The Literature and the Specialities

 

How widespread is bullying in our profession?

Concerns about bullying within the medical and dental professions are not new. In 2002, the British Medical Association surveyed junior doctors with regard to their experiences of bullying and almost 50% of the sample group reported being bullied in the previous year. The size of the group (594 doctors) was small, making it difficult to extrapolate these figures to the medical profession in general, but suggested that bullying was indeed a problem. Other studies have drawn similar conclusions.

In 2014, the GMC National Training Survey explored the issue of bullying amongst trainees in the UK. 8% of junior doctors reported experiencing some form of bullying or undermining, and surgery was ranked the second worst in this field, behind obstetrics and gynaecology. In 2015, the President of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) issued a public apology for the extent of bullying behaviour that had been found in surgical workplaces across Australia and New Zealand. Up to 50% of surgeons had been subjected to bullying and this led to the launch of their campaign ‘Let's Operate with Respect'.

In 2016, the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published the results of their survey into bullying amongst consultants. Up to 44% of the respondents described persistent bullying and a third of those labelled it as severe. They too reacted to both this and the GMC Survey by providing their members and fellows with initiatives to tackle bullying. These included an online bullying toolkit and regional bullying guardians, who were outside of the training hierarchy .

RCSEd conducted its own membership survey in 2014, which was reported in the popular press. This survey demonstrated that 60% of surgical trainees testified to having been bullied in the workplace, yet nearly all described having observed it. But, interestingly, this survey identified that it wasn’t just a trainee issue; 34% of all the Members and Fellows that responded reported being bullied.

RCSEd set up a group in 2014 to ascertain the extent of undermining and bullying in UK surgical practice. The group identified a significant problem throughout all stages and grades within surgery, and the College released the following statement:

“The College has a zero tolerance approach to bullying, undermining and harassment and categorically condemns this in all circumstances.”

The work that has been done as part of this campaign follows on from the work of this group.


We don’t just need to be nice to each other – bullying affects our patients

As mentioned in The Facts and the Law, undermining and bullying is of considerable concern when it comes to patient safety. At the inquiries into the mortalities at both Mid Staffordshire NHS and Morecombe Bay NHS Trusts, a breakdown of team working was identified as part of the cause. There is a mountain of evidence to show the detrimental effect that bullying and undermining has on team performance, not just in the surgical arena, but in all walks of life.

Our workplace can be stressful. Treating others with the respect they deserve not only makes it a better, more supportive environment, it fosters good relationships between members of the team, and ultimately this leads to better patient care.


Views of other organisations