Hospital bullies take a toll on patient safety

[katty]

more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25594124/

They’re the bullies of the operating room, the browbeaters of bedside manner: doctors, nurses and other clinicians who make a habit of behaving badly.

They yell, they cuss, they throw things. Or they engage in more subversive behaviors: ignoring questions, acting impatient, insulting colleagues or speaking to them in condescending tones.

“It can go from verbal abuse to sexual harassment and physical assault,” said Dianne Felblinger, an associate professor of nursing at the University of Cincinnati who studies medical intimidation.

The acts are bad enough when they affect staff morale, leading to greater turnover and less job satisfaction. But the Joint Commission, a national hospital accrediting agency, warned Wednesday that there’s mounting evidence that such disruptive behaviors are tied to medical errors that can cause patient harm — and that hospitals across the country should no longer tolerate it.