The British Junior Cardiologists’ Association (BJCA) and the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) have issued a joint position statement in a bid to stamp out bullying, harassment, discrimination and other “unacceptable” and “unprofessional” behaviors in the specialty.
The statement, published online in the journal Heart, urges every cardiology team member to call out these behaviors to drive culture change.
Endorsed by 19 organizations affiliated with the BCS, the statement represents a specialty-wide response to the issue.
It comes in the wake of evidence suggesting that these behaviors are common in UK cardiology departments, and may be indicative of longstanding cultural and practice issues, fueled by previous training and unconscious biases, says the statement.
Data from the General Medical Council trainee survey suggest that bullying in cardiology is almost double the average across all medical specialties: 12.3% vs. 6.9%, highlights the statement.
Bullying is associated with poorer performance, a heightened risk of medical error, lost productivity, burn-out and absenteeism. It accounts for half of all stress-related workplace illness, the statement points out.
Inappropriate behavior in cardiology departments has a detrimental ripple effect, including on the recruitment and retention of staff, patient care, and other bystanders, says the statement.
“As such, improving the culture and professional behaviors within UK cardiology departments is of paramount importance,” it insists.
The statement sets out examples of inappropriate behavior. These include bullying; sexist, racist, homophobic or belittling language; discrimination; harassment; providing or depriving individuals of opportunities based purely on personal characteristics; outbursts of uncontrolled anger; and unconstructive criticism of performance.
And it highlights the common misconception in the specialty that intimidation helps to ‘build character’ and is how cardiologists were trained in the past.
“This is an anachronistic and flawed concept: intimidating language or actions do not build character and have substantial negative impacts on those affected. Furthermore, role modeling and learnt behaviors lead to perpetuating the cycle of bullying,” it emphasizes.
“While mistakes happen in medicine and may require frank feedback to aid learning, they are not an excuse for intimidating or belittling behavior or language,” it adds.
Senior team members should lead by example, and act swiftly to respond to concerns. But every member of the cardiology team has a duty to call out inappropriate behaviors to drive culture change and foster a positive working environment, says the statement.
Informal feedback for one-off episodes may be appropriate, but serious events or repeat offenses warrant escalation through formal channels, it says.
Ignoring such behavior simply helps to perpetuate it, emphasizes the statement, adding that safeguards are needed to protect those who raise concerns from being penalized.
Several strategies are required at the individual, departmental, and national level to improve the culture within UK cardiology, concludes the statement. These are:
For departments and individuals
Set out clear standards and expectations of behavioral norms from all members of the cardiovascular team
Encourage the reporting of inappropriate behaviors
Ensure clear policies, practices and procedures are in place for dealing with inappropriate behavior, iteratively reviewed, and included in induction and staff handbooks
Designate and train a behavior lead with whom concerns can be raised
Consider any episodes of inappropriate behavior in the selection process for promotions and leadership roles
Make routine use of multi-source feedback where evidence of all behaviors can be raised
Provide mandatory training for all on workplace culture; how to give and receive structured feedback; unconscious bias; and cardiology-specific human factors
For universities and national bodies
Develop a positive organizational culture and ensure that similar standards of behavior are expected of members (national bodies)
Establish a transparent cardiology reporting strategy for inappropriate behavior
Incorporate Freedom to Speak Up Guardians into the reporting and responding strategies in NHS Trusts
Include a person tasked with promoting professional standards on committees (national bodies)
Consider incidences of inappropriate behavior when allocating funding and advancement in cardiovascular research (universities and funders)
Include past inappropriate behavior when considering people for roles within their organization, at meetings, or the presentation of awards (national bodies)
Ensure that appropriate mentors and advisors outside of the direct supervisory chain are available to everyone taking part in cardiovascular research (universities)
Develop appropriate training packages to improve accessibility to departments and individuals that are reasonably priced and included in study budgets (national bodies)
“As with clinical standards, professional societies have a role in developing a standard for appropriate behavior and a responsibility to ensure that inappropriate behavior is shown to be unacceptable,” says the statement.
BCS President Professor John Greenwood comments: “No-one should be discriminated against at work, bullied, harassed or undermined. In cardiology we have had this pervasive culture for far too long. This statement and its practical recommendations represent a concerted effort to stop bullying in its tracks and put measures in place to stop it happening in the future. We will be taking the statement to our annual conference at the beginning of June to raise awareness and discuss implementation of the recommendations across the UK.”
Dr. Christian Fielder Camm, BJCA President, adds, “The detrimental effect of inappropriate workplace behavior can be profound and all those involved in UK cardiology and cardiovascular medicine have a responsibility to face up to this longstanding problem.”
“This document is a significant step forward in acknowledging this important issue and providing clear recommendations for individuals, departments, and national bodies to tackle this problem.”
More information:
Consensus statement: Joint British Societies’ position statement on bullying, harassment and discrimination in cardiology, Heart (2023). DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2023-322445
Citation:
UK cardiology societies issue joint policy statement to stamp out unacceptable behaviors (2023, May 30)
retrieved 30 May 2023
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VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
