No Place In Medicine For Bad Behavior
10:15 AM, July 10, 2008

Our favorite characters on "Grey's Anatomy" may be able to get away
with outrageous behavior on the job, but in real life medical
authorities are saying enough. The Joint Commission, an agency that
evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 healthcare organizations
nationwide, issued a bulletin Wednesday saying that rude, hostile and
disruptive behavior among doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists,
support staff and administrators will no longer be tolerated.

Intimidating and disruptive behavior in healthcare settings is a
serious problem that undermines patient safety, the report said. The
commission will enforce new standards requiring healthcare
organizations to create a code of conduct and a formal plan for
managing bad behavior. The report noted that healthcare professionals
are reluctant to take action against a misbehaving colleague. A survey
found that about 40% of clinicians have kept quiet or remained passive
when witnessing bad behavior. The Joint Commission defined disruptive
behavior as verbal outbursts, physical threats, refusal to perform
assigned tasks, uncooperative attitudes, condescending language or
voice intonation, impatience with questions and failure to return
phone calls or pages.

Granted, healthcare settings are often stressful places, says the vice
president of the Joint Commission Peter B. Angood. Healthcare
providers work under challenging conditions and patients' emotions
often run high. But that's no excuse for unprofessional behavior, he
said. Though this advisory comes too late for the former staff of
Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, there's hope for others. But,
said Angood: "It's going to take a lot of work to drive this
disruptive and intimidating behavior out of healthcare."

-- Shari Roan

Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/07/no-place-in-med.html