Check out this ar...
Check out this article in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/health/17brod.html?_r=1

Bully
When you read the word bully, who do you think of?  We've all had a bully in our life, whether we realize it or not.  Bullying can be as obvious as name-calling or intimidation, or as subtle as disappointment or disapproval.  Let's look at the obvious first.Most of the time bullies are pretty easy to spot, even when they try to disguise themselves by acting as if they are helpful, or sharing critical confidences about others with you.  I remember working with two women who could never pass up an opportunity to gossip about someone else, including each other.  They made life miserable.  The problem is, often a bully can be nice, and even enjoyable to be around.  It's when yo

The Dignity Of Discretion
A reader commented on a post I wrote recently.  She said that she just went to work in a dental office at the front desk.  She was surprised, and I think dismayed, at the amount of personal information her office manager discussed throughout the day.  She said she is 50.  I'll turn 52 next week and I've noticed the same thing and I wondered if it's a generational thing.  I don't remember co-workers being quite as open about their personal lives when I first started working 34 years ago.  I do think that people share much more than they used to at workHere's the problem: when you tell too much at work, you are inviting people to judge you.  I remember working with a very pre

Where Are All The Normal People Hiding?
If you've ever interviewed for an opening in your practice, I'm sure this thought has entered your mind.  I am currently interviewing for a roving office assistant and I am disheartened by the attitudes of the applicants I've been interviewing.  To begin with, I can remember interviewing for positions when I wanted a job.  I tried to present my skills, abilities and willingness to be an integral part of a team.  I never asked what the position benefits were until we were clearly negotiating my employment.  Once I was hired, I understood that if I wanted my salary to increase, my skills and value to the practice would have to increase first.  I didn't expect to be paid more f

A Culture of Nobility
"So long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity."  ~Andre Gide~How often do we look at other and notice their flaws?  It's so easy to see the sour look on a grouchy patient, the obnoxiousness of someone who always has something sarcastic to say, and to hear the whine of a complainer.  Often we can spend so much time thinking about how annoying those traits are, that we forget that there might be something positive about them.  Their name shows up on the schedule and the groans begin.For the last 18 months I've been lucky enough to work with someone who sees and responds to the good in others.  My boss is not blind to the less pleasant personality traits in other