More than 95% of healthcare executives claim to witness disruptive physician behavior on a daily basis1, resulting in increased turnover rates and lost productivity. Similarly, nurses called disruptive behavior the single most important contributing factor to lowered job satisfaction and morale and 31% said they knew at least [...]

In medical school, the goal is to survive. To push through. You make it through residency, get your first “real job” and then everything will be great. Right? Wrong. In medicine, you are expected to be perfect. You don’t make mistakes. And you don’t share your feelings. This perfectionist mindset and all of its flaws has [...]

When it comes to the behavior of physicians, the lines between what’s appropriate, what’s merely inappropriate and what is genuinely disruptive are not always easy to draw. Here’s how the Model Medical Staff Code of Conduct, developed by the Organized Medical Staff Section (OMSS) of the American Medical Association, explains [...]

Discussing the need to deal with disruptive behavior on the part of physicians, one of the most prominent researchers in the field, H. Alan Rosenstein, MD, writes: "The greatest potential for success in the intervention process is to intervene before a disruptive event actually occurs. Once an event occurs the damage is [...]

When a physician engages in disruptive behavior, defined by the AMA as “verbal or nonverbal conduct that harms or intimidates others to the extent that quality of care or patient safety could be compromised,” the ripple effect of the behavior can be extreme and the results quite dire, according to studies.1

Good medical and management skills are needed to align the needs and demands of both hospitals and physicians. Both hospitals and physicians possess effective skills and strengths. However, the potential conflict between the two can lead to dangerous polarization.  

The International Conference on Physician Health (ICPH) was held in Toronto from Oct 10-13 and addressed many issues leading to stress and burnout. There were over 500 registered attendees from 16 counties and every panel, workshop and presentation was standing room only! This level of interest, energy and participation was a [...]

When physicians face the prospect of reducing their practice hours or challenges in heading toward retirement, they usually find themselves dealing with a profound crisis of identity.

In the face of research showing the medical profession is rapidly aging (see our blog post "Projections on the Graying of the Physician Labor Force" for more details), there have been a number of initiatives to establish regular testing of physicians’ mental and physical fitness as they age—to make certain their cognitive [...]