Bullying in healthcare : a disruptive force linked to compromised patient safety Pennsylvania patient safety advisory Wallace, Susan C., author. Gipson, Kelly, author. Bullying Health Facilities Patient Safety Workplace Bullying or aggressive behaviors between healthcare providers, such as verbal abuse and intimidation, can be a threat to safe patient care. Bullying behaviors can inhibit teamwork, obstruct communication, and delay implementation of new practices; it can interfere with patient care. This type of behavior may contribute to low worker morale, absenteeism, and high rates of staff turnover. A query of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) database revealed 44 events associated with bullying behaviors over a two-year period. Strategies to reduce bullying behaviors include scripting methods to speak up to bullying in an assertive manner, such as D.E.S.C. (i.e., describe, express, suggest, consequences); role playing through simulation to practice confronting a bully; instituting zero tolerance anti-bullying policies with leadership enforcement; and enhancing staff awareness of human resources and management support. [Harrisburg, Pa.] : Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, June 2017 Pennsylvania. Patient Safety Authority, issuing body. ECRI (Organization), issuing body. Institute for Safe Medication Practices, issuing body. Technical Report Text Illustrations 1 online resource (1 PDF file (8 pages)) nlm:nlmuid-101711384-pdf 101711384 http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101711384 English Pennsylvania United States Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0