Are you a disruptive doctor?

Last month an anonymous essay published in the Annals of Internal Medicine brought to light several concerning behaviors that could impact patient safety in the operating room, according to a USA Today report.

Recent accounts from patients and nurses about physicians failing to follow infection prevention protocol and making disparaging remarks about patients while they are under anesthetic cause an uncomfortable working environment for everyone involved and could compromise patient safety.

The bad behavior could mean a financial loss as well; a patient in Virginia was awarded $500,000 after audio taping his colonoscopy where the anesthesiologist made crude remarks about him.

Other personal attacks on nurses during surgery can have a negative impact on the procedure and outcomes. "Disruptive behavior leads to increased medication errors, more infections and other bad patient outcomes — partly because staff members are often afraid to speak up in the face of bullying by a physician," according to the report.

Here are five key notes on disruptive behavior:

1. It's estimated around 5 percent of physicians display disruptive behavior, but fear of retaliation means this behavior is under reported.

2. Seventy-seven percent of nurses from more than 100 hospitals reported they'd witnessed physicians engaging in disruptive behavior, including verbal abuse of another staff member.

3. Sixty-five percent of nurses also reported other nurses exhibiting disruptive behaviors.

4. Around two-thirds of serious medical incidence can be traced back to communication errors, which are more likely to occur if nurses and other medical assistants are "rattled" during surgery, according to the report.

5. Emotional intelligence often isn't rewarded in medical school or training and it can be difficult for physicians and other medical professionals to display those behaviors coming out of competitive training programs.

There are some hospitals where employees can register complaints about disruptive behavior. Others have suggested videotaping procedures to monitor medical professionals while they work. There is currently a bill pending in Wisconsin that would require video footage of procedures to become part of the patient's medical record if the patient requested it.

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