6 actions radiology leaders can take to help banish bullying

Citing recent studies that have shown workplace bullying is all too common in radiology and radiation oncology, three members of American College of Radiology (ACR)’s human resources commission are suggesting steps to cut off the problem at its root.

Jay Parikh, MD, of the University of Texas, Jay Harolds, MD, of Michigan State University and commission chair Edmund Bluth, MD, of Tulane University and Ochsner Queensland Medical School offer their tips in a paper published online Jan. 6 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Among the research the authors cite is a 2014 survey showing that around two-thirds of 308 radiation therapists across the U.S. were working in, or had previously been employed at, an institution where workplace bullying was in evidence.

They also spotlight a 2016 survey of several hundred radiologic technologist trainees in the U.K. showing that, of 63 percent of respondents who said they had been subject to bullying, approximately 17 percent reported having been subjected to more than 10 separate incidents. The forms of bullying the students specified included humiliation and belittling (85.1 percent), excessive criticism (73.4 percent) and being ostracized or ignored (66.2 percent).

The bullying was bad enough for more than half (59 percent) that they’d thought about leaving their clinical placement.

In the current paper, Parikh et al. underscore two specific leadership standards issued in 2008 by the Joint Commission to address inappropriate behaviors in the hospital workplace:

• The hospital/organization has a code of conduct that defines acceptable and disruptive and inappropriate behaviors.
• Leaders create and implement processes for managing disruptive and inappropriate behaviors.

“The ACR commission on human resources recommends that departments review their harassment policies and add a prohibition against bullying if they do not already have an explicit antibullying policy,” Parikh and colleagues write, adding that hospital leadership should receive dedicated training on recognizing bullying behavior as well as on implementing institutional antibullying policies.

To these amplifications of the Joint Commission standards, Parikh and co-authors add that radiology leaders and their organizations can help counter bullying with six action items:

1. Educate physicians-in-training and technologists-in-training about workplace bullying and the imperative to recognize and report such behavior.
2. Provide ongoing regular education on bullying for all health care team members.
3. Regulate feedback by providing guidelines on how feedback should be delivered.
4. Maintain a protection-from-retaliation policy for individuals who report bullying. It should be clear how to report a supervisor or supervising physician to another individual in confidence.
5. Provide counseling, including career and financial counseling, for support of victims of bullying.
6. Review teaching techniques to ensure that the line between the Socratic method and bullying is not crossed.

The authors point out that ACR’s human-resources commission recommends that similar policies can extend to nonhospital settings.

They call for new studies to specifically investigate bullying of radiology and radiation oncology residents, radiologists and radiation oncologists.

“The ACR Commission on Human Resources supports the implementation of codes of conduct and antibullying policies in radiology and radiation oncology settings,” they write, “and is committed to a safe environment for radiologists and radiation oncologists, coworkers and patients.”