Bullying and harassment of health workers endangers patient safety
– The Conversation
Bullying, harassment and other unprofessional behaviours are culturally ingrained in the Australian health-care system.
As we outline today in the Medical Journal of Australia, between one-quarter and half of doctors and nurses in Australia have been bullied, discriminated against or harassed at work.
This impacts on the way they do their work, and the quality and safety of the care they’re able to provide patients.
From doctor depression to medical errors
Workplace bullying in hospitals has been shown to cause depression, anxiety and fatigue among health workers. It can also reduce performance and levels of self-esteem.
These symptoms, along with stress and poor staff satisfaction at work, leads to higher staff absenteeism, impacting continuity of patient care and increasing the workload in already overstretched hospital clinics and wards.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12-year-old girl claims bullying resulted in her threatening social media posts, police say
By Amanda Batchelor, WPLG
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – A 12-year-old girl is facing serious charges after she posted threatening messages on Snapchat, authorities said.
Pembroke Pines police spokeswoman Amanda Conwell said in a news release that the police department was contacted Monday by an anonymous complainant who informed authorities about the threatening posts made by a student at Pembroke Pines Charter Central.
Conwell said the girl was immediately taken into custody by school resource Officer William Pleasants and the girl’s mother was notified and went to the school.
According to police, one of the posts read, “If I get this one more time I will shoot someone.” Another post allegedly read, “No one go to school tmrrw.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Helpline to tackle bullying in chemistry
By Laura Foster, BBC
Bullying and harassment is such a problem in the world of chemistry that a dedicated helpline is being set up for victims, a scientific body says.
The Royal Society of Chemistry says people were being denied opportunities because of “a culture of secrecy” and the ‘unchecked power of managers’.
The research showed both men and women have been bullied and harassed by colleagues.
But it was mostly women who were discriminated against.
It’s hoped the helpline will increase the number of women chemists.