July 8, 2019 – Rudeness Cost

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Anchor lead: Bad behavior can impact the whole healthcare culture, Elizabeth Tracey reports

When surgeons are rude and abrasive to their care team, patients may experience more errors and rehospitalizations, a recent study found. Keven Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System, comments.

Sowers: It’s not just in the OR, it’s in the ICU, it’s in any type of unit where there may be more cultural issues and behavior issues between individuals, and it’s not always just physician related, in nursing there is peer to peer conflict at times, and so we need to think about how we treat each other when we come to work each day.   :20

Sowers says there is a remedy.

Sowers: Civility has been shown multiple times to have an impact in the workplace on quality and safety and overall outcomes, and so creating an environment where we feel supported, for who we are and what we bring to the table and respected, is incredibly important.  :16

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.