As a novice healthcare manager, I recall the shock I felt after my supervisor screamed at me for no apparent reason. She then called another colleague and told him how horrible she felt but she never apologized to me. As I progressed to C-suite leadership, I realized I had the power to model the behaviors I wanted to see. The Joint Commission Sentinel Event on Harassment warned of behaviors that can undermine a “culture of safety.” Disruptive behaviors such as verbal outbursts, uncooperative attitudes, refusing to complete assigned duties, and intimidating behaviors such as physical threats undermine the safety of our team and our patients. Since the #MeToo movement and resulting Time’s Up and Time’s Up Healthcare campaigns, we are beginning to see more research on the types of harassment that create unsafe work environments for our patients and employees. Most recently, Dr. Esther Choo and colleagues published “Sexual Harassment between Health Care Workers and Safety Culture,” identifying cases of sexual harassment and their impact on staff and patient safety. There seems to have been little progress made toward the national high reliability healthcare system we strive to become but we have the power to change this.
Commitment from the C-Suite Ne...
It's complicated