Coffee Break: Breaking the Cycle of Bullying in Healthcare, One Cup at a Time

What if one of the most powerful tools for protecting patient safety is a kind, two-minute conversation that most healthcare teams rarely use? In this episode, Dr. Alice Krumm, Director of Partner Engagement & Faculty at Vanderbilt Health CPPA, discusses how professionalism shapes quality, safety, and how healthcare teams treat one another. She explains that professionalism means living up to shared standards, organizational values, and a common goal, and asks one simple question: Are my actions making it harder or easier for my team to care for a patient? Alice walks through Vanderbilt's peer messenger program, where trained colleagues share a single, non-judgmental observation in a brief "cup of coffee" conversation. She also shares how peer messengers and in-the-moment feedback work together, and how gardening helps her decompress. Tune in to learn how to give feedback that preserves dignity, builds psychological safety, and helps colleagues self-regulate before behavior affects patients! About Dr. Alice Krumm: Alice M. Krumm, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CNOR(E), is Director of Partner Engagement & Faculty at Vanderbilt Health CPPA and Adjunct Faculty at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She has more than 35 years of nursing and leadership experience. As a nursing administrator at Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital, she oversaw clinical operations for perioperative services and surgical inpatient units. In her most recent prior role at Vanderbilt, she was the Associate Vice President of Perioperative Services, leading clinical operations for Vanderbilt's 55 adult ORs, HR, PACU, pre-anesthesia clinics, and surgical scheduling and billing. She is a Certified Executive in Nursing Practice and Certified in Perioperative Nursing, and is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Leaders (AONL), the American Organization of Perioperative Nurses (AORN), and Sigma Theta Tau. She also served as the only nurse on the ACGME's CLER Operative and Procedural Sub-Protocol Advisory Group. Alli leverages communication, transparency, and cross-functional consensus to drive organizational change and results. What You’ll Learn In This Episode: Professionalism is defined by shared standards, organizational values, and a common goal, not just technical competence. Every team member contributes to patient care by making their team's ability to deliver care easier or harder, regardless of their role. Unprofessional behavior is often unintentional and can stem from stress, improvised teamwork, and individual blind spots. Constructive feedback helps people recognize and regulate their behavior. Vanderbilt's peer messenger program relies on trained, respected, and confidential colleagues who communicate a single observation without judging intent or prescribing solutions. Peer messengers complement direct, real-time feedback by providing an alternative channel when speaking up feels difficult. Aligning feedback with shared core values, which account for 25% of performance evaluations at Vanderbilt, helps create a more consistent and equitable feedback process. Links & Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Alice Krumm on LinkedIn. Follow Vanderbilt CPPA on LinkedIn and visit their website! Check out the 33 Scripts Guide to Address Disruptive Behaviour here! Buy Renee Thompson’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here! Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here. Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here! Have a question for Renee? Email us at [email protected] to have your leadership question featured in an upcoming Q&A episode! Disclosure: The host may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products we link to. As an Amazon Associate, Coffee Break earns from qualifying purchases. Liked this episode? Rate, review, and share with your colleagues. Your support helps us reach more healthcare leaders working to create better work environments.

Healthy work cultures are built when leaders step in early and make it clear what behavior is and isn’t acceptable on their teams. In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Menschner, CEO of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders, joins Dr. Renee Thompson to discuss why the leader’s role in shaping culture matters more than policy does. Liz shares how unit-level leaders can spot subtle disruptive behaviors, such as eye rolls, sarcastic comments, and unfair assignments, and address them in the moment, so the team never wonders whether anything is being done. She explores how rounding, listening, and transparency build psychological safety, and why digital competency and generational awareness are becoming essential leadership skills. She also encourages leaders to involve their teams in setting shared commitments, so peers can hold each other accountable and the leader’s job gets easier. Tune in to find out how addressing the small things early changes what a whole team is willing to tolerate! About Elizabeth Menschner: Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Menschner is a distinguished nursing leader currently serving as CEO of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders, with over 30 years of experience in hospital operations and nursing excellence. She has held key leadership roles including Vice President of Patient Care Services at Riddle Hospital and interim Chief Nursing Officer at Temple University Health System, where she standardized nursing practices and fostered collaboration with nursing schools. Liz holds advanced degrees including a Doctorate of Executive Nursing Practice and is board-certified in Nursing Executive Advanced, with a strong focus on innovative care delivery, patient safety, mentoring, and creating healthy work environments. What You’ll Learn In This Episode: Leaders shape culture more than policies do. Policies don’t solve problems. People do. Subtle behaviors such as eye rolls, sarcasm, and unfair assignments are forms of bullying that leaders need to recognize. Disruptive behavior should be addressed in the moment and with kindness so that the whole team sees it is unacceptable. Team commitments created with staff input give peers permission to hold each other accountable and make the leader’s job easier. Rounding, listening, and transparent follow-up build psychological safety, even when the answer is “not right now.” Links & Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Liz Menschner on LinkedIn. Follow the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders on LinkedIn and visit their website! Check out the 33 Scripts Guide to Address Disruptive Behaviour here! Buy Renee Thompson’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here! Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here. Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here! Have a question for Renee? Email us at [email protected] to have your leadership question featured in an upcoming Q&A episode! Disclosure: The host may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products we link to. As an Amazon Associate, Coffee Break earns from qualifying purchases. Liked this episode? Rate, review, and share with your colleagues. Your support helps us reach more healthcare leaders working to create better work environments.

Summary: Joy sounds like the first thing to cut when healthcare gets hard. At Connecticut Children’s, it is what keeps nurses speaking up. In this episode, Deanna Hill, manager of the Center for Professional Development’s New Graduate Transition to Practice program at Connecticut Children’s, and Sarah Matney, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, discuss how joy, kindness, and psychological safety get built on purpose. Deanna traces her interest in joy to a hard stretch in her own life, then shows how the IHI framework turned that instinct into measurable work. Sarah describes kindness as a daily choice, from turning a blame culture into a problem-solving culture to apologizing to a leader when a message did not land as intended. They also cover what happens when the belonging score dips, and how pairing new graduate nurses with medical residents in simulation builds the confidence to speak up. Tune in to hear how two nurse leaders made joy and kindness something their teams can feel and their data can show! About Deanna Hill: Deanna Hill is an experienced nurse leader, educator, and innovator who leads the Center for Professional Development and serves as Nurse Residency Program Director at Connecticut Children’s. She is passionate about developing people, strengthening nursing practice, and turning creative ideas into meaningful improvements in healthcare. Her work includes leading Connecticut Children’s ANCC Practice Transition Accreditation Program and creating initiatives that support belonging, professional growth, and positive team culture. About Sarah Matney: Sarah Matney is Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Connecticut Children’s. She is a nursing executive focused on building connected, supportive environments where leaders and teams can deliver excellent care. Sarah is especially passionate about nurse leader wellness, psychological safety, and modeling accountable, compassionate leadership that helps teams grow. What You’ll Learn In This Episode: Joy comes out of difficult stretches rather than around them, and connection is what carries people through. Belonging and staff experience can be measured, and when the score dips, leaders go find the pebbles in their team’s shoes. Small signals carry culture, from playing a team member’s favorite song to starting and ending meetings on time. Kindness means assuming positive intent, owning a mistake out loud, and refusing to let bad behavior stand. Pairing new graduate nurses with medical residents in simulation builds confidence to raise concerns mid-conflict. Links & Resources: Connect with and follow Deanna Hill on LinkedIn. Connect with and follow Sarah Matney on LinkedIn. Follow Connecticut Children’s on LinkedIn and visit their website. Email Deanna here. Explore the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Framework for Improving Joy in Work. Learn more about IHI’s “What Matters to You?” conversation guide. Read about the Three Good Things well-being intervention. Learn more about the Charge Nurse Program. Explore the HWI framework. Check out the 33 Scripts Guide to Address Disruptive Behavior here. Buy Renee Thompson’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here. Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here. Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here. Have a question for Renee? Email us at [email protected] to have your leadership question featured in an upcoming Q&A episode! Disclosure: The host may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products we link to. As an Amazon Associate, Coffee Break earns from qualifying purchases. Liked this episode? Rate, review, and share it with your colleagues. Your support helps us reach more healthcare leaders working to create better work environments.

Workforce well-being is not a perk. It is a leadership and organizational strategy that shapes how people experience their work, develop professionally, and provide safe care. In this episode, Dr. Valerie Morrison, Senior Director of Student Health Services at the University of North Florida, joins Dr. Renee Thompson to explore how leaders can create healthier work environments by listening to teams, acting on data, and building trust through consistent presence. Dr. Morrison shares how a personal loss during her Navy career shaped her commitment to understanding workplace stressors and supporting the whole person. She discusses how the Pathway to Excellence framework helped shift the culture at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, as well as the importance of relational rounding, addressing small barriers, and creating safe spaces for people to ask for help. Tune in to learn how healthcare leaders can turn data, visibility, and genuine care into a culture where people feel supported and able to thrive. About Dr. Valerie Morrison: Dr. Valerie Morrison, DBA, MSN, MSM, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, SHRM-SCP, is the Senior Director of Student Health Services at the University of North Florida. She retired from the U.S. Navy as a captain in 2020 after 30 years of active-duty service and previously served as Chief Nursing Officer at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Throughout her career, Valerie has focused on building professional practice environments where nurses and healthcare teams can thrive. She is a past chair of the Commission on Pathway to Excellence with the American Nurses Credentialing Center, serves as President-Elect of the Florida Nurses Association, and contributes to state and national well-being and healthy work environment initiatives. Her leadership centers on service, continuous improvement, and helping organizations create the conditions for better outcomes for both their people and patients. What You’ll Learn In This Episode: Workforce well-being should be embedded in organizational strategy, policies, processes, HR practices, and leadership. Leaders should use organizational data to identify patterns, explain how feedback will be used, and follow through on what they hear. Relational rounding builds trust through consistent presence, genuine listening, practical support, and recognition. Small actions, like removing barriers or remembering personal details, help people feel seen and more willing to speak up. Healthy workplaces consider the whole person and recognize the different needs and experiences of their teams. Professional development, competence, psychological safety, quality, and collaboration all contribute to thriving healthcare teams. Frameworks can reveal strengths and gaps, while investment in people and reliable systems helps address root causes proactively. Links & Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Valerie Morrison on LinkedIn. Email Dr. Morrison at [email protected]. Learn more about the University of North Florida Student Health Services. Explore the American Nurses Credentialing Center Pathway to Excellence Program. Explore the American Nurses Association Healthy Work Environment resources, including the Well-Being Excellence framework discussed in this episode. Learn more about the Healthy Workforce Framework. Learn the 33 Scripts to Address Disruptive Behavior here. Buy Renee Thompson’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here. Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here. Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here. Have a question for Renee? Email us at [email protected] to have your leadership question featured in an upcoming Q&A episode! Disclosure: The host may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products we link to. As an Amazon Associate, Coffee Break earns from qualifying purchases. Liked this episode? Rate, review, and share with your colleagues. Your support helps us reach more healthcare leaders working to create better work environments.

Strong healthcare teams are built when leaders take the time to understand the people behind the roles. In this episode, Dr. Nikki Gruebling, Senior Vice President of Member Networks and Operations at Vizient, joins Dr. Renee Thompson to discuss why relationship-building is one of healthcare’s most important leadership skills. Nikki shares how trust, curiosity, and genuine listening have helped her navigate complex environments, solve problems, and bring people together, while exploring how different generations in nursing can learn from one another. She encourages leaders to move beyond focusing on generational differences and instead recognize the strengths each generation brings, creating environments where experienced and emerging nurses can grow and succeed together. Tune in to learn how curiosity, relationships, and cross-generational collaboration can help leaders build stronger teams and healthier work cultures. About Dr. Nikki Gruebling: Nikki Gruebling, DNP, RN, FAONL, is a healthcare executive with extensive experience in leadership, strategy, healthcare improvement, and professional development. She currently serves as Senior Vice President of Member Networks and Operations at Vizient, supporting healthcare organizations and leaders nationwide. Throughout her career, Nikki has helped lead initiatives including nurse residency, transition-to-nursing-leadership programs, and regulatory and accreditation services. She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and is an AONL Fellow. Nikki holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice focused on systems leadership and healthcare quality. Her leadership philosophy centers on developing others, building strong relationships, and helping people use their strengths to reach their full potential. Source What You’ll Learn In This Episode: Building strong relationships helps healthcare leaders establish trust, solve complex problems, and work more effectively across teams. Leaders can strengthen relationships by asking thoughtful questions, listening to understand rather than respond, and showing genuine curiosity about the people they lead. Healthcare leaders should remember that they are leading whole human beings, not simply employees or nurses performing a role. Generational differences can become strengths when experienced nurses share relationship-building skills while younger nurses help colleagues adapt to new technology. Investing in emotional intelligence and relational skills early in a nurse’s career can help prepare them for stronger communication with patients, colleagues, and leaders. Younger generations bring courage, openness, entrepreneurial thinking, and a willingness to challenge outdated practices, all of which can benefit the nursing profession. Teams become stronger when leaders focus on people’s strengths, recognize how those strengths complement one another, and encourage generations to learn from each other. Links & Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Nikki Gruebling on LinkedIn. Follow Vizient on LinkedIn and visit their website. Learn more about Vizient’s Nurse Residency and Transition to Nurse Leader programs. Learn more about the Framework here! Learn the 33 Scripts to Address Disruptive Behavior here! Buy Renee Thompson’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here! Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here. Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here! Have a question for Renee? Email us at [email protected] to have your leadership question featured in an upcoming Q&A episode! Disclosure: The host may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products we link to. As an Amazon Associate, Coffee Break earns from qualifying purchases. Liked this episode? Rate, review, and share with your colleagues. Your support helps us reach more healthcare leaders working to create better work environments.