The case study being addressed takes place at Acme Medical Center. The issue at hand is lack of civility in the healthcare setting. An IV therapist was administering care to a patient who was comatose. She treated and spoke to the patient as she does with everyone. The therapist made sure to knock before entering, introduce herself, ensure she was caring for the correct person, and gave detail regarding what she was about to do. While providing care the Chief Resident and his students walked in. In front of everyone the Chief resident rudely states that the patient is not conscious and therefor the IV therapist did not need to speak to the patient. After, reminding the Chief resident that those in a coma may still be able to hear, he stated…show more content… In this particular case there are two forms of civility that really stand out. Civility is defined as “behavior that shows respect toward another person, makes that person feel valued, and contributes to mutual respect, effective communication, and team collaboration” (Forni, 2002). The IV therapist clearly demonstrated this towards her patient by treating him the same way as any other patient, despite his current state of consciousness. Another way she showed civility was by responding to the Chief Resident politely and thanking him after his unpleasant remark. Although the Chief Resident was in the wrong the therapist handled the matter in a graceful and professional manner.
The Chief Resident; however, did not show civility but a lack thereof. He attempted to question the IV therapists’ competence and embarrass her by stating that she did not need to speak to the patient, in order to exude power and authority. This type of mentality and behavior is not unheard of in the healthcare setting. The Chief Resident not only disrespected the IV therapist, but the patient as well. Instead of demonstrating professionalism in front of his medical students, he treated the patient as if they were of lesser value because of their medical