Description/Overview: Physician nurse communication is an anchor in the delivery of excellent patient care across the globe. Because nurses and physicians play such important roles in the provision of healthcare, it is critical that these two major professions communicate effectively and efficiently in every situation. Disruptive behavior within the healthcare setting causes major problems and problem solving is complicated and frequently unsatisfactory. Factors contributing to lack of resolution include lack of acknowledgement of the problem by leadership, lack of reporting because of fear, lack of timeliness in follow-up and lack of awareness of what should be done. The Joint Commission issued a sentinel event alert in 2008 because of its recognition and concern about the negative effect that disruptive behavior has on patient care outcomes and the work environment. This action brought a new level of awareness to leaders and organizational key stakeholders in health care and required their commitment to developing a code of conduct and a process for managing disruptive and inappropriate behavior and in place by January 2009. Organizations and healthcare professional groups took this alert seriously with nurses and physicians working together to learn more about perceptions and actual behaviors by their members. In 2009, the American College of Physician Executives repeated their 2004 Disruptive Physician Nurse Behavior Survey and invited nurse members from the American Organization of Nurse Executives to participate. The findings reported from this survey indicated a high frequency of occurrence of disruptive behavior with a climate of acceptance rather than consistent action to address the individual and/or organizational issues with successful outcomes. While it is acknowledged that the socialization process for physicians and nurses during their educational process and transition into their professional roles are different, both disciplines are expected to share and achieve the shared vision and mission of providing outstanding patient safety, achieving excellent outcomes and building and sustaining positive relationships with patients and families. In addition, nursing education emphasizes teamwork and communication based on respect, partnership and transparency and creates the expectation for the new nurse graduate that physicians and other healthcare disciplines that are part of the healthcare team will welcome them and will also foster effective communication and teamwork.