The objective of this policy is to promote optimal patient care by promoting a safe, cooperative, and professional healthcare environment by preventing or eliminating, to the extent possible, behavior that disrupts the efficient and effective operation of the hospital.

Effective meetings rely on a well-planned agenda. Standing meetings often include the same agenda items each month, which aids the planning process; any follow-up from previous meetings should also be included. The chair of each committee must sign off on the agenda prior to each scheduled committee meeting. Getting committee chairs to review and approve the agenda can be challenging because committee chairs are notoriously busy. Persistence is required, but “the meeting before the meeting” is essential.

Most medical staff bylaws contain a provision concerning the categories into which the medical staff will be divided. In fact, many medical staffs have created an unnecessarily complex array of categories. Many of these categories were created 20–30 years ago as medical staffs tried to accommodate new and, at that time, unique physician situations. However, as time went on, these accommodations were never updated to reflect current realities, thus leaving many staffs with a patchwork of overlapping and often contradictory staff categories.