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Developing a disruptive behavior policy

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, April 28, 2006

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To successfully eliminate disruptive physician behavior, your organization must commit the time and resources required to develop a thorough program or policy that defines unacceptable behavior and provides practical courses of action in managing that behavior.

A policy will also provide your physician leaders with appropriate, firm responses when a disruptive physician reacts negatively to your plan. Begin by listing in your policy the consequences of disruptive behavior. For example,

• disrupting hospital operations
• undermining the reputation of colleagues and of your institution
• affecting the ability of others to do their jobs
• creating a hostile work environment for hospital employees and other medical staff members Also include descriptions of specific behaviors that fall under the category of "disruptive." These can include the following:
• Personal attacks-verbal or physical-at other medical staff members, hospital personnel, and patients and their families
• Criticism that intimidates, undermines confidence, belittles, or implies that the recipient is stupid or incompetent
• Refusal to accept medical staff assignments or to participate in committee or departmental affairs professionally and appropriately
• Refusal to comply with policies
• Breaches in confidentiality

Editor's note: The above excerpt is from the online course, "Disruptive Physician Behavior: Techniques for Managing and Preventing." For more information on this and other courses in our library, go to www.hcprofessor.com.

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