Exploring faculty‐to‐faculty incivility among nursing faculty: Related factors, reasons and solutions

Abstract

Aim This study aimed to explore faculty‐to‐faculty incivility in university nursing programmes and to identify the perceptions of faculty regarding the reasons and solutions for incivility. Background Incivility is a fundamental problem in nursing educational settings. Methods This cross‐sectional and analytic study comprised 330 faculty members from different schools of nursing in Turkey. A personal information form and the 12‐item Incivility Scale were used to collect data. The data were analysed by using descriptive analysis, Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests, Spearman's correlation test, linear regression tests and thematic analysis. Results Faculty and research assistants who were single and holding master's degrees perceived high incivility (p < .05). There was also a significant, mildly negative relationship between age and incivility scores (r = −0.236). A strict hierarchical structure was revealed to also be a reason for incivility (p < .05). Conclusion Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the solutions for faculty‐to‐faculty incivility. Implications for Nursing Management This study can guide administrators regarding the causes and solutions of incivility within academic environments. By implementing strategies to increase awareness, administrators can become positive role models for faculty, providing a respectful and fair work environment to prevent incivility.

New strategies to combat workplace incivility and promote joy

“…As a collective group, the faculty recognized and discussed a needs to be researched to identify effective strategies to create civil work environments. 3 Workplace incivility can cause both psychological and physiologic distress to everyone involved, adversely affecting nursing students and the nursing program' s outcomes. 4 Workplace incivility among faculty and students in nursing education has been reported to have detrimental effects on health and well-being, disrupt teaching and learning, and negatively impact the adequate preparation of new graduate nurses.…”

“…However, not much has changed as research continues to show the prevalence of incivility among nursing faculty. Incivility in nursing education is a fundamental problem that needs to be researched to identify effective strategies to create civil work environments 3. Workplace incivility can cause both psychological and physiologic distress to everyone involved, adversely affecting nursing students and the nursing program's outcomes 4…”

“It is Essentially About Treating Each Other Well”: Insights from Faculty on Incivility in Nursing Education

“…There is also evidence that institutional factors may play a role in nursing academic incivility. Incivility was greater in public compared with private or religious educational institutions (Karaçay & Oflaz, 2022;Lashley & de Meneses, 2001) and in larger (i.e., higher student enrollment) compared with smaller nursing programs (Lashley & de Meneses, 2001). Nursing faculty and administrators perceived that their institutions lacked clear policies or support to faculty for addressing academic incivility (Christensen et al, 2020(Christensen et al, , 2021Clark et al, 2013Clark et al, , 2020Lane et al, 2021).…”

“…Although little is known about sociodemographic factors that may contribute to academic incivility, nursing students and nursing faculty have identified other personal factors that they perceived as reasons for incivility in nursing education. These included student and faculty stress (e.g., from workload and other life demands, student fear of being unsuccessful) ( Clark, 2008a ; Lane et al, 2021 ; Small et al, 2019 ) and failure to address the problem ( Altmiller, 2012 ; Clark, 2008a ; Clark et al, 2013 , 2020 ); student entitlement and consumerist attitude ( Christensen et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Clark, 2008a ) and competitive rivalry ( Sauer et al, 2017 ); and faculty superiority attitude, authoritarianism, or other problematic personality characteristics ( Altmiller, 2012 ; Clark, 2008a ; Clark et al, 2013 ; Karaçay & Oflaz, 2022 ; Small et al, 2019 ) and inadequate or incompetent teaching ( Aul, 2017 ; Clark, 2008a ; Small et al, 2019 ). Nursing students and nursing faculty have also referred to the reciprocity of incivility, indicating that uncivil behavior may trigger a like behavior by the recipient ( Altmiller, 2012 ; Christensen et al, 2020 ; Clark, 2008a ; Sherrod & Lewallen, 2021 ).…”