On a warm May 31, 2023 spring evening, they gathered together, a little curious and perhaps somewhat apprehensive as the topic of the evening’s CME was incivility. They included family practitioners, specialists, and Interior Health administrative staff. All had experienced incivility in some form which was unfortunately not at all unusual and all were interested in learning more about its effect on healthcare.
It turns out incivility has many forms from rude or unsociable speech or behavior to shouting at someone, swearing, aggression (not necessarily towards anyone), belittling someone, sending emails while in meetings, talking over others, rolling eyes…the list goes on. The impact of incivility spreads through a team like a ripple in a pond, impacting everyone:
– 80% lost time worrying about the rudeness
– 78% reduced their commitment to work
– 63% lost time avoiding the offender
– 48% reduced their time at work
– 38% reduced the quality of their work
– 25% took it out on others, including customers
– 12% left
“How we behave towards each other is the single greatest factor in how well competent teams perform,” noted Dr. Chris Turner in the video recording presented as the evening’s event. Dr. Turner, a consultant in emergency medicine at University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire, England, is one of the founders of Civility Saves Lives, a campaign that aims to raise awareness of the impact of behavior on performance, particularly healthcare. Over the last few years this idea has gained momentum and traction across healthcare and beyond including at Vernon Jubilee Hospital where the “Civility Matters” project, led by Dr. Yann Brierley, is now in full swing.
The evening’s special CME presentation was part of the video recording of Dr. Turner’s key note presentation at the VJH Physician Society’s RESET 2022 Conference in October 2022. Encouraged by feedback from that conference, Dr. Brierley hosted the first “Dinner and a Movie” CME at Vernon’s Prestige Hotel with a shorter version of the original recording leaving time for discussion amongst the group afterwards.
Attendees agreed that recognizing the impact of incivility is the first step. The next step is acknowledging it and taking steps to change, whether that is within one’s self, in a clinical team, a department, or within a wider organization.
Want to view the video presentation too? Click here: https://youtu.be/nYsFCTBM2l8
Look for more civility awareness events coming in September.