others' such conduct in the future.) A plaintiff's attorney might also
allege a negligent credentialing/ retention claim, contending the bully-
ing individual shouldn't have been selected or retained on the facility's
medical staff.
Suffer in silence
Intimidating and bullying behaviors can manifest in a variety of ways:
overt acts such as verbally abusing, threatening, humiliating or degrad-
ing a co-worker; sabotaging another's work; and using condescending
language or tone. Bullying might also include more passive acts, such as
refusing to cooperate with co-workers, intentionally failing to return
calls or ignoring a team member through social isolation.
Who's doing the bullying? According to a 2014 Workplace Bullying
Institute survey, 69% of bullies are men, 57% of the bullying targets are
women, and women bullies target other women 68% of the time.
Bullied workers suffer from lower morale, lower productivity, lower
job satisfaction, disengagement, increased absenteeism and burnout.
Bullying can also lead to rapid staff turnover. Any of these symptoms
can compromise patient safety, particularly in the surgical setting.
Intimidating and disruptive behaviors can, according to a 2014
Workplace Bullying Institute survey, "foster medical errors, contribute
to poor patient satisfaction and to preventable adverse outcomes,
increase the cost of care and cause qualified clinicians, administrators
and managers to seek new positions in more professional environ-
ments." There's also the possibility that bullying could escalate into
workplace violence.
Why aren't we doing more? In June 2016, The Joint Commission
(TJC) issued an advisory entitled "Bullying Has No Place In Health
Care," in which it concluded workplace violence was not only under-
reported but also more common than sexual harassment. Given the
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