Project Summary:
Healthcare is experiencing critical personnel shortages and burnout, both linked to mistreatment and unprofessional behavior. Mistreatment threatens team function and fuels poor communication, healthcare provider attrition, and preventable adverse events, all of which worsen patient health outcomes. Mistreatment is particularly problematic for minoritized healthcare providers, for whom harassing behaviors are common and retention difficult, magnifying health disparities for minoritized patients who desire race-concordant care. New approaches are needed to change culture for the healthcare workforce. Building on MCW’s existing culture work, a new restorative justice team will specifically target unprofessional behavior and provider harms. Restorative justice strengthens relationships between participants, improving the behavior of “harmers” by decreasing the likelihood that they will repeat their undesired actions and increasing productive discussion within workplace teams. Restorative justice addresses conflicts between and within teams, offering a novel strategy for resolving mistreatment complaints brought to human resources or organizational ombuds.
This project will utilize surveys and interviews to determine facilitators, barriers, and results of adopting restorative justice. Assessments will include the organization's practice of restorative justice elements and principles; the effects on healthcare providers’ perception of human resource processes; changes to healthcare providers’ well-being and retention after restorative justice is introduced; existing and ongoing results of engagement and well-being surveys for associated changes in engagement and intent to leave; and existing healthcare analytic systems reports on health events and adverse patient outcomes.
Restorative justice will positively address provider mistreatment. Because MCW enrolls 35% of students from minoritized populations, 37% of medical students stay in Wisconsin for residency training, and 51% of residents practice in Wisconsin after residency, MCW’s treatment of unprofessional behavior is critical to Wisconsin patient health outcomes and must be addressed.