Are you a nurse bully?

Nurse abuse, or lateral violence, is a type of workplace violence defined as non-physical, aggressive, hostile and/or harmful behavior between co-workers. While isolated acts of nurse abuse could seem relatively harmless, they create a toxic environment that impacts worker morale and may jeopardize patient care.

Research estimates it’s somewhere in between 46% and 100% of nurses have experienced lateral violence in some unspecified time in the future of their profession. In fact, one study found that greater than that 27% of nurses experienced lateral violence within the last six months.

While the precise nature of bullying may vary from individual to individual and organization to organization, there are common behaviors. Stop for a moment and ask yourself if you have got ever:

• Used power to govern or control others?
• Have you intentionally withheld information that a co-worker may have to do their job?
• Have you ridiculed or publicly shamed a co-worker?
• Have you intimidated a co-worker with verbal threats of disciplinary penalties?
• Have you refused to supply help or guidance when needed?
• Have you been assigning unfair tasks or downplaying the achievements of others?
• Yelled at a co-worker?
• You didn’t want to take a look at your co-worker while talking to him otherwise you rolled your eyes?
• Do you gossip about your co-workers?
• Have you excluded co-workers or made sarcastic or demeaning comments towards them?

Why the abuse of nurses?

Amy Loughren, RNas shown in Netflix movie Good nursewondered how bullying affects nursing.

“Bullyers cause stress and anxiety throughout the team, and calling them out can also lead to retaliation in the form of passive aggressive gossip, attempts to form alliances against co-workers, and ignoring calls for help,” Amy noted.

“At best, this creates an atmosphere of stress, and at worst, it interferes with patient care, potentially causing patient harm.” Amy Loughren, RN[/caption] Amy discussed how an absence of self-reflection can result in nurses unknowingly practicing bullying throughout their careers.

“I’ve worked with nurses who are clearly bullying and yet would be shocked if someone criticized them for bullying,” Amy said. “They appear to lack self-insight because bullies tend to believe that their bullying is justified rather than harmful and hurtful.”

While there are differing opinions and theories as to why bullying towards nurses is so common, Amy believes it could be a part of a defense mechanism and a dysfunctional way by which nurses set boundaries.

“Perhaps speaking NO it is not convenient for them, so being unavailable pushes away co-workers and stops managers from asking them any questions,” she said.

If you might be being bullied

If you witness bullying behavior directed against you or others, do the next:

• Ask for help immediately.
• Tell the perpetrator that their behavior is unacceptable – silence signifies that violence is tolerated.
• Communicate clearly how you want to to be treated, moderately than assuming the perpetrator already knows this.
• Carefully document every detail of the meeting.
• Offer support and help to a friend who’s a victim of bullying.
• Follow the chain of command to register a criticism with an outdoor organization, akin to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), if management doesn’t take your opinion seriously.

There is little a nurse can do to actually impact bullying. In addition to reflecting on your personal behavior and reporting it, decide to work for a company that doesn’t tolerate nurse abuse.

“Dealing with nurse abuse is challenging, especially in environments where such behavior is an accepted part of the culture,” Amy said. “It is up to organizations to address the issue of bullying and create a culture in which nurses feel comfortable reporting incidents of bullying.”

Attention to culture

While supporting nurses who report harassment is vital, nurse managers and other nursing leaders must go a step further to create a positive, healthy workplace culture that forestalls bullying in the primary place. This might be achieved by:

A zero-tolerance policy for hostility within the workplace sets clear expectations for worker behavior, in addition to consequences for many who fail to fulfill these expectations. It also allows employees to talk up without fear of retribution.

Managers and other leaders must commit to enforcing zero-tolerance policies and modeling positive behaviors within the workplace. When leaders do that, they signal to all members of their team that lateral violence isn’t tolerated. Organizations can use behavioral and situational assessments to assist determine the foundation explanation for bullying. This information helps leaders create a more comprehensive anti-bullying framework.

Effectively standing as much as bullying requires courage and tact. Through conflict resolution training, nurse leaders can equip their nurses with the talents to handle and address bullying and other types of violence within the workplace.

It is vital that every one nurses (but especially recent ones) have a great understanding of the signs of abuse. Training materials may also help nurses higher understand the differences between acceptable and unacceptable behavior and encourage them to report incidents of harassment.

Nurses who feel they’re truly a part of a team are less more likely to use violence. Emphasizing the importance of support networks and creating time and space for team constructing may also help promote positive interpersonal behaviors.

Protecting your emotional health

Workplace violence in health care, including bullying, can have a negative impact on your complete nursing workforce. Arming yourself with education and resources to guard your emotional well-being will profit your practice throughout your profession.

Join Nurse.com and Amy Loughren for a three-part webinar series, Emotional health as a path to sustainable development. These discussions will deal with improving nurses’ emotional well-being.

The second session within the “Bullying in the Workplace” series will help nurses discover and address bullying behaviors, promote self-awareness and avoid blame tactics. Register for upcoming sessions and access previous sessions Here.