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PRACTICE PARTNER
send doctors to“ charm school”, to decrease their brashness and reinforce how they must set the tone for their residents. This hospital also trains staff to be alert for the fallout of incivility, like people refusing to work with particular doctors, or complaints that go through the grapevine. Doctors there are not only empowered but mandated to report such incidents. A recent Psychology Today column( May 1, 2018, Want Better Conversations in Times of Divisiveness?) argued that civility is too low a bar, that it just says: don’ t be nasty. The piece suggested we focus on a word that should be familiar to doctors, given where many work: hospitality – treating others in a warm and generous way. Yet civility has its own elegance, says Dr. Kaufmann. The term comes from the Latin civilis, and referred to the state of being a citizen.
Society depended on good citizenship and orderly behaviour. Without people cooperating towards a common goal, everything would collapse. So maybe civility is an ideal objective, in health care, other workplaces and life. Think of what it can unlock. There’ s a reason why Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, an 18th century English aristocrat and writer, once said that“ Civility costs nothing and buys everything.” Will we be civil in our discourse 100 % of the time? Of course not. That’ s why people have to be conscious of it and act deliberately and thoughtfully, perhaps especially when tensions are high.“ We see the highest functioning teams where civility is a value,” says Dr. Kaufmann.“ We need to keep the idea of being civil at the forefront of being a professional. That’ s a good thing for all of us, especially patients.” MD
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You can also send us a change of address form. At the back of each issue of Dialogue and on the College’ s website, a change of address form is provided. Please mail, fax, or email it to the College. You must notify the College within 30 days of an address change. The College’ s register must contain your current mailing address, email address, and your primary practice address. The College also uses your email address for some communications. Your email is not available to the public.
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DIALOGUE ISSUE 2, 2018