What Did you Say?

An IV therapist at Acme Medical Center is asked to draw blood on a comatose patient. She knocks as she enters the room, introduces herself, informs the patient why she is there, verifies that she has the right patient, and then described what she's going to do as she places the tourniquet on his arm, and swabs with alcohol. Just as she states, "I am about to put the needle in your vein. You will feel a sticking sensation," the Chief Resident enters the room with his coterie of junior residents, medical students, and nurses.

The Chief Resident points out in a condescending tone that the patient is in a coma and there is no need to speak to him. The IV therapist replies that hearing is the last sense to go - even for people in a coma. The Chief Resident laughs and says, "You'd better be able to speak Russian, because that's what he is."

The IV therapist thanks the resident and then speaks to the patient in Russian. The crowd bursts into laughter and the crimson-faced Chief Resident storms out of the room.

1. What are the facts of this case?
2. Lack of civility in the workplace has become a topic of discussion in many health care organizations. Identify two examples of civility and two examples of incivility in this case.
3. How might our cultural upbringing, personal assumptions, and opinions influence our etiquette, civility, or incivility as health care managers? Do you think health care workers and managers should be held to a higher standard for civility in the workplace?
4. Did the Chief Resident behave in an appropriate manner? What assumptions do you think he held about the patient? The IV therapist? His colleagues? What, if anything, should the IV therapist have done after this incident (approach HR or other management)?