The chief physician of a hospital in the southern Turkish province of Antalya was removed from her job after she forced two nurses at the hospital to write 500 times that they are stupid because they left their stations, according to Turkish media reports.
Ayşegül Kalkan, head doctor at Kumluca State Hospital, was removed by the Antalya Provincial Health Directorate after reports appeared in the Turkish media showing the A4 paper on which the nurses wrote 500 times “I am stupid. I left my station.”
The incident reportedly took place on Dec. 13 when the two nurses had to leave their stations to intervene with a patient after they were informed the patient had taken a fall.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, who commented on the incident on Thursday, said the behavior of the chief physician was unacceptable, adding that nobody has the right to try people on their own and hand down a punishment.
Turkish healthcare workers, who are overwhelmed by the soaring number of coronavirus infections in the country, frequently complain about mobbing by their superiors.