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.