There are some tough jobs in medicine but perhaps none tougher than being a board director of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

The events last year suggest that only very special people survive more than a few months in the role — we have already seen mass resignations amid very public allegations of bad behaviour, temper tantrums, toxic cultures, and bullying.

In an attempt to “minimise psychosocial risks associated with conduct and interactions” a new set of behavioural rules was introduced for online board meetings.

It included reading out a prepared text called Consulting with Civility and the employment of five-minute timeout options (a sort of naughty corner) as well as a recommended list of words and phrases to use when discussion turned hot.