Doctors' disruptive behavior worries physician leaders

MedSurg Nursing, April, 2005

Some doctors yell and scream. Some throw surgical instruments. They berate nurses, other health care workers, and even patients with snide remarks and insults. In many cases, the doctors who exhibit these types of disruptive behaviors are seldom punished, according to results of a new national survey that examined physician behavior problems.

Conducted by the American College of Physician Executives, the survey drew more than 1,600 responses from physician executives working in hospitals, group practices, health systems, and clinics across the country.

Survey respondents emphasized that most doctors get along well with patients, nurses, and other health care workers. However, the few bad apples that can be found in almost any health care organization can cause ongoing problems. Fully 70% of survey respondents reported that physician behavior problems nearly always involve the same doctors over and over again. One in three survey respondents said they observe problems with physician behavior either weekly (14%) or monthly (18%).

For a summary of the survey results and copies of the related articles, contact Bill Steiger at bsteiger@acpe.org or (800) 562-8088.