirmed they do not want to give me a reference or help me with my registration for my field and rather interestingly, a lot of people have negative things to say about her (including her former direct report, who is a **** stirrer I do not respond to a she is a gossip), senior personel. Also what's funny is that someone who was her equivalent who got promoted recently actively avoids them in the office. The line manager also has a serious BO problem nobody seems to call her out on as well but am too afraid of saying things to them as they are very shoot first, ask later
Personally I just want to quit but also want to see a major project through as well (which sadly doesn't finish till October). Because of this horrid experience, I'm afraid of what to to do re PH as this 1 bad experience can potentially derail my whole career opportunities for being a pH registrar.
In terms of options, going back to locum work in my original field is far more lucrative, and involves talking to people, but 0 references. I have a few side hussles which people seem interested in but realistically, they are not for profit hobbies aimed at improving access to health services. I am interested in advisory roles and have had interest from people in other fields.

So yeah, have I Screwed up my prospects of becoming a pH registrar?

Reply 1

Muttly

I can't advise on your PH Registrar ambitions and would suggest transferring this to the medical forum on TSR if someone there can assist?

I can say you have a decision to make

Options
a) Give up and fade away and look for a job a long way away from the toxic environment you are currently working in. The vacancies across the UK at the moment are such you would probably find a new job very quickly. You can hold your head high and still have your sanity. If you are in a 'probationary' period period you may not have many options as this is the time where you and your employer find you are a 'good' fit.

or

b) Stand your ground and go down guns blazing - The circumstances here may be such you could resign and cite constructive dismissal (you are forced to leave your job against your will due to your employers conduct) if you are given unreasonable tasks with an unreasonable time frame. If you decide to fight this, it will be all consuming, it will exhaust you, it will take over your life and you could easily lose five to ten years of your emotional life. You have to be ready to see it through to the bitter end and no be put off by other people who are acting not for you but for the organisation's sole interest. They will want you to drop your complaints as damage to their reputation is wanted like a hole in the head. Use this to your advantage. I don't know how taking such action in your profession (is it a closed shop?) would leave you in the longer term? Maybe someone else can answer that one?

Here is the thing, no one can make this decision for you. Importantly you will not be alone. If you have found yourself unsupported and sidelined and bullied, so will others along side you. The planning and execution of your tactical moves have to be ice cold, calculated and executed with careful planning, with little display of emotion. Your timing and expressing of your discontent and to whom you say this to is crucial, but your limited time with the organisation could limit your options. You need to find out your organisation's grievance policies and see if you want to follow that route - if that is what you want to do. There are some really awful organisations with tiers of toxic management who just want to maintain a status quo, to keep their title and to keep a lid on all things underperforming. If you decide to fight this you have to do it properly and professionally. Where is their evidence that you have not performed effectively? What training have you had to do your role? What are the role profile criteria for your job and are you fulfilling them? You don't have to be part of the gossip squad but it can be helpful to stay on good terms with someone from that group. They will tell you the gossip, and if they don't know it the cleaners will. You need some urgent specialist legal advice (most do 30 mins of free impartial advice)

Evidence. Keep a diary of daily occurrences - and don't make a rushed decision. Keep notes of where you were and who said what, or what happened? Were you left out of meetings, received unwarranted tasks not related to your role, had information withheld, were singled out for criticism etc. Subtle covert bullying is very difficult to prove and to get evidence for. Who did you speak with, who did the communication come from and in what format? Where were you at the time etc etc Keep hard copy records if you can but do nothing illegal. Be careful about the use of recording devices as that can leave you being dismissed without a leg to stand on. Be patient. So get all of your quietly gained evidence at the same time you seek legal advice. That can be exhausting when you are working full time anyway. If you are serious about this you need to do get informed legal advice. Power and knowledge can keep your emotional health intact whilst still giving you options. You can also wind up paranoid because you are sensitised to expecting bad things to happen to you at work (just stay aware of what is reasonable) Don't jump to conclusions or jump in with both feet. Hold your anger in check and sleep on every decision. Speak to absolutely no one at work or elsewhere about your intended plans down the line. Someone will tell all on you. If you say what you intend you will struggle to get the information, you need. If others find out you are quite likely to be deliberately set up to fail.

You need professional legal advice from a specialist employment solicitor. Whilst your Union might not support you they should be able to provide legal aid (usually as part of a package) You need this support and knowledge of what you expect to do as a plan, and the emotional support to know that what you have experienced is wrong.

I do not envy your current position or your frame of mind. Do all you can to find the antidotes from close friends and family. You are never alone even though it may feel like that and work may be so bad. You will always have a choice to do something to change your working conditions. Working as an individual in an unsupported team is soul destroying and it takes a lot of inner resolve and courage to hold onto everything you believe in. Know that you will be a beacon of courage for those other people who are also in this toxic mix. But whether you decide to challenge this or just get out quick that is your decision, your choice and whichever you choose if the right decision for you. Your decisions have to be for you, your circumstances and your life, because the rest of your life is out there.

No work is worth giving yourself a total breakdown. Work is a means to an end. When things get so bad just try and be kind to the person near to you, something you definitely can do. Another place, another time, another team, older wiser and you perhaps will be so happy you will never look back.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Thanks, for me, I've spoken with quite a few people, including 111 and samaritans, and they've all said I should leave the job as for my own health and that as an individual, I am a health professional with 10 years experience, tonnes of managerial experience in other roles in primary, secondary care and government sectors (this wretched <3 month experience is the only blemish on a 10 year career and I've even made a few years worth of cpd and work templates for future jobs based on this experience) and have a lot to offer regardless of this job or not. As it is re references, I'm doing a fellowship and can use that and a locum agency as referees for current employer.

For me, contrary to what the elm (evil line manager)thinks. I actually take pride in my work and always see things through regardless of the circumstances. I do know however if I continue, things will get worse as said elm has already scored me 0 in all areas for my most recent performance review (lots of negative, libelous things were claimed) and as I've known for over a month, she hates me. She is setting unreasonable deadlines and even if I meet them, they takes days or weeks to respond and imposes even tighter deadlines.
Also if I leave soon, they will be hotting themselves with overwork and it may leave a bad reputation re myself amongst wider community.

The 111 clinician I spoke with was actually very concerned based on what I told them, as well as the negative impact it's having on my health, they have sent something to my gp to give me a sick note for work-related stress effective from whenever I can reach my gp.

I'm honestly not sure what to do tbh