![]() ![]() ![]() Some nurses will become bystanders, some will learn to ignore the problem, and some will become bullies themselves-perpetuating the toxic cycle. In a bullying environment, cliques can form, and scapegoats and favorites emerge. The three primary roles of bully (perpetrator), victim (target), and bystander (witness) must each be examined closely in every situation. Anxiety, anger, and vengefulness make it more likely that someone will become a bully, but these traits are not exclusive to nurses. Often, this is a learned behavior from early childhood, or a transmuted behavior in victims of bullying, who become bullies for self-protection. Some may worry about younger nurses usurping their place in the hierarchy, and others can feel threatened by their elders’ competence and experience. 23 Used with permission.īullies often lack self-confidence and may see certain colleagues as threats. In addition, we have learned that social media promotes passive-aggressive and anonymous bullying toward individuals and groups.ĪReprinted from American Nurses Association 5 and Dellasega. An offhand remark made in a brief moment of frustration can cause great damage when it is communicated in a digital form. The ease and immediacy of digital media-and the fact that it extends communication beyond the workplace-magnifies the impact of negative behaviors. 6Įven if the person does not intend the comment to be seen, or deletes it moments later, there is no stopping others from taking a screenshot and sending it to the target, often with good intentions. In her seminal book, Ending Nurse-to-Nurse Hostility, now in its second edition, author Kathleen Bartholomew, RN, MN, cites examples of indirect cyberbullying, where nurses are shown derogatory comments and posts about them in private text threads and online groups. This includes direct harassment as well as indirect harm. In the digital world, social media, text messaging, online forums, and even video games have expanded the scope of all bullying. Microaggressions-brief and commonplace indignities denigrating a person's race, religion, or membership in another marginalized group-are also considered a form of covert bullying. Covert bullying is indirect and passive-aggressive, and can include rumors and gossip, withholding information, unfair assignments, low grades or undesirable tasks as punishment, and sabotage. Overt bullying is easier to recognize, and includes techniques like extreme micromanaging, verbal criticism, name-calling, insults, and direct threats. While there are too many acts of bullying to list here, they can be roughly divided into overt and covert behaviors. It is important to realize the problem occurs along a continuum that can escalate when not addressed. It also examines why bullying is such a pressing problem for health care organizations, how it can affect their clinical and financial outcomes, and strategies for addressing it.Īlso known as horizontal hostility, relational aggression, and lateral violence, the American Nurses Association defines nurse bullying as “repeated, unwanted harmful actions intended to humiliate, offend and cause distress in the recipient,” calling it “a very serious issue that threatens patient safety, RN safety and the nursing profession as a whole.” 5īullying can run the gamut from incivility and exclusion to physical violence and death threats. This article discusses the forms and perpetrators of nurse bullying, and factors that contribute to it. In fact, 60% of nurse managers, directors, and executives in one 2018 study 4 said they experienced bullying in the workplace, and 26% considered the bullying “severe.” Nurse bullying occurs in almost all care settings and units, from the patient floor to the executive suite. 3 Within the first 6 months, 60% of nurses leave their first job due to the behavior of their coworkers. 2 In another study, over half of nursing students reported seeing or experiencing nurse-on-nurse bullying during their clinical rotations. One study showed that over a 6-month period, 78% of students experienced bullying in nursing school. It starts early and is present from the classroom to the bedside to the boardroom. The nurse bullying phenomenon is well-documented in the clinical and leadership literature. ![]() ![]() “To name a thing is to take its power away.” 1 Bullying is a targeted and destructive behavior that must be called what it is in order to address and eliminate in one of the most caring professions. But no matter how it is explained away, nurse bullying takes a heavy toll. NURSES in the profession call it “eating our young.” Some consider it ingrained in the culture, a rite of passage, or an unavoidable fact of a nurse's life. ![]()
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