Healthcare’s Bad Behavior: Identifying Vulnerable Specialties

Unprofessional Conduct in Healthcare: Why It Matters to Us

Unprofessional behaviors exhibited by healthcare workers correlate with increased risk for patient complications and malpractice claims; such behaviors can also signal issues with a healthcare provider’s overall well-being.  

Researchers investigated a cohort of more than 35,000 physicians across 193 hospitals for a history of reports submitted to the Coworker Concern Observation Reporting System (CORS) from 2018 to 2022. 

What the study found:

9.1% of physicians had a history of at least one CORS report (note that most physicians had no CORS reports on record); only 1% had repeated CORS reports indicating a pattern of unprofessional behavior.

Top 3 specialties with a history of at least one CORS report:

1. Surgeons
2. Nonsurgeon proceduralists
3. Emergency medicine physicians

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Physicians in a pediatric-focused specialty were the least likely to have any CORS reports

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Most common CORS reports included one or more complaints regarding:

1. Communication  – 79% 
2. Responsibility – 48%
3. Medical care – 20%
4. Professional integrity – 15%

The findings make me wonder…

Would these findings similarly apply to APPs working in surgical and pediatric specialties?

Does the high-stress environment of surgery excuse any unprofessional behaviors?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Nikki Rataj Casady, DMSc, PA-C

email@appcolleague.org