Hospitalists ID Unprofessional Physician Behaviors
Ridiculing coworkers, clumsy and callous patient transfers, texting during meetings, and leaving work early were among a handful of rare, but unprofessional behaviors attributed by some hospitalists to themselves and more so to their peers, a survey published in the in the Journal of Hospital Medicine shows.
The survey and study asked 77 Illinois hospitalists to identify what they considered unprofessional behavior in themselves and their colleagues.
Funded by the Society of Hospital Medicine, the study found that the most common unprofessional behaviors that hospitalists reported participating in were:
- Having personal conversations in patient corridors (67%),
- Ordering a routine test as urgent to expedite care (62%),
- Signing out a patient over the phone when it could have been done in person (41%)
- Making fun of other physicians to colleagues (40%).
Not surprisingly, when hospitalists were asked if they observed those behaviors in colleagues, the figures were much higher, at 80%, 80.5%, 66%, and 67.5% respectively.
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wilson wares (6/15/2012 at 2:53 PM)
This article is amazing. Thanks for pointing out the fact that Doctors are people too and how we need to make sure we continue to strip away their professionalism under the guise of being unprofessional. It would be nice to see a study on how the administrators behave and feel towards the physicians when the physicians are not around.