Supporting Physicians in their professional journey
Sticks and Stones ….
Have you ever wondered if that old saying is true?
You might be interested in a recent article that could have “huuuuuge” implications for all healthcare practitioners. It is entitled: “The Impact of Rudeness on Medical Team Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” It was published in the September 2015 issue of Pediatrics. And we all know that burned out physicians show a significant reduction in courtesy and empathy.
The study demonstrated that rude comments made by a fellow professional “decreased performance among doctors and nurses by more than 50%” in a hypothetical life-or-death situation. The research was based on the results obtained from 24 NICU medical teams, all consisting of one doctor and two nurses.
Each team was given an hour “to diagnose and treat a simulated case of necrotizing enterocolitis,” a potentially lethal condition. Half of the teams were given brief “fake” feedback from a physician observing by webcam that was derogatory in nature indicating that he was “not impressed” with the team’s efforts, for example. The control group was provided very similar but emotionally neutral input.
The rude comments had “dramatic effects,” according to study authors, and practitioners saw their performances “plummet.” They often:
-
Made misdiagnoses.
-
Forgot instructions.
-
Didn’t ventilate or resuscitate well.
-
Mixed medications incorrectly.
In essence, rudeness led to a 52% decrease between how well the team made an accurate diagnosis, and a 43% decrease in how well they treated it, as measured by three independent judges “blinded” to the study’s purpose!
One of the authors concluded that the obtained differences would have had “life-or-death” consequences in the “real world.” The authors described rudeness as a potential cause for at least some of the approximately 200,000-400,000 plus deaths from medical errors in U.S. hospitals every year.
The study’s authors point out that even intelligent, seasoned professionals don’t easily “shrug off” rudeness from others. They describe rudeness as a “disruptive behavior,” and emphasized that it can spread “like a contagion,” affecting our ability to reason, comprehend, and recall important information. They conclude that even “mild incivility” can have “profound, if not devastating, effects on patient care.”
One conclusion from the study is that doctors and nurses need to “consider the long-term effects of acting rudely toward one another” especially in a group practice. At least a portion of this is likely tied to known high physician burnout rates, and resiliency strategies and tools are effective antidotes.
They can help health care professionals become more immune to rudeness from others, and also less likely to “dish it out”!
To learn about this important subject contact 4Docs4Docs.
Michael Cofield, Ph.D., ABPP
Consulting Psychologist
602-867-6070
Source: Nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/10/rudeness-in-hospitals-could-kill-patients.html