ACC health policy statement calls out negative work environments in cardiology

After a recent survey found that one-third of resident doctors and faculty have experienced bias, discrimination, bullying, or harassment, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) released a new health policy statement acknowledging the problem and offering recommendations and resources for building a civil, respectful and bully-free workplace.[1]

“Respect and civil behavior are critical to the health and future of the cardiovascular workforce, and essential for the American College of Cardiology to achieve its mission to ‘transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health,’” wrote first author and writing committee co-chair Pamela S. Douglas, MD, in a journal pre-proof of the statement.

Authors’ recommendations for building a more positive work environment include establishing confidential and fair mechanisms for reporting bias, discrimination, bullying and harassment; creating institutional resources to ensure that hiring decisions and performance evaluations are objective, and adopting metrics supported by data collection to track progress.

As with all ACC health policy statements, the 2022 ACC Health Policy Statement on Building Respect, Civility, and Inclusion in the Cardiovascular Workforce is meant to be informational in nature rather than prescriptive. In the ACC announcement, writing committee co-chair Michael Mack, MD, MACC stressed the importance of each institution customizing its own initiatives to build a better workplace.

“In order to implement meaningful, successful approaches to addressing bias, discrimination, bullying and harassment, each initiative must be tailored to individual and institutional needs,” Mack said.

While it is up to each institution to determine which actions will have the greatest impact, institutions that ignore the underlying problems may do so at their own risk.

The ramifications of not tackling these issues cannot be ignored, as uncivil behavior impacts employee retention, well-being, and has potentially high costs for the institution or practice,” Douglas said in the ACC announcement.

For those who want to learn more about the statement’s recommendations, the ACC will devote a session to discussing the 2022 ACC Health Policy Statement on Building Respect, Civility, and Inclusion in the Cardiovascular Workforce in full at its upcoming 71st Annual Scientific Session and Expo in Washington, D.C. on April 2.  The overview session April 2 is 4:15-5:30 PM, in room 145B, and titled "The State of Cardiovascular Workforce: Global Insights and Solutions on Discrimination, Harassment, and Racism." 

Addressing these issues is essential for us to provide excellent care, to achieve the ACC mission, and to serve as a welcoming home for all our members,” notes the session description.

Read the full policy statement

 

Reference:

1. Writing Committee, Douglas PS, Mack MJ, Acosta DA, Benjamin EJ, Biga C, Hayes SN, Ijioma NN, Jay-Fuchs L, Khandelwal AK, McPherson JA, Mieres JH, Roswell RO, Sengupta PP, Stokes N, Wade EA, Yancy CW, 2022 ACC Health Policy Statement on Building Respect, Civility, and Inclusion in the Cardiovascular Workplace, Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.03.006.

Jessica Kania is a digital editor who has worked across the Innovate Healthcare brands, including Radiology Business, Health Imaging, AI in Healthcare and Cardiovascular Business. She also has vast experience working on custom content projects focused on technology innovation, clinical excellence, operational efficiency and improving financial performance in healthcare.  

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