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Interventions can help staff deal with disruptive physicians

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, November 17, 2006

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Some describe the disruptive physician behavior as a "behavior epidemic" and define it as any behavior that can be described as inappropriate, impulsive, hostile, or difficult to manage. One of the consequences of disruptive physician behavior is a dissatisfied staff, resulting in lower work quality and efficiency.

An intervention may be a way to cope with the problem.

First, consider the primary goals of your intervention as being (1) to inform the physician about his or her disruptive behavior, (2) to get the physician to take responsibility for the disruptive behavior, and (3) to get from the physician a plan of action so that the behavior will cease. Because of the gravity of the subject and the awkwardness created by it, an intervention should be short-not more than 20 minutes. To plan for an effective, fair intervention, consider the following questions:

• When will it take place?
• Where will it take place?
• How long will it last?
• What are its goals?
• What are the physician's likely responses, and how will you react to them?

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 http://www.hcprofessor.com/.

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