Assignment task:
Northshore hospital employs physician assistants. A female physician assistant works in the OB service line with a small group of 12 physicians. The physician assistant is asked every 2-3 weeks by a male coworker (not a supervisor) to go out for drinks after work. There is a local bar nearby called Burns Alley Tavern that is a favorite of the male coworker. The invitations vary from being asked to go with a group of colleagues to grabbing drinks alone with the male coworker. The invitations are never more than simply an invitation. The female physician's assistant has always politely declined with phrases such as not today" or "maybe next time" and similar refusals. The female employee is known by all in the service, including the male coworker, to be dating someone outside the office. The repeated requests have started to make her uncomfortable, but she has chosen not formally reported her coworker's conduct. She has confided in several of her colleagues that the repeated invitations, while seemingly innocuous, has made her feel uncomfortable and reluctant to be in the same room with the male colleague. One of the physician assistant's female colleagues has come to you as the manager of the OB service-line with this information. Based on what you have learned from Chapter 4 of the Show alter 9th edition, what are your next steps? Is this harassment?