They asked the general manager of the local sports talk radio station how he was able to tolerate his petulant host — who just happened to be the ratings leader. "He's a real pain in the (rear)," said the GM, "but I don't have to sleep with him at night." The GM wasn't ashamed to admit that he was willing to tolerate the moody host's tirades, violent outbursts and bullying behavior for good ratings.

Would you make such a deal with a disruptive surgeon at your facility? Look the other way at his boorish behavior for the sake of your schedule?

Nearly half (44%) of the 538 readers we polled last month say they're very likely (22%) or somewhat likely (22%) to tolerate disruptive behavior from a high-volume surgeon. Those of you willing to subject your staff to a doctor you wouldn't invite to your home for Sunday dinner should rethink your position. Competition for cases is fierce, but if you're willing to sacrifice human decency for a few more knee scopes, what does that say about your values and about the culture at your facility?

"How many times does someone say, 'He's a great surgeon, but … '" asks William Cooper, MD, MPH, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. "Being technically competent is important, but if he also has all these other challenges, he might not be a great surgeon."

This calls to mind Michael C. Clarke, MD, the high-volume, butt-slapping orthopedic surgeon at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Syracuse, N.Y. The hospital suspended Dr. Clarke last February after he was accused of slapping anesthetized patients on the buttocks (to test the epidural, he says). The hospital posted an operating loss of $4.1 million during the first six months of 2014, most of that in surgical revenue due to the doctor's departure. Dr. Clarke is now doing his cases at the hospital across town.

The loss of revenue stings, but St. Joseph's did the right thing. You can't put a price on civility.

Lou would click-click-click into the OR wearing leopard-print 3-inch heels and then light up the room with her megawatt smile. The magazine lost a dear friend and the outpatient surgery community lost a caring and talented administrator last month when Louise DeChesser, RN, CNOR, MS, succumbed to pancreatic cancer.

Lou was the administrator of the Middlesex Center for Advanced Orthopedic Surgery in Middletown, Conn., and a longtime member of our editorial board. Her true loves were mentoring young nurses and acting in musicals. A friend said she had a voice like black velvet.