Incivility among hospital or clinic staff isn’t just about workplace culture. It’s a patient safety issue that must be addressed. Margaret Curtin with Curi Advisory Risk Consulting shares the steps all healthcare leaders can take now.
Every day, we’re inundated with reports of violence and incivility in our communities. Unfortunately, these acts and the emotions that accompany them don’t stop at the hospital or clinic door. As healthcare leaders, we often find ourselves in environments where defiance, disrespect, anger, and hostility spill into our professional spaces.
While much attention is paid to “external” threats in healthcare, such as from patients, a quieter, more insidious danger often goes unaddressed: unprofessional behavior among staff. This “internal” incivility is more than just a matter of workplace culture—it’s a patient safety issue.
Keep reading for the steps you can take as a practice, clinic, or hospital leader to help halt incivility in healthcare.
Incivility has been described as low-intensity behavior with ambiguous intent to harm its target. It violates workplace norms for mutual respect and is typically characterized by rude, discourteous, or disrespectful actions, whether verbal or non-verbal.1
These behaviors include belittling comments, dismissive gestures (such as eye-rolling or sighs), gossip, social exclusion, impatience with questions, and condescending language or tone.
Incivility among healthcare professionals is prevalent, with 53% of nurses reporting experiencing incivility in the past year, and 31% of physicians reporting receiving weekly or daily rude, dismissive, or aggressive communication.2,3
While dismissive remarks, passive-aggressive responses, or simply ignoring a colleague’s request for help may seem minor or relatively harmless, research shows these actions can have serious consequences for performance, communication, and, ultimately, patient outcomes. Studies show that hospitals with a toxic work culture have a higher incidence of medical errors.4
In particular, I’ve seen that tensions between nurses and physicians can upend entire departments. At times, incivility may even border on bullying (which can be differentiated by more deliberate intent to harm and can fall under workplace harassment). Power dynamics are real.
Incivility doesn’t have to be overt to be dangerous. Eye-rolling, sarcasm, or avoidance can create an environment where staff hesitate to speak up—even when patient safety is at stake. Communication breakdowns are the most common root causes of adverse medical events and malpractice claims.
Even being a bystander to rudeness affects performance. In one study, NICU teams that received a rude, disparaging introduction from a leader performed significantly worse in simulated medical scenarios than teams that received positive reinforcement.5
The message is clear: Small acts of disrespect can have big consequences.
I recently listened to a podcast on conflict intelligence that underscored the need to write about this topic now. The expert being interviewed stated that, in general, incivility on the job is worsening, and it costs companies billions of dollars in lost productivity and staffing every day. In the healthcare setting specifically, the literal and metaphorical costs are just too high.
We talk a lot about clinical protocols, checklists, and technology to improve patient outcomes. But sometimes, the most powerful safety tool is something much simpler: respect.
When we treat each other with professionalism and civility, we create an environment where communication flows, focus is sharper, and mistakes are less likely to happen. We don’t just make the workplace better—we make it safer for everyone.
It’s time to start seeing civility not just as a workplace courtesy, but as a patient safety imperative.
Curi Advisory Risk Consulting, powered by ERC, is here to help. We can support your training and education needs around communication, teamwork, and psychological safety.
Dealing with more than incivility? Discover strategies for workplace violence prevention.
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