How doctors should deal with difficult coworkers

By Naveed Saleh, MD, MS, for MDLinx
Published January 3, 2019

Key Takeaways

Not all people are the same, and not all people get along easily. As a physician, you’ve likely interacted with colleagues who annoy you. It may be tempting to ignore the problem and hope it goes away. But remember that your role is to help the patient receive the most compassionate, beneficial, and evidence-based care possible…an unpleasant colleague can detract from your or your team’s efforts to practice good medicine.

Not all transgressions rise to the level of threatening patient well-being, but some do. A coworker who hums or whistles, for instance, may merely be an annoyance, but a fellow physician who ignores protocol, practice guidelines, or standard of care is a threat to patient health. Fortunately, you have recourse, which can involve discussing your concerns with the unpleasant coworker in a fair, civil, and understanding manner, or, in more serious cases, calling on others for help.

Here are eight tips on how to deal with unpleasant coworkers:

1. Polite requests. Spending a good portion of your day listening to a colleague clear their throat, sniffle, sigh, whistle, hum, or tap can be addling. These behaviors, however, probably don’t rise to the level of frank disciplinary action. Instead, it’s best to first find out whether this behavior either lies within the control of the person or is due to a medical condition.

A person who sniffles constantly, for example, may have post-nasal drip or an upper respiratory infection: conditions that can be treated with medications. Privately ask these colleagues whether their specific behavior is due to a medical condition, and if so, recommend that they seek treatment from their health-care provider.

If the annoying behavior—humming or whistling, for example—can’t readily be traced back to a condition or illness, it’s best to empathetically voice your concern to the offender: kindly inform them that their behavior is distracting and bothersome, and politely ask them to stop.

2. Setting limits. If you’re new to your job, guidance from coworkers is necessary and welcome. But what happens when you’re an experienced practitioner who has been working for years, and a coworker continues to mind your actions, watch your every step, comment, and criticize? First, listen to the coworker’s concerns before you approach them, and ensure that you are following standards of care and protocol.

With overbearing colleagues, it’s best to set limits privately. Calmly tell them that you are an experienced and knowledgeable practitioner who always acts in the best interest of the patients and health-care team; kindly remind them that you’re capable of doing your job without their unnecessary feedback.

3. Reporting to leadership. Physicians must be aware of evidence-based standards of care. If a physician is aware of these best practices but chooses to ignore them, it may compromise the patient’s health or even have fatal consequences, which is the worst outcome imaginable. Furthermore, these actions open the door to litigation.

These renegade physicians can cause the following:

  • medical errors,
  • patient dissatisfaction,
  • employee attrition,
  • compromised team morale,
  • preventable adverse outcomes, and
  • extra financial cost of care

If you encounter another physician who is intentionally flouting standard of care, go straight to the administration with your concerns. In a figurative sense, these practitioners have crossed the line from venial to moral sin and need to be evaluated and appropriate measures should be taken.

4. Maintain professionalism. Remember that when interacting with an annoying, difficult, or even dangerous colleague, remain professional. Don’t raise your voice, don’t say or write anything you may regret, and, if approaching a difficult colleague, do so in private. No one likes to be called out in front of others.

5. Be cautious. Carefully compose your emails with professionalism in mind. On a related note, remember that an email chain can be used to support any concerns and, if necessary, should be forwarded to the appropriate personnel. Furthermore, it’s a good idea to document all your interactions with difficult coworkers in writing for future reference. And never, ever share personal details with a problem colleague: This disclosure can come back to haunt you.

6. Don’t be discouraged. An unpleasant coworker can bring you down and make you and others feel bad. When confronted with a difficult coworker, stay positive and upbeat.

7. Keep others informed. If a colleague is merely annoying, then going to your superiors or HR is a bad idea. But if a coworker is intimidating, harassing, or harmful to you or your patients, it’s time to seek outside help. Help can come in the form of both your superiors, and in the case of threatening behavior, law authorities.

8. Don’t bring your problems home with you. When at home, try to disengage yourself from your difficulties at work. Whether it’s spending time with family or friends, your pets, or your pastimes, recharge in your off time. This is also imperative in avoiding burnout.

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