News and briefs: Job characteristics affect unprofessional behavior by hospitalists

Age, clinical time, and shift all factor into hospitalist behavior.  A survey conducted by theJournal of Hospital Medicine asked hospitalists to identify what they perceive as unprofessional behavior and which of these behaviors the hospitalist was guilty of exhibiting. The top unprofessional behaviors reported were:

• Having personal conversations in patient corridors (67%)
• Ordering a test as urgent to expedite care (62%)
• Making fun of other physicians (40%)

Although overall participation in unprofessional behavior was categorized as low by the study authors, there were factors that increased this behavior. For example, younger hospitalists were more likely to participate in workload management behaviors and nighttime hospitalists were more likely to participate in time pressure behaviors. Hospitalists who spend less time in a clinical role were more likely to make fun of other physicians.

In an article in HealthLeaders Media, study coauthor Vineet M. Arora, MD, from the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago, says there is growing concern about the discrepancy between what is taught about professionalism in formal medical education and what is seen on the ward.

"We had been doing some work about professionalism among students and residents. There is a lot of literature in those areas that the learning environment in academic medical centers may not be as positive at all times as it should be. We often heard from student residents that we should expand our work to include faculty to better understand role models in the learning environments," says Arora in the article.