Editor’s Choice: Disruptions and divisions

Two articles in this week’s BMJ Careers offer advice on how doctors can best deal with disruption. One looks at disruption caused by colleagues who behave rudely, inappropriately, and insensitively. The other looks at how to deal with the disruption that doctors impose on themselves when they try to fit research around their clinical work.

Marika Davies and Mark Dinwoodie say that disruptive behaviour can have a significant and detrimental effect on relationships within a team and on the care of patients (http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/The_disruptive_doctor). Their warnings echo the findings of a study covered by BMJ Careers last month (http://bit.ly/1MmZJfA) that showed that rudeness in medical teams harms clinical performance and could undermine diagnosis and treatment decisions. Importantly, Davies and Dinwoodie explain that tackling disruptive behaviour in medical teams starts with doctors deciding to reflect on their own behaviour and its effect on others.

Catherine Tregoning and Paul Baker look at the challenges facing doctors who decide to combine research with their other roles (http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/How_to_undertake_research_without_suffering_burnout). “When faced with the competing demands of clinical work and family life, it can be difficult to do research as well,” they write. “A research project can interfere with home life, and equally home life can interfere with research.” They emphasise the importance of planning a research project well. Part of that planning involves, they say, ensuring that time for research endeavours is separated from clinical work and that a clear division is maintained between home life and working hours.

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