This is the first-known quantitative study to measure nursing faculty perceptions of faculty-to-faculty incivility. A total of 588 nursing faculty representing 40 states in the United States participated in the study. Faculty-to-faculty incivility was perceived as a moderate to serious problem. The behaviors reported to be most uncivil included setting a coworker up to fail, making rude remarks or put-downs, and making personal attacks or threatening comments. The most frequently occurring incivilities included resisting change, failing to perform one’s share of the workload, distracting others by using media devices during meetings, refusing to communicate on work-related issues, and making rude comments or put-downs. Stress and demanding workloads were two of the factors most likely to contribute to faculty-to-faculty incivility. Fear of retaliation, lack of administrative support, and lack of clear policies were cited as the top reasons for avoiding addressing the problem of incivility

Incivility in healthcare can lead to unsafe working conditions, poor patient care, and increased medical costs. The authors discuss a study that examined factors that contribute to adverse working relationships between nursing education and practice, effective strategies to foster civility, essential skills to be taught in nursing education, and how education and practice can work together to foster civility in the profession.