Nursing’s future? Eat young. Spit out. Repeat. Endlessly

A Call to Revisit and Address the Histories of Bullying in Nursing Education

“…The ongoing existence of bullying is not only an issue for nurses in practice (Canadian Nurses Association & Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, 2015a, 2015b; Clarke et al, 2012;Houshmand et al, 2012;Vessey et al, 2009) but is also acknowledged as a serious concern in current nursing education (Birks et al, 2018;Bowllan, 2015;Budden et al, 2017;Clarke et al, 2012;Darbyshire et al, 2019;Fehr & Seibel, 2016;Gillespie et al, 2017;Griffin, 2004;Jack et al, 2018;Jackson et al, 2011;Palaz, 2013;Seibel, 2014;Seibel & Fehr, 2018;Tee et al, 2016;Thomas, 2010;Thomas & Burk, 2009). More recently, it has come to light that not only is experiencing bullying an issue but witnessing it is also problematic (Báez-León et al, 2016;MacCurtain et al, 2018).…”

Nightingale’s year of nursing: rising to the challenges of the covid-19 era

“…This oppression and gaslighting of, usually but by no means exclusively, junior, enthusiastic, novice nurses is widespread in both clinical practice and academia 4. Numerous examples have been conveyed to us over decades of “cult of personality” management styles used by senior managers and their acolytes, who seek to thwart ambition, suppress dissent, stifle creativity, and generally subvert and punish any perceived competition or lack of adulation 5…”

Realising 2020 as ‘International Year of the Nurse’: Is nursing management part of the problem, or part of the solution?

“…Whilst we have much to celebrate about nursing and its achievements, too many nurses leave the profession or endure toxic workplaces, stultifying cultures and services riven by structural racism (Weitzel et al., 2020) and bullying (Darbyshire, Thompson, & Watson, 2019). The nursing literature, mainstream and social media describe ‘Stalinist fear factories’ (Darbyshire, 2010) (p. 6) that many nurses and their managers experience.…”