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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022
| Contributor Information
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
Physicians tell Medscape they're seeing more frequent incidents of other doctors acting disrespectfully toward patients or coworkers, too casually about patient privacy, angrily or aggressively at work, and sometimes even criminally. Such behavior is still relatively uncommon, but does it seem more tame or even worse when US doctors look at their UK peers or vice versa?
Medscape surveyed nearly 2800 physicians in the US and UK about how often and where doctor bad behavior crops up today. This report compares responses from physicians in the two countries.
(Note: Some chart data in this presentation do not add up to 100% due to rounding.)
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
We asked physicians about inappropriate behavior by doctors (unprofessional or disrespectful behavior toward patients or colleagues, disregard for patient privacy, angry or aggressive acts, or lawbreaking).
US physicians are more likely than their UK peers to spot misbehavior by fellow doctors at work. UK physicians are likelier than US doctors to say they see no poor behavior in any setting — at the office, away from work, or on social media.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
When it comes to evaluating their own behavior, US and UK physicians take a more moderate tone than when considering their peers. More than 8 in 10 doctors on both sides of the Atlantic say they don't believe they behaved inappropriately, either mistakenly or knowingly, in a professional role anytime during the past year.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
Respondents were asked whether they had personally witnessed certain misbehaviors by physicians at work in the past 5 years. The charts show the kinds of poor behavior that were asked about in both the US and UK surveys; respondents could choose more than one.
Mistreatment of fellow physicians or medical staff was the problem cited most often in both the US and the UK.
Doctors being verbally or physically aggressive toward patients or coworkers is a bigger problem in the US, in the opinion of physicians there. Making unwanted advances toward someone (not a choice in the UK survey) is an issue in the US, according to respondents there. UK respondents frequently chose sexist behavior by doctors (not a choice in the US survey).
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
As with workplace misbehavior, these charts show the poor behaviors witnessed away from work in the past 5 years that doctors cited most often. (Note: Respondents could choose more than one.)
The lists of undesirable behavior are quite similar, although in different orders. Doctors publicly mocking others or being inebriated may be issues in both the US and the UK. Sexist behavior in public (not a choice in the US survey) also was commonly identified by UK physicians (38%).
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
US and UK doctors have very similar profiles in these situations. They are much likelier to confront a misbehaving doctor, do nothing at all, or tell a superior or HR than to take the written-complaint route.
An American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics opinion recommends that US physicians report incompetent or unethical behavior that could put patients at risk. In the UK, the General Medical Council tells health professionals, "Most concerns about doctors will be handled locally without involving the GMC. However, you should inform us if there is evidence that suggests the doctor may not be fit to practise."
(Note: Respondents could choose more than one.)
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
When asked what should happen when other physicians act inappropriately in the workplace, once again US and UK doctors are quite similar. On both sides of the Atlantic, doctors think the first course of action should be verbal warnings or management interventions, before any formal measures such as disciplinary actions or suspensions kick in.
(Note: Respondents could choose more than one.)
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
US and UK doctors both say the offending physicians are more often in their 40s, followed fairly evenly by those in their 50s or 30s. Of note, the youngest physicians are spotted acting out of turn by their peers only about half as often in the US as in the UK. (Note: Respondents could choose multiple age groups for multiple incidents.)
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
In the most recent instances, female doctors were seen acting in inappropriate ways significantly less often than their male counterparts were on both sides of the Atlantic. However, women were identified slightly more frequently in the UK than in the US.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
Nearly identical majorities of doctors in the US and UK accept the idea that they should work and live under higher standards for good behavior than the general public does, because of their vocation.
In the US, a Journal of Medical Ethics blog notes that loftier moral and personal conduct standards for physicians are rooted in centuries of tradition. In the UK, one of the General Medical Council's five precepts for being a good doctor is to "maintain trust in you and the profession by being open, honest and acting with integrity."
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
The majority of doctors in both the US and UK think society's expectations for their proper behavior are appropriate. A greater share of UK physicians think the public's expectations are set too high. A somewhat bigger percentage of US doctors think expectations are too low.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
The four possible reasons chosen most often were the same for US and UK doctors, although in different orders. However, each of those factors was selected by greater shares of US physicians. The charts show the kinds of poor behavior that were asked about in both the US and UK surveys; respondents could choose more than one.
It is worth noting that UK physicians generally seemed more skeptical about common explanations for doctor misbehavior. And a greater percentage of UK doctors felt that none of these possible reasons adequately explained poor behavior by their peers.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
Slightly more UK doctors believe that they should be able to behave as they wish in their personal lives, as long as they aren't acting in a professional capacity. In both the US and UK, that is a particularly popular view among younger doctors.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
Regardless of whether they favor certain disciplinary actions against physicians who act inappropriately, strong majorities of both US and UK doctors are not seeing disciplinary measures by healthcare organizations or medical boards. However, the frequency with which disciplinary action is handed down is substantially higher in America.
Physicians are overseen, and sometimes disciplined, by state medical boards in the US and by the independent General Medical Council in the UK.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
When asked about the settings in which they most often find fellow doctors behaving inappropriately, US and UK physicians most often point to in-person medical scenarios and at identical rates. UK doctors are slightly more likely to spot misbehavior in in-person, nonmedical situations. US physicians are a tad more likely to see poor behavior by peers on social media.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
Average US and UK doctors look quite similar in terms of which kinds of physician misbehavior top their lists. But most of these categories were chosen by greater shares of US physicians. (Note: Respondents could choose more than one.) This could indicate that acting out on social media is worse in America, that doctors spend more time on social media in the US, or have more fellow physicians in their networks; or all of these.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
More than 6 in 10 UK doctors who use social media regularly answered this question by choosing none of the mainstream platforms we presented, a rate that suggests that many have seen no physician misbehavior at all on social media.
As for physicians who have, Facebook was the leading culprit with both US and UK physicians. US physicians pointed to Instagram, and UK physicians to WhatsApp/Telegram, more often. "I see bad behavior almost every time I read an active post on Facebook or Instagram," noted one respondent to the US survey.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
The great majority of doctors in the US and UK are careful to avoid posting inappropriate selfies or other photos that also show medical practice settings, and which therefore could violate patient confidentiality or embarrass the practice.
That said, the risk seems to be greater in America, as physicians there report higher rates of both inappropriate selfies and other kinds of problematic posted photos.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
In the US, medical societies like the American College of Surgeons counsel physicians to avoid friending patients, for common-sense and patient privacy reasons. In the UK, the General Medical Council urges doctors to "maintain a professional boundary" with patients when using social media.
Nonetheless, some physicians have friended, or would friend, a patient on social media. It's twice as likely to happen in the US than in the UK.
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
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Physicians Behaving Badly: US vs UK
Jon McKenna | October 21, 2022 | Contributor Information
Physicians Behaving Badly: Stress and Hardship Trigger Misconduct
Physicians reveal how often they see fellow doctors misbehaving in person or on social media, and recount some of the worst physician behavior they have witnessed.News, Aug 2022
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