Bullying in the Nursing Profession, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Although I have never personally encountered bullying in my place of employment, it does nevertheless exist in a profession that one would think is above that sort of thing. But fortunately, the extent or presence of bullying in the nursing profession is somewhat limited as compared to bullying in public schools or in a factory or other common workplace. But regardless, bullying in the nursing profession is never acceptable and must be eradicated in order to ensure that nurses and other professional health care providers are safe and free of physical and verbal abuse in their places of employment, such as a hospital, clinic, or nursing home.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), bullying can be defined as a type of workplace violence that includes physical assault, threatening behavior, or verbal abuse (Bullying and Workplace Violence, 2015). It is also fully recognized by the American Nurses Association as a rather common problem in the health care industry. The ANA also reminds us that all nurses “have the right to work in healthy environments free of abusive behavior” like bullying, hostility, intimidation, the abuse of authority and reprisals by administrators for speaking out against abuse” (Bullying and Workplace Violence, 2015).

Suggestions for Resolving Bullying in the Nursing Profession

As noted by the American Nurses Association, one way to resolve the problem of bullying in the nursing profession would be to create some type of code of behavior that would be enforceable by hospital and clinical administrators and other stakeholders. This would require “health care employers to develop comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs” related to management commitment and employee involvement, risk assessment and surveillance, and training and education (Bullying and Workplace Violence, 2015). In addition, a personal suggestion related to ending bullying in the nursing profession would involve identifying those individuals that cause the most problems and moving them to other areas of the workplace where they would be kept out of contact with other nurses, at least as far as humanly possible. There is also the possibility of some type of aggressive training for the victims of bullying. Overall, there should be zero tolerance for any type of bullying in the nursing workplace.

Supportive Literature Review

In the article “Exploring Workplace Bullying in Nursing,” author Emerald Etienne supports the suggestion of aggressive training for employees who end up as victims of bullying in the nursing workplace. Etienne also notes that workplace bullying “remains a problem for which reduction strategies must be devised as a means of retaining nurses and preventing adverse outcomes” (2014, p. 6). In addition, Etienne offers the suggestion that health care organizations “should implement a zero tolerance policy toward workplace bullying” (2014, p. 6) with the consequences being either some type of suspension for a brief period of time or a fine that would affect the instigator’s paycheck. Organizations must also “provide education and counseling to employees, victims, and perpetrators,” along with bullying prevention programs that consist of “strategies for recognizing and addressing bullying behaviors” (Etienne, 2014, p. 9).

In the article “Bullying in the Nursing Workplace: Applying Evidence Using a Conceptual Framework,” authors Lee, Bernstein, Lee, and Nokes relate that bullying in the workplace “remains a serious concern not only on nurse productivity, quality of patient care delivery, and organizational financial loss” but also in relation to how it affects the victims, both physically and psychologically. Therefore, it is vitally important for “nurses, nurse leaders, hospital administrators, and health care policymakers to develop strategies” that will help to transform the health care environment “into a physically and psychologically safe workplace where nurses will not have to be concerned with bullying from co-workers and supervisors (2014, p. 265).

Also, health care organizations must seek to develop some type of a guide that will help to “establish policies and educational programs to address bullying in the nursing workplace,” such as that proposed by the Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event

Alert which outlines the following educational programs related to bullying in the nursing workplace–1), skills-based training and coaching; 2), ongoing, non-confrontational surveillance; 3), a system for assessing staff perceptions of the seriousness and extent of unprofessional behaviors; and 4), policies that support early reporting without fear of intimidation (Lee, Bernstein, Lee, & Nokes, 2014, p. 265).

Lastly, in the article “Bad Medicine: Managing the Risks of Disruptive Behaviors,” author Alan H. Rosenstein notes that bullying in the nursing workplace is actually rather uncommon, yet the impact of bullying on the victims is beyond argument. For example, some studies have demonstrated that “more than 95% of those involved in a disruptive event feel stressed, intimidated, or unable to concentrate” which affects their ability to “effectively collaborate and communicate patient medical concerns” and tend to the medical needs of their patients (2013, p. 41). Thus, it is clear that health care administrators must provide educational seminars and workshops that highlight how to work more effectively on the job and how to enhance relationships rather than stain them even further with uncalled-for bullying. Also, Rosenstein mentions one other area that the other two articles failed to address, being managing stress and burnout which certainly can cause a person to act like a bully. As Rosenstein puts it, stress and burnout has reportedly affected a vast number of nurses and physicians, “leading many nurses to leave their positions, retire prematurely or even change professions” (2013, p. 42).

Summary

In essence, bullying in the nursing workplace has been around for many years, but only recently has it garnered enough attention to be of great concern to health care administrators, supervisors, and health care organization stakeholders. As pointed out by the authors of the above articles, education is one of the keys to helping eliminate bullying in the nursing workplace via classes and seminars that focus on how to handle stress which seems to be one of the contributing factors to bullying. Also, the very practice of nursing will be greatly enhanced when bullying is placed under control by surveillance around the clock.

In addition, the topic of bullying in the nursing workplace deserves more attention via studies and research activities that will help to bring the subject further into the light and into the lives of those affected by it and those who instigate it. Finally, health care organizations need to be fully aware of the existence of bullying and must do everything within their power to help eliminate it for the workplace, due to the fact that bullying can totally disrupt the effectiveness of the nursing process as  well as the effectiveness and ability of the organization to provide superior health care for all of its patients.

References

Bullying and workplace violence. (2015). American Nurses Association. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/Bullying-Workplace-Violence

Etienne, E. (2014). Exploring workplace bullying in nursing. Workplace Health and Safety (62) 1, 6-11.

Lee, Y.J., Bernstein, K., Lee, M., and Nokes, K.M. (2014). Bullying in the nursing workplace: Applying evidence using a conceptual framework. Nursing Economics (32) 5, 255-267.

Rosenstein, A.H. (2013). Bad medicine: Managing the risks of disruptive behaviors. Journal of Healthcare Risk Management. Retrieved from http://www.rmmagazine.com/2013/12/01/bad-medicine-managing-the-risks-of-disruptive-behaviors-in-health-care-settings