Civility - a Twitter thread
February 2020
It’s the beginning of a new clinical year and a good time for us all to think about how we can best work together. We should all reflect on our behaviour occasionally and think about the impact we have on others.
Incivility and tribalism decrease the quality of care we provide to patients. We need to interact with each other with kindness, empathy and respect. We all have different contexts, training, demands and priorities.
Let’s all be mindful of this. Let’s examine our habits and scripts and make sure communication with our colleagues builds connection. Let’s avoid using shame and humiliation, which have negative after-effects lasting long after the initial hurt.
Let’s choose to work together and address bad behaviour in a kind and respectful way. No throw-away comments disparaging other teams or professions. No negative assumptions about motivations of other people. Health care is a team sport. Civility saves lives.
The Civility Saves Lives website is an excellent resource - you may know of others, please share them. https://civilitysaveslives.com Please share stories and examples of positive behaviour too. Thank you and have an excellent year.
Chris Turner: When rudeness in teams turns deadly | Chris Turner | TEDxExeter | TED Talk
Negative Effects of Incivility | Civility Saves Lives | onthewards
How to Collaborate with People You Don’t Like (hbr.org)
On Rudeness (dontforgetthebubbles.com)
Unacceptable Behaviour In Medicine | Bullying & What To Do About It (onthewards.org)
Civility and compassion • LITFL • Bullying in the workplace
Professional socialization of doctors | Tribalism | Careers | onthewards
When doctors behave badly: a call for civility (kevinmd.com)
Three Ways to Create Psychological Safety in Health Care - YouTube
Unacceptable Behaviour in Medicine | HETI (nsw.gov.au)
Gaslighting at work: how do you manage it? - HRM online
ACEM - Taking a positive stance
Interdependence a Tale from the Wards | Hospital Teamwork | onthewards
Working with the ED Admitting Officer • LITFL • SMILE2
ACEM - ED Entomology: A tale from the Resus Room
PS - calling out bad behaviour is tricky stuff. There are people who can help - clinical leaders, colleges, supervisors, training organisations, HETI etc all have policies, pathways and counselling programs.
I have used them and found them excellent. If nothing suits you, please reach out to any friend or colleague - or to your GP. You don’t need to go it alone or put yourself in harm’s way. There are many of us trying to change the culture. We are stronger together.
And remember that bad behaviour may be a manifestation of distress. Be kind, be fair - always.
Often bad behaviour is a habit. The person involved may not even realise they are doing it. Sometimes that person is me. Sometimes it’s you. No-one is perfect.
