Draw the Circle

37. Wilson gets stuck doing a peer evaluation on House. Bonus points for honesty.

360 degrees, surrounding him in a circle of doom. Wilson shook his head. There was no way this would end well. Never mind he was only one poor schmuck among many, he knew that House would blame him for the results no matter what. He thought about lying, erring on the side of optimism, since he suspected that most others would have plenty to say of a less than perfectly positive nature. But would it make a difference? Or would it simply point out his trying to shift the percentages in House’s favor? He decided, reluctantly, that it would more likely be the latter. So, honesty it would be.

He glanced over the questionnaire, then sighed. So much of this he was unsure how to answer. Mentally cursing himself for choosing to be House’s friend, not for the first time, Wilson picked up his pen and began.

This questionnaire was designed especially for Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital to provide Dr. Gregory House with 360-degree feedback. Its purpose, in the context of a changing work world, is to assist Dr. House in developing his capabilities fully.

He laughed. Of all the ways House practiced continuing education, this would certainly not be one of them.

In order to provide Dr. House with the broadest possible perspective, feedback is being requested from a range of people. You have been selected because you are familiar with how he works.

Thanks, he thought to himself sourly.

Please be frank
In order to be most helpful to Dr. House, please answer the questions that follow in a completely candid manner, without being unduly critical or uncritical.

He snorted at that one. Neutrality was something that House neither espoused nor engendered.

Please use a sliding scale from 1-10, with 10 being a yes/always/positive response and a 1 being a no/seldom-never/negative response.

Your individual reply is confidential
People sometimes wonder whether their reply will be seen by the person who is being assessed, or by other people in the organization. In fact, all replies are held in strictest confidence.

Your answers will be averaged with those of others into a report which provides a comprehensive but anonymous picture of how Dr. House is seen in the workplace.

They didn’t know House, nor his ways of ferreting out information, if they honestly thought that anonymity would be maintained.

Providing Comments
At the end of each section, you will find space for unstructured comments.
Please consider these guidelines to make your comments most helpful:

What do you appreciate about Dr. House’s work style?
What are the key challenges you believe he should focus on?
What suggestions do you have about how he should do so?

Great. Give him more rope to hang himself with. He gave a martyred sigh and continued to read.

BUSINESS SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

·         Understands the business requirements and financial policies of the Organization - 3
And that was being charitable. He understood them fine; he just didn’t care. He’d do what he felt best for his patient, and costs be damned.

·         Makes wise tactical decisions and sticks with them  - 5

Sticks with them, yes. Far beyond the boundaries of logic and reason, sometimes. Wise tactical decisions… Wilson shook his head. Not so much.

·         Puts in extra effort as required to attain objectives - 10

He thought wryly that some of the objectives would probably shock the review personnel, if they knew. Certainly surprise them, possibly confuse them. Not to mention the lengths that he would go to get what he wanted. However. That wasn’t what they’d asked.

OTHER COMMENTS

Impulsive, but fortunately, usually right. Has been known to take extreme measures when in pursuit of an objective.

PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE

·         Stays on top of developments in her/his field  - 10

He thought of the countless nights he’d seen House in his office, reading journals, researching on the Internet. The man’s home library was a testament to obsession. It was amazing, and a little frightening, the facts he could pull out of his head at a moment’s notice.

·         Pursues innovative opportunities to provide new services  - 8
Probably not in the way they meant, but what the hell.

·         Anticipates problems and effectively plans solutions - 9

For most things, House had an answer... and when he didn’t, he found one. He’d push himself, his team, the patient, and anyone else involved until the solution to the puzzle was discovered. Surprises only made him work the harder to find the real answer.

OTHER COMMENTS

Extremely dedicated to keeping current in his specialty. Flexible in his approaches to patient care.

DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

·         fills out paperwork on a timely basis - 1

And that only because there was no zero. If he had to listen to Cameron bitch about filling out paperwork one more time….

• seeks to maintain full patient caseload - 5

On his own terms, yes. The unusual, the interesting, the bizarre - he would fight tooth and nail for those, the puzzles that he needed as much as breathing. The common cases, however, were ducked with an equal passion and an amazing talent.

·         fulfills teaching requirements - 5

When forced, he taught brilliantly. As with most things, he merely needed to be convinced of its necessity and prodded loose from his habitual inertia. And as with many gifted professors, he far preferred teaching advanced students, such as his fellows, rather than beginners, although the lessons taught at any level, while occasionally harsh, could be most instructive for those who cared to pay attention.

OTHER COMMENTS

Brilliant teacher and diagnostician. Unorthodox teaching style. Best when allowed to stay with his strengths. Severe allergy to charting.

DECISION MAKING

• capable of making quick decisions and taking decisive actions - 10

It was sometimes almost frightening, the speed at which his mind worked, the way possibilities were thought of and discarded at lightning speed. And once he had decided on a course of action, Heaven and Earth, or at least anyone short of Cuddy (and sometimes not even her) could dissuade him from his plan.

·         seeks the opinions of others before taking action - 5

It depended. His team, yes, himself and Cuddy, sometimes, although House also felt free to ignore anything he disagreed with from any of them. The rest of the world, seldom or never.

·         takes others’ opinions into account when deciding a course of action - 7

It depended. Not on whether they agreed with him or not, despite what popular opinion said, but whether they presented a convincing argument or not. House was always willing to be convinced, a fact that had saved his ass on more than one occasion.

OTHER COMMENTS

Strong belief in his own decisions, but will make allowances for sufficient logic.

PATIENT ORIENTATION

·         patient welfare of primary importance - 10

Or at least his patient’s welfare was of primary importance. For them, he would lie, cheat, and steal without a qualm, bully whomever he felt needed it, until he got his way. Which, fortunately for all concerned, usually proved to be the right way. Those who were not his current patients…. If they were lucky, they benefited from the fallout. If not… not.

• good communication with patients - 2

Not his strongest suit. He’d been known to bully, browbeat and lie to patients with equal fervor. He based informed consent on how likely they were to go along with his recommendations. His opinions of their intelligence ranked them, as a whole, somewhere along the levels of the average micro-organism, and he treated them accordingly.

• behaves appropriately / good bedside manner - 4

Again, not his best talent. It had been said, repeatedly, by everyone from Cuddy to the janitorial staff, that House was an ass. He proved this regularly. But every now and again, when he thought there was no one else to see, he was capable of a startling compassion.

OTHER COMMENTS

Effective, concerned, dedicated. Puzzle sometimes takes precedence over patient, however the extra objectivity saves lives more often than not.

TEAMWORK AND LEADERSHIP

·         team-oriented - 1

He was the quintessential loner, given the slightest chance. Never mind how much he needed others, he never wanted them.

·         exercises good leadership skills - 6

Well, they followed House, for the most part. He supposed that was something. Even if his leadership style did more closely approximate Vince Lombardi rather than Dale Carnegie.

• utilizes chain-of-command - 4

Like a club, he thought a little resentfully. When House wasn’t ignoring it altogether in pursuit of whatever goal was on the table that day.

OTHER COMMENTS

Unusual leadership style - a unique combination of lone-wolf and pack leader. Flexible relation to chain-of-command.

COMMUNICATION

• effective communication of goals and ideas / teaching style - 7

It was effective, in its own kamikaze style. Also blunt, abrasive, inclined to inspire violence…

• conveys concepts clearly and understandably - 10

Metaphors and morons. That pretty much summed it up. Clear, if not particularly politic.

• speaks appropriately to patients and colleagues - 5

If by ‘appropriately’ they meant ‘effectively’, then yes. If they truly meant ‘appropriately’ then… not always. And wasn’t that the understatement of the year? Century? Millennia?

OTHER COMMENTS

Uses metaphor to illustrate scenarios for both patients and students. Blunt style can sometimes be misinterpreted.

DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

• demonstrates willingness to improve problem areas - 1

Not so much that as a willingness to make a strategic withdrawal in favor of a new and sneakier approach.

• takes criticism well - 1

Uhm… no.

• teachability - 2

Like a mule, House tended to dig in and get stubborn when crossed. His opinions were his opinions, and as far as he was concerned, to be taken as gospel as far as practicable. He did not suffer contradiction gladly, for all he would listen to rational arguments with a semi-open mind.

OTHER COMMENTS

Prefers the status quo whenever possible. And sometimes when it’s not.

INTEGRITY

• maintains appropriate levels of confidentiality - 5

For the most part, with notable exceptions. But he thought about the parents of the girl whose confidence House had betrayed, and how their lives would have been devastated if they had lost her, never knowing why, and he knew that he’d have done the same thing in House’s place.

• honest in words and actions - 7

Honesty was a fluid and elusive concept with House. He believed in truth above all, but had no problem with lying to achieve it. One of the many paradoxes that surrounded the man.

• trustworthy - 5

Within certain carefully defined parameters, absolutely. Outside those parameters, not necessarily.

OTHER COMMENTS

Devoted to the search for truth. Fluid in his approaches to that goal.

Questionnaire Conclusion

The section you have just completed may not convey everything you would like to say about Dr. Gregory House. The comments section below allows you to add supplementary information you wish to express. Your contribution is valuable.

Consider these guidelines:
Please think about Dr. House’s overall contribution to the workplace. Add any suggestions that would help him maintain his strengths and improve his skills.

Addition of humility helpful, but hardly likely. Overall, a good doctor… and a lousy friend.

A/N: Thanks to Panoramic Feedback, whose sample questionnaire I modified for this fic. http://www.panoramicfeedback.com/products/360/questionnaire.html