Effect of colleague and coworker abuse on family physicians in Canada.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effects of physician-colleague and coworker abuse on family physicians in Canada.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods, bilingual study that included surveys and telephone interviews.

SETTING

Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Family physicians in active practice who were members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 2009.

METHODS

Surveys were mailed to a random sample of family physicians (N = 3802), and 37 family physicians who had been abused in the past year participated in telephone interviews.

MAIN FINDINGS

A total of 770 surveys (20%) were completed. A small number of respondents reported having been subjected to abuse by physician colleagues (9%) or coworkers (6%) in the previous month. Many of the respondents reported that the same physician colleagues or coworkers were repeat abusers. More than three-quarters (77%) of the physician-colleague abusers were men, whereas more than three-quarters (77%) of the other coworker abusers were women. Interviewed family physicians described feeling humiliated and unappreciated, and developed symptoms of anxiety or depression. As a result of the abuse, some family physicians terminated their employment or refused to work in certain environments. The most striking effect of this abuse was that respondents reported losing confidence in their professional abilities and skills.

CONCLUSION

Although only a small number of family physicians experience abuse by physician colleagues and other coworkers, the effects can be considerable. Victims reported a loss of confidence in their clinical abilities and some subsequently were faced with mental health issues.