How to kill community

I sat down in the auto service customer waiting room. Three others were there. Two of them were women who talked with each other about local news, Christmas shopping, weather and road conditions. I had brought "Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot" (second time through) and hoped to read some. Of course, there was a television set in the room, but it was turned off. An employee walked in and said, "We've got to get the TV on in here." He found the remote and fired up the box. The easy comfort in the space evaporated. Conversation stopped, reading became more difficult and focus (more like blank stares) turned from people to whatever was passing for news and entertainment. If only one of us had stopped him. We might have kept community going for a bit longer. One of the best pieces of coaching I ever heard was, "You just can't any better watching TV."

Cognitive Hijacking at the Hospital

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices studies doctor road rage in the hospital. The NYT reports; "40 percent of hospital staff members reported having been so intimidated by a doctor that they did not share their concerns about orders for medication that appeared to be incorrect. As a result, 7 percent said they contributed to a medication error...Every nurse has a story about obnoxious doctors. A few say they have ducked scalpels thrown across the operating room by angry surgeons. More frequently, though, they are belittled, insulted or yelled at — often in front of patients and other staff members — and made to feel like the bottom of the food chain."
Are there organizations more loaded up with anxiety than hospitals? These are places where sick people and their worried families hope for life saving help. Emotional triangles are created. And medical personnel, with litte or no understanding of emotional triangles, succumb to the anxiety.