Of 4,500 participants at 102 hospitals,

67% agreed that disruptive behaviors were linked with adverse events

- 71% connected behaviors with medical errors

- 27% with patient mortality --> people died

🚨😳

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18714748/

Just being exposed to rudeness and workplace violence:

1. Worsens communication

2. Worsens diagnostic and procedural performance

3. Leads clinicians to latch on to the wrong diagnosis

But it’s not until you break each of these down that you realize how significantly rudeness and violence behaviors harm patients.

1. Worsens communication

Even mild rudeness negatively impacts Information Sharing (for making diagnoses) and Help-Seeking (for procedural performance).

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/136/3/487/61002/The-Impact-of-Rudeness-on-Medical-Team-Performance

2. Interferes with working memory and decreases performance

Bystanders observing rudeness can experience negative emotions that lead to difficulty handling complex tasks, resulting in poor performance.

Not great news for patients receiving care.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597809000041

3. Leads clinicians to latch on to the wrong diagnosis

A study of med students shows that rudeness leads to anchoring - getting stuck on a particular idea.

Clinicians need to consider a broad…

differential diagnosis to figure out what might be going on.

Heart attack? Reflux? Panic attack?

Getting stuck on the wrong diagnosis can be deadly. 💀

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-55250-001

Patients and staff are more stressed out than ever.

It’s not just punching and biting - even more subversive violence has a negative impact.

We can’t underestimate the harm from rudeness and workplace violence.

TL;DR even subtle rudeness and workplace violence be deadly

🗣️ Worsens communication

💉 Worsens diagnostic and procedural performance

🤔 Leads clinicians to latch on to the wrong diagnosis

What do you think?

What should hospitals and clinics focus on?

What should be done to protect HCWs and patients?

Let me know in the comments.