The impact of rudeness on medical team performance: a randomised trial (September 2015)

Summary

Team-targeted rudeness may underlie performance deficiencies, with individuals exposed to rude behaviour being less helpful and cooperative. The objective of this paper, published by The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, was to explore the impact of rudeness on the performance of medical teams.

In conclusion,  rudeness had adverse consequences on the diagnostic and procedural performance of the neonatal intensive care team members. Information-sharing mediated the adverse effect of rudeness on diagnostic performance, and help-seeking mediated the effect of rudeness on procedural performance.