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Improve communication, end verbal abuse

Case Management Weekly, September 11, 2007

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Whether it's between physicians and nurses, nurses and nurses, or nurses and patients, verbal abuse can create a toxic and uncomfortable environment for all.

If you've heard evidence of verbal abuse in your facility, consider the following tips that will help you put an end to the behavior and keep your staff members on the same team:

• Set expectations from the get-go. Make it a policy to notify new hires that verbal abuse will not be tolerated in the facility. By setting expectations from the beginning, your staff members will know what kind of behavior is not appropriate.
• Help staff members to keep criticism constructive. In an inservice or all-day training session, teach staff members to replace negative feedback with constructive criticism in order to steer the situation away from a potentially uncomfortable confrontation.

When providing constructive criticism, Rosemarie Nelson, principal with the MGMA Health Care Consulting Group in Syracuse, NY, suggests that it is important to do the following:

• Avoid value judgments. If the other person feels judged, he or she is more likely to get angry and defensive.
• Avoid being accusatory. Instead, simply state facts.
• Don't get sidetracked by pleas for sympathy or solutions that have fallen short in the past.
• Don't be emotional. Be firm, fair, and calm.

This training will not only come in handy when staff members communicate with each other, but can also help to improve relations with patients.

Source: Case Management Monthly, August, HCPro, Inc.

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