The Shame Competent Organization

November 8, 2023

Will Bynum, MD, PhD introduces the empirically-derived concept of "shame competence," which he co-developed with Dr. Luna Dolezal at the University of Exeter. Shame competence is the ability to recognize, constructively engage with, and avoid inducing shame while mitigating its destructive potential and leveraging its prosocial potential. It is a set of skills, principles, and practices that can be learned by individuals and applied within teams and throughout an organization. Dr. Bynum presents an overview of the psychology of shame and outlines their novel Shame Competence Framework, which addresses the competencies and skills needed to adopt shame competent approaches to patient care, teaching, and teamwork. Viewers will a set of specific skills and considerations to begin adopting shame competent approaches to their work.

Learning Objectives:

• Define shame and list at least three characteristics that make it a unique and powerful emotion
• Definite shame competence and discuss its potential to transform health care organizations
• Explain the distributed nature of shame and why shame must be addressed at multiple levels in an organization
• List basic strategies and skills to begin adopting a shame competent approach to work in health care