The Real Healthcare Reform: How Embracing Civility Can Beat Back Burnout and Revive Your Healthcare Career
A great resource for educators and much needed by everyone in the healthcare workplace! This book zeroes in on the importance of teamwork and professional integrity. It opens up important conversations about negative attitudes, burnout and incivility, and in doing so, inspires everyone to make a difference and become more influential. --Judy Larkins, RNCNA Educator, Mayland Community CollegeA truly enjoyable read! I highly recommend this book to anyone who works in healthcare. I feel empowered and now believe that I can make a difference. I will keep this book close by and use it to help me evaluate and resolve situations that arise in my workplace. --Dal Basile, LPN, Santa Monica, CaliforniaAn easy read that addresses many unpleasant issues in the workplace. It offers simple, helpful solutions to resolve areas of conflict whilst highlighting the importance of integrity, team spirit and esteem. The book offers sensible suggestions and activities to build workable professional relationships which are so important for a happy and healthy working environment. This book is an excellent resource for all levels of healthcare professionals to reinforce the importance of civility and high morale within healthcare teams. --Elise Grace, CNASalisbury, EnglandFive Stars: The book got right to the heart of the matter without any fluff and I felt that it gave a broader view of what really happens in this whole nurses eat their young montage speak that I cringe at whenever I hear it said. It discusses bullying in the workplace and gives the reader a real look into what is going on with us as nurses; are we partners in health care or catty, jealous cohorts in an already stressful environment? Unfortunately I have personally seen/heard and been on the receiving end of this nurse bullying , not only by floor staff nurses but by clinical instructors as well, and it did nothing for our true purpose as healthcare providers which is to help patients. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and would suggest that all colleges, not just those with nursing programs use it in their curriculum, as it shines a light on what it really means to be civil to each other. (June 23, 2012) --Schauren Hinson, APRN, MSN, FNP-BCAccording to Linda Leekley, BS, RN and Stacey Turnure, RN--the authors of "The Real Healthcare Reform: How Embracing Civility Can Beat Back Burnout and Revive Your Healthcare Career"-- incivility "infects" healthcare workplaces in epidemic proportions. Based on that premise, the authors maintain that it is through embracing civility that true healthcare reform will take place. In this easy-to-read book, Ms. Leekley and Ms. Turnure offer a step-by-step analysis of the impact of incivility as it pertains to healthcare, and a plethora of exercises and questions to assist the earnest healthcare provider in identifying issues pertinent to the epidemic of incivility, and--more importantly--how to take personal responsibility for turning that epidemic around. The authors state: "Sadly, civility has been overlooked and undervalued for far too long among healthcare professionals--and now there is proof that a lack of civility adds to medical errors, poor patient satisfaction, higher employee turnover, stress, burnout, bullying and higher healthcare costs for consumers."  From gossip and slander to intimidation, sabotage, bullying and hate-ism, incivility in all of its nefarious forms infects the healthcare workplace and takes a toll that is physical, psychological, and financial. And while the authors do not directly mention the spiritual toll of incivility, there is no doubt in this reviewer's mind that the spiritual effects of incivility and bullying are potentially devastating for individuals, organizations and society at large.  Offered as a guide for individuals and organizations, this book would be a very useful text for students working towards a degree in a healthcare-related field, and it would behoove managers and administrators to take the authors' thesis quite seriously. I especially enjoyed the focus that Leekley and Turnure place on individual responsibility for curbing incivility, underscoring the notion that incivility does not only translate as "politeness", but also as self-awareness, respect, the ability to stay present, the desire to change, engaging in dialogue, and strengthening patience, personal grace and strength of character.  The authors very strongly recommend that healthcare workers refrain from developing friendships with colleagues and coworkers, and they illustrate this strongly worded edict with differentiating criteria for professional relationships versus friendships outside of work. While I at first bristled at this suggestion, my reflections on the complications of workplace friendships gave me pause. Reflecting more deeply on this notion, I found my developing personal opinion on this matter reinforced through the authors' explanation of why firm boundaries in professional relationships can be extremely helpful. From getting along with coworkers to conflict resolution and the biology of anger, "The Real Healthcare Reform" and its companion website, "Embracing Civility", deliver concrete and understandable instructions for improving self-awareness and communication, solving conflicts, and actualizing the lessons outlined in the text. --Keith Carlson, RNfrom Digital Doorway