So inspired to see Fraser Health taking up this cause and commemorating the Pink shirt Day. The hospital was full of people in Pink on Feb. 25, 2015

Feb. 25th is Anti-Bullying day.

After a Grade 9 boy was bullied for wearing a pink T-shirt, David Shepherd and Travis Price rallied other teenage friends and organized a high-school protest to wear pink in support. They bought 50 pink tank tops at a discount store and distributed to boys in their school to wear, to take a stand against bullying, and to speak up against harassment. That is where it all started.

The Pink Shirt Day website states: (Twitter @PinkShirtDay)

Bullying is a major problem in our schools, workplaces, homes, and over the Internet. Each year, on Pink T-Shirt Day, I encourage all of you to wear something pink to symbolize that we as a society will not tolerate bullying anywhere. Take the message and remember it all year long.

So in two days, on Feb. 25th, put your pink on, send your kids in pink to school, speak up against bullying, tell your story or share your opinion to help make bullying a social taboo.

Few weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to receive an anti-bullying email from Vancouver General Hospital with an invitation to wear a pink (surgeon’s) hat in the operating room on Feb. 25th, 2015.

Bullying is not exclusive to teenage years. Work-place harassment should be fought with same intensity.

In 2012 in Vancouver, 22 operating room (OR) nurses left. At least 15 of them said it is due to a negative work climate and bullying. After an investigation by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), 41 OR staff has been disciplined. 6 people were terminated, one physician lost his privileges in VCH region and a confidential anti-bullying 1-800 number was set-up. (I tried to find it online for no avail. Instead I found this list of international confidential help line numbers in UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.)

Here is the Global New report on the Impact of Bullying in Vancouver Hospitals.

http://globalnews.ca/video/embed/1840624/

Jim Pattison Operating Room (JPOR) at Vancouver General Hopsital (VGH) leadership released the following clarification in response to the above report. 

Of the 575 VCH-wide complaints, 17 came from JPOR.  Of the 41 staff disciplined, 2 were JPOR staff.  No one in JPOR has been terminated and no physician working in JPOR has lost his or her privileges.

I am in the operating room this wednesday and I will definitely #pinkitforward.

Categories: Health, Human Rights

Tags: Bullying, Doctors, Pinkitforward, Surgeons, Vancouver, Workplace