Kevin Stewart, MB, FRCP; Medical Director, Winchester Hospital, UK; Health Foundation/IHI Quality Improvement Fellow
Learning Objectives: At the end of this activity, you will be able to:
- Describe how disruptive behavior can lead to patient harm.
- Discuss the importance of responding to disruptive behavior in health care.
- Determine the steps you would take if you experienced or witnessed disruptive behavior in your local health care setting.
Description: Physician Kevin Stewart explains how he accidentally hurt a patient when he was trying to avoid a confrontation with his foul-tempered supervisor. He offers advice for people who find themselves on the receiving end of disrespectful behavior.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think health care professionals may behave disrespectfully toward their colleagues?
- Come up with two ideas for how to eliminate disruptive behavior.
- Have you ever had a controlling boss? How did you deal with it?
- Pretend you are a resident in a local hospital and you witness a senior physician yelling at a nurse. What steps would you take to address the situation?
