Latif v. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

834 F. Supp. 2d 518, 2011 WL 6029932, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138940
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedDecember 2, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 3:11-CV-0104-G
StatusPublished

This text of 834 F. Supp. 2d 518 (Latif v. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Latif v. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 834 F. Supp. 2d 518, 2011 WL 6029932, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138940 (N.D. Tex. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

A. JOE FISH, Senior District Judge.

Before the court is a motion for summary judgment brought by the defendant (docket entry 20). For the reasons set forth below, this motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

This is an employment discrimination case. The plaintiff, Dr. Sherif Latif (“Latif’), is a doctor of internal medicine. See Brief in Support of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“Defendant’s Brief’) at 1 (docket entry 21). The defendant, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (“UT Southwestern”), operates residency and hospitalist programs in internal medicine. Id.

A. Factual Background
1. UT Southwestern’s Residency Program in Internal Medicine

After graduating from medical school and passing the United States Medical Licensing Exam, a new doctor typically completes some form of graduate medical education. Defendant’s Brief at 3-4. Graduate medical education “involves training doctors in hands-on patient care under the supervision and direction of fully licensed faculty.” Id. at 3. One of the types of graduate medical education is a residency program. Id. A residency program is designed to prepare a doctor to practice in a specialized area of medical practice. Id. at 5.

UT Southwestern operates a residency program in internal medicine, in which it is responsible for the academic and clinical training of its internal medicine residents. Id. at 7. The director of the residency program in internal medicine is Dr. Carol Croft (“Croft”). Id. at 9. The internal medicine residency program has a Committee to Evaluate Clinical Competence (“CECC”), which “determines if [a] resident has sufficiently developed skills to move on to the next year of his or her training.” Id. at 8. “The CECC meets regularly throughout the year to evaluate resident performance, address concerns about residents, and to make recommendations to the Program Director on issues related to discipline, professionalism, academic performance, personal issues, etc.” Id. The goal of the internal medicine residency program “is to produce licensed physicians capable of becoming board certified and of providing quality medical care in their speciality using independent judgment.” See id. at 5.

“Once a resident successfully completes all years of his residency, and is certified by the Program Director, he ... is eligible to take the board exams” in internal medicine. See id. at 8. The American Board of Internal Medicine (“ABIM”) administers the process by which a doctor becomes board certified in internal medicine. Id. at 5. This process includes an exam which [522]*522tests internal medicine certification candidates “on cognitive knowledge and problem-solving ability relevant to Internal Medicine.” Id.

2. Latifs Experience at UT Southwestern

Latif “is Arab, Egyptian, [and] of Middle Eastern origin.” Plaintiffs Original Complaint (“Complaint”) ¶ 5 (docket entry 1). He entered UT Southwestern’s residency program in internal medicine in July of 2007. Defendant’s Brief at 10. “As part of accepting his role as a resident, Dr. Latif entered into a contract for his first year of residency with Parkland [Hospital].” Id.

Over his three-year residency, Latif had difficulty in acting professionally towards interns, patients, and nurses. Defendant’s Brief at 10-13. Latif “ran into issues with tardiness,” and at one point “failed to complete training required by Parkland and was suspended by it as a result.” Id. at 11. Latif used “profane language” as well. Id. at 10.

During Latifs residency, the internal medicine faculty at UT Southwestern carefully monitored Latifs actions and progress. Id. at 10-13. Croft often directly counseled Latif on his issues, and “set forth an action plan for him to improve his performance.” Id. at 11. At various points, certain faculty committees suggested that Latif seek “mental health assistance” and enroll in “anger management courses.” Id. at 12-13. In March of 2009, Croft considered putting Latif on probation because of the seriousness of his professionalism issues, though she ultimately decided not to do so. Id. at 12. However, Croft did revoke Latifs moonlighting privileges, which prevented him from working extra shifts at UT Southwestern hospitals to earn more income. Id. These privileges were reinstated in September of 2009. Id. at 13.

Notwithstanding his problems with professionalism, UT Southwestern offered, and Latif accepted, a position as a hospitalist (a non-tenure track faculty position) in internal medicine. Id. at 2. This one-year appointment, scheduled to begin on July 1, 2010, was contingent on the successful completion of his residency. Id.

In June of 2010, at the end the final year of his residency, Latif did not successfully complete a required rotation in general medicine consults. Id. at 13. Latif appears to have failed this rotation due a lack of professionalism, as well as a failure to show up for rounds and “write up required patient notes before his last day on the service.” Id. at 13-14. Because Latif was out of the country, and therefore could not complete his notes, “[p]atient surgeries had to be cancelled and rescheduled.” Id. at 14.

As a result, Latif was forced to “repeat the failed rotation and meet specific performance expectations and draft[] a corrective action letter.” Id. This meant that Latif could not start his position as a hospitalist on July 1, 2010, when he was scheduled to begin. Id. at 14-15. Croft also reported Latifs failed rotation to the Texas Medical Board and the ABIM. Id. at 16-17.

From July 6, 2010 to August 3, 2010, Latif completed his make-up rotation. Id. at 15. During the rotation, he was supervised in part by Dr. Monal Shah (“Shah”), who had been involved in the decision to hire Latif as a hospitalist. Id. at 2. According to the defendant, “Latif did not perform at the level that Dr. Shah expected him to.” Id. at 21. On August 3, 2010, Latif successfully completed his final rotation, and therefore completed his residency in internal medicine at UT Southwestern. Id. at 16.

[523]*523After completing his residency, Latif appealed the disciplinary action imposed on him (ie., the repeating of the failed rotation) to the CECC. Id. at 17. The CECC unanimously upheld the decisions to require Latif to repeat the rotation and to report that fact to the Texas Medical Board and the ABIM. Id. Latif then brought a second level appeal, which was heard by three internal medicine faculty members. Id. By a vote of 2-1, the appeal committee affirmed the decision to order a repeat of the rotation. Id. at 18. Finally, Latif brought an appeal to Dr. David Johnson (“Johnson”), the Chairman of the department of internal medicine. Id. Johnson affirmed the decision as well. Id.

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834 F. Supp. 2d 518, 2011 WL 6029932, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138940, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/latif-v-university-of-texas-southwestern-medical-center-txnd-2011.