Not Only Surgeons Do It.

60 years ago when in medical school I and my fellow students, along with the audience laughed ourselves sick at Roger Livsey (in the movie Dr. in The House) act as a swearing ,scalpel throwing surgeon at the 'Radcliffe' Infirmary in Oxford, particularly those of us training in London. Now, at last, according to the Boston Globe, the Joint Commission (JC), the national group that accredits healthcare organizations, "is requiring all hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities to adopt 'zero-tolerance' policies by Jan. 1, including codes of conduct, ways to encourage staff to report bad behavior, and a process for helping and, if necessary, disciplining offenders." An increasing amount of "research suggest[s] that swearing, yelling, and throwing objects are not just rude and offensive to co-workers, but hurt patients by increasing the likelihood of medical errors."