There was a meeting at work today that I’m sure most of us in any kind of workplace could benefit from attending. Granted, meetings are often boring and sometimes seemingly pointless.  However, this meeting was crucial to address increasing animosity between the physicians and nurses in our emergency department.

The emergency department can be a very stressful environment (like that’s a surprise) and things get said in the heat of frustration. Without either side really knowing it, nurses and physicians were feeling disrespected and the problem seemed to have reached a boiling point.

The setup of the meeting was well done – with assigned seating alternating nurse and physician (there’d be no ganging up) and ground rules were provided. There was a facilitator from a completely different department.  The opportunity was offered for the participants to address perceived concerns and acknowledge feelings. Some spoke a lot; some never spoke up at all. However, the encouraging part is that many individuals acknowledged the issues and were given the opportunity to explain the issue from their own perspective.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to respect and proper communication. I fully admit that my “frustration fuse” gets very short during very stressful and busy times; it doesn’t take much for my normally-friendly-disposition to become a bit sharp and unexpectedly bitter. I know that I’m responsible for a few of the instances that were discussed.  It was pointed out by one of my partners that each of us needs to look within ourselves to assess when and where we might be offensive to others and what can be done to prevent it in the future.

No matter what job each of us has, I think we could all benefit from assessing our relationship with others. Co-workers, family members, church colleagues, neighbors – they all deserve respect and care.  Let us all remember the Golden Rule:

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

I’m looking forward to returning to my next shift later today and put this teaching of Christ in to practice.