Rudeness can Kill a Patient
Rudeness can Kill a Patient
By: Arlene Gentallan
When it's your child's health we're talking about especially in life and death situations, things can get heated. It isn't uncommon for a parent to shout at a nurse or a doctor...be it justifiable or not. Unfortunately, rudeness comes at a price.
Research shows that rudeness can result to poor performance among medical staffs.
It impedes thinking, memory, decision-making, creativity, communication, and sociability which are essential in providing quality health care. This translates to poor medical treatment given to the patient (eg. misdiagnosing the patient, giving the wrong medication.)
A couple of disrespectful words may be enough to compromise the quality of care given by a nurse, doctor or other health care provider. Even those who just witness a parent's anger directed towards another medical staff can create a negative effect on them.
The medical field is a pressured environment. People are unable to get past a rude comment easily. Rude acts and words causes havoc, making health care provider less caring and less helpful. At the core of it, patient care suffers.
Resources:
Riskin A, Erez A, Foulk TA, et al. Rudeness and Medical Team Performance. Pediatrics. 2017;139(2):e20162305
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| Rudeness can Kill a Patient |
By: Arlene Gentallan
When it's your child's health we're talking about especially in life and death situations, things can get heated. It isn't uncommon for a parent to shout at a nurse or a doctor...be it justifiable or not. Unfortunately, rudeness comes at a price.
Research shows that rudeness can result to poor performance among medical staffs.
It impedes thinking, memory, decision-making, creativity, communication, and sociability which are essential in providing quality health care. This translates to poor medical treatment given to the patient (eg. misdiagnosing the patient, giving the wrong medication.)
A couple of disrespectful words may be enough to compromise the quality of care given by a nurse, doctor or other health care provider. Even those who just witness a parent's anger directed towards another medical staff can create a negative effect on them.
The medical field is a pressured environment. People are unable to get past a rude comment easily. Rude acts and words causes havoc, making health care provider less caring and less helpful. At the core of it, patient care suffers.
Resources:
Riskin A, Erez A, Foulk TA, et al. Rudeness and Medical Team Performance. Pediatrics. 2017;139(2):e20162305
