A Certified Legal Nurse Consultant shared an email that should never have traveled across the information superhighway. To say it was unprofessional is an understatement. Mean-spirited, nasty and snarky also spring to mind. It was a classic example of the tort of keyboard rage and I’m happy to report that it didn’t come from another CLNC® consultant.
If you’ve never heard of the tort of keyboard rage, I’m not surprised. It’s an intentional or unintentional tort that doesn’t get addressed much in legal textbooks or in the Theories of Liability Module of the CLNC Certification Program. But it’s one of the most damaging torts a professional can ever commit.
If you are angry or hurt, the last place you want to be is sitting at your computer typing out an email. If you do type out that missive containing all the rage that you’ve built up for whatever reason, pause and take a moment before you hit the “Send” button. Instead take one of these 5 steps:
- Get up.
- Walk away.
- Breathe.
- Have a cup of calming healthy green tea (or shot of Don Julio tequila).
- Do something, do anything but DO NOT hit “Send.”
Go back when you’re sane again after the keyboard rage has dissipated. Then delete the draft and start over. Repeat the process as necessary until you’re certain no bridges will be burned by the correspondence. Your reputation, and dare I say, your future CLNC success, may depend on it.
I’m Just Sayin’
P.S. Comment and share how you avoid committing the tort of keyboard rage.
