Disruptive Surgeons

One of MUSC's surgeons, Dr. Joseph Sakran recently wrote an article for the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons about disruptive behavior in the operating room. As readers may recall from an earlier Safely Speaking, disruptive behavior is wide spread in healthcare; over 90% of physicians, nurses and healthcare executives responded in a survey that they had witnessed it. Dr. Sakran argues that surgeons must take the lead in addressing this behavior in the operating rooms. As the leader during operative procedures, surgeons set the tone for the culture in the OR. If this tone is intimidating, other team members may not speak up, even if they suspect the surgeon is at risk for making an error. The clear benefit is improved safety for the patient, although there are other benefits include improving team cohesiveness and decreasing cost.