Incivility as Bullying in Nursing Education

Abstract

Incivility as bullying in the workplace remains an important issue in need of attention. Nursing teaching-learning environments are no different. Acts of bullying can be disruptive and harmful to individuals and institutions. The author in this column discusses the prevalence of incivility as bullying within nursing communities with a focus on those in education. The humanbecoming ethical tenets, shame and betrayal are discussed as they relate to bullying. Suggested means of putting an end to this incivility are presented with a call for all nursing faculty to honor living quality as humanbecoming professionals.

Impact of Workplace Bullying Amongst First Responders- Systematic Review

“…The majority of respondents identified "being ignored (Etienne, 2014) or excluded" as the most common negative experience. Etienne's (2014) research noted that bullying in the nursing profession has been identified as one the greatest factors impacting negative patient outcomes and increased occupational stress and job turnover which is consistent with other research in this area (Condon, 2015;Etienne, 2014;Granstra, 2015;Wright & Khatri, 2015).…”

Incivility in nursing: from roots to repair

“…Backer Condon (2015) likened incivility to cancer, by claiming that if left unchecked it will grow and spread throughout an organisation. Oppressed group behaviour does not effectively challenge the issue of incivility and poorly led nurses will find that the easiest route to deal with incivility is to rationalise the behaviour, accept it and work around it, so that ultimately incivility becomes 'normalised' and accepted as, 'the way things are done around here.'…”

“…The lack of reporting makes it very difficult to ascertain exactly how large the problem of incivility truly is. However, if incivility remains unreported it is not surprising that new nurses will replicate uncivil behaviour in the future (Backer Condon 2015). As such, nursing has created a quagmire of incivility that is becoming increasingly difficult to escape from.…”

“…As Backer Condon (2015) aptly states, ignoring the problem will not make it go away. It may, in fact, make the situation worse and Backer Condon (2015) warn that a direct and honest approach to respond to the uncivil behaviour may also fail, leaving the uncivil person threatened and more likely to devise other means of sabotage.…”

“…As Backer Condon (2015) aptly states, ignoring the problem will not make it go away. It may, in fact, make the situation worse and Backer Condon (2015) warn that a direct and honest approach to respond to the uncivil behaviour may also fail, leaving the uncivil person threatened and more likely to devise other means of sabotage. Farrell and Shafiei (2012) found that when victims of incivility sought help, speaking with colleagues, family members and managers was more helpful than seeking assistance through more formal channels such as a human resource department.…”