William Cooper, MD, MPH
STAFFING
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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4
Rehab Your Difficult Docs
Yes, you have the power to change their troublesome behavior.
H
ow many times have
you heard He's a great
surgeon, but ... ? Being
technically competent is
important, but docs who are a
constant challenge to deal
with may not be great sur-
geons. Worse, they might
jeopardize patient care and
put your facility at risk of
legal liability. The best
approach to address their
troublesome behavior swiftly
and effectively is to use a
graded and graduated model.
• The first incident.
For a sin-
gle unprofessional incident, share your concerns in an informal way:
"Hey, I observed you yelling at that nurse. That's not who I know you
to be and I want to make sure you're aware that we're all committed to
treating each other with respect." One caveat: Incidents that involve
violations of sexual or physical boundaries with patients or staff mem-
bers demand immediate advancement up the ladder of disciplinary
action.
• Apparent pattern.
Surgeons who appear to be associated with a pat-
tern of troublesome behavior require an awareness intervention, a
peer-to-peer, non-judgmental encounter. You'll get the best response if
you send a peer physician armed with data about the offending doc's
behavior. The intervening surgeon can say, "We received 3 reports of
ANGER MANAGEMENT The right approach
can transform even the scariest surgeons.