Abstract
Abstract Introduction Discrimination and sexual harassment within the workplace have a negative impact on well-being and productivity and are often underreported due to lack of comfortability in confronting the offender. Objective We aim to assess the prevalence of these abusive behaviors within a urology department and the impact of a dedicated training session on comfortability reporting/confronting discrimination and harassment. Methods Employees within a urology department at a single institution were invited to take a survey regarding discrimination and harassment both before and after a dedicated training session on reporting and confronting these behaviors. Statistical analyses were performed between pre- and post-survey groups, genders, and roles within the department. Results A total of 166 employees completed the pre-training survey, while 79 (47.6%) completed the post-training survey. 116 (69.9%) respondents identified as female. Roles within the department included physician (48/166, 28.9%), advanced practice provider (21/166, 12.7%), nurse (42/166, 25.3%), and nonclinical staff (51/166, 30.7%). The training demonstrated a positive impact in respondent comfort level with addressing gender discrimination, where 19/23 (82.6%) people who answered neutral/ disagree/strongly disagree changed their answer to agree/strongly agree compared to 7/56 (12.5%) who changed their answers in the opposite way (p=0.02). More women reported experiencing sexual harassment at least once a year compared to men (38.6% vs. 16.7%, p<0.0001). Patients were the most commonly reported offenders of abusive behaviors towards staff. Conclusions Specific training on strategies for addressing abusive behaviors can help employees feel empowered to confront gender discrimination by both patients and their peers. Disclosure No
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