"The Impact of Incivility on Hospital Patients" - Tracey Walker
Negative interactions in the hospital operating room can pose a direct risk to the patient, according to a new study performed by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. As a result of this trial, researchers believe it imperative that rude, uncivil behavior be eliminated from operating room culture and that interpersonal communication in such high-stress environments be incorporated into formal medical training. “In most circumstances, when we are confronted with rude, dismissive, or abusive behaviors, we are more or less hardwired to avoid their perpetrator,” said Samuel DeMaria, Jr, MD, professor of anesthesiology, otolaryngology, perioperative and pain medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “However, in the OR, where interdisciplinary communication is crucial to patient outcomes, things are a little higher stakes. We found that a negative interaction should not simply be dismissed as an unpleasant occurrence, because it can actually pose a direct risk to the patient.”
— Samuel DeMaria Jr., MD, Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, Otolaryngology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai