Bullying workshops for obstetric trainees: a way forward

In sector-wide surveys, trainees in obstetrics and gynaecology have consistently reported the experience of being undermined in the workplace. Bullying has serious implications within the UK's National Health Service (NHS), for both the individual experiencing it and the wider system.

Obstetrics and gynaecology is a high-pressure specialty: the workload is intense, staffing is often suboptimal and litigation levels are high. Obstetrics alone accounted for 50 per cent of litigation claims in the NHS in 2012. This 'cocktail', when combined with the target-based management style common in the current financial climate, easily lends itself to a culture of bullying.

In order to manage this problem a workshop was developed with the initial aim of raising awareness, entitled 'Undermining and Harassment: A Practical Workshop for Trainees'. A typical workshop comprises the following interlinking topics relevant to bullying: (1) what is bullying (interactive session); (2) case scenarios (based on real events) and discussion (audiovisual clips); (3) how bullying affects patient safety (presentation); (4) how to support senior staff displaying bullying behaviour (interactive session); (5) how to be assertive without being aggressive (role-play); and (6) practical tips, including the 'Survivors' Guide to Bullying' (interactive session).

These workshops were designed as practical tools to raise awareness of workplace harassment, and not as a research project to assess the longitudinal impact of the workshops. Feedback from six such workshops as well as informal focus groups from trainees who had previously attended indicated that the subject was useful and necessary.

The aim of the workshops was to raise awareness of bullying and undermining in the workplace, and the serious implications they can have for the individual, patients and the NHS as a whole. This will enable a positive culture shift and encourage health care professionals to think before they speak or act.