Editorial: Programs for Promoting Professionalism: Questions to Guide Next Steps

摘要

This issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety features descriptions of excellent efforts at the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) in Philadelphia and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston to address the kinds of unprofessional behavior that undermine a culture of safety, negatively impact patient experiences, increase costs, and create "a culture of fear and intimidation that saps joy and meaning from work." According to The Joint Commission, "The presence of intimidating and disruptive behaviors in an organization . . . erodes professional behavior and creates an unhealthy or even hostile work environment-one that is readily recognized by patients and their families." In "Development of a Professionalism Committee Approach to Addressing Unprofessional Medical Staff Behavior at an Academic Medical Center," Speck and colleagues describe the formation and functions of the UPHS Professionalism Committee and preliminary experience. In "Instituting a Culture of Professionalism: The Establishment of a Center for Professionalism and Peer Support," Shapiro, Whittemore, and Tsen describe the creation of BWH's Center for Professionalism and Peer Support (CPPS) and discuss CPPS initiatives and initial outcomes regarding respectful behavior. We commend the authors of both articles for sharing their work in defining frameworks for measuring unprofessional behavior, increasing their colleagues' willingness to report such behaviors, and taking thoughtful action in response.