Have you ever been a target of an individual’s cruelty and hatred? It does not necessarily have to be physical, but more like being verbally degraded or publicly humiliated. The effects bullying can have on its victims is something that may last throughout their lives, or something that may end their life(Braithwaite, Hyde, Pope, 2010).We all are well aware of childhood bullying but as evidence shows bullying does not stop on the playground.
Within health care, and nursing in particular, there is growing evidence of “in the work place” bullying (Malcolm,2006).Little is known about why there is such animosity between nurses but maybe if more people are aware of its presence, then it can be eliminated.(Stokowski,2010).What is Nurse to Nurse Bullying?Bullying is a term that is well known by everyone but in the nursing profession it may not be well understood. Nurse bullying is defined as” repeated vicious, unreasonable actions from one nurse to another”. These actions are intended to intimidate, degrade, offend or humiliate another nurse.
Nurse bullying is throughout the profession (Braithwaite, Hyde, Pope, 2010). This type of behavior is not limited to one hospital or one type of nurse. Nurse bullying can be found anywhere around us but a few of the most common feuds are between a new nurse and a senior nurse, an ICU nurse and a medical surgical nurse and definitely the day shift nurse and the night shift nurse (Stokowski, 2010).The term “nurses eat their young” is an expression used throughout nursing. It has become very popular because it is so true. This expression can be translated into senior nurses are harsh and vindictive towards the newer nurses.
Studies have shown that sixty percent of new nurses leave their first job within six months because of verbal or harsh treatment from a senior colleague (Brown, 2010).Nurse bullying is not limited to the new nurses being the victims. Bully behavior is a learned process and a choice. A new nurse might observe and embrace the bully behavior in hopes to fit in a little bit more (Rocker, 2008). Cliques may form on nursing floors which are the vehicles for nurse bullying.
Cliques help a bully hide and gain support. It seems easier for people to join the group instead of fighting against it (Rocker, 2008). This is why workplace bullying is a growing statistic.The Impact of Nurse to Nurse Bullying Nurses spend most of their thirteen hour shifts being pulled in multiple directions.
After days and days of this happening, a nurse can begin to feel worn down and stressed. There are many nurses that find it in them to stick with it, while others feel overwhelmed and burned out and end up quitting. Nurses already have a stressful job but when you add bullying into the mix, it just becomes unbearable for some (Brown, 2010). Bullying can produce and maintain a poisonous work environment.Nurses who bully can wear down the job satisfaction of their co workers which can result in a loss of productivity and increased absences in the workplace (Stokowski, 2010). Victims of bullying often have a feeling of impending doom and dread when they think about their upcoming work days.
Each time the bullying reoccurs, the victims usually feel the need to retreat more and more into a safe place of silence. Unfortunately, this silence tends to embolden the bully to attack the victim even more aggressively to the point of affecting the victim’s workplace reputation (Rocker, 2008). Teamwork and communication is compromised when there is bullying in the work field. The lack of or failed communication can even put patients’ safety at risk (Stokowski, 2010).
The effects of bullying can manifest in many shapes and forms for the victim. The victim might begin to feel alone and isolated (Stokowski, 2010). The bully creates an environment of fear using intimidation. This leaves the victim secluded and feeling insufficient.
It’s not uncommon for the bully to seem hidden behind the scenes. Bullies seem to manage this by making the victim seem stupid and less capable to their coworkers around them. This makes the victim the center of attention while no one seems to realize that this may not even be the truth (Rocker, 2008). New nurses grow and settle into their new position from acceptance and positive feedback from their co workers.
Therefore, one can imagine what the effect of bullying would have on the new nurses just starting out in the field (Stokowski, 2010).Bullying can cause their victims emotional distress, anxiety, isolation, and rejection. Unfortunately, those are the minor side effects of bullying. Being bullied can lead to even more severe problems that can result in an illness, depression, increased use of sick time, PTSD and suicidal thoughts (Stokowski, 2010). A victim can even take on the physical symptoms such as nausea, headaches, weight loss, insomnia, irritability, and even alcoholism. It has been found in many studies that these stresses can result in a nurse giving up or having a fractured career and experiencing serious consequences in their personal life.
It has been noted that the spouses of victims have reported seeing a decline in their partners zest for life. These patterns and changes can lead to divorce, loss of marital affection and diminished attention toward their children (Rocker, 2008). The most serious side effect of nurse to nurse bullying is stress related suicide. A study done in Australia and Canada showed that one out seven adult suicides resulted from workplace bullying (Rocker, 2008).Conclusion and Summary Unfortunately in today’s society, nurse to nurse bullying has become expected and tolerated. Sometimes it is even called nursing’s “silent epidemic” because there is a failure to acknowledge it and implement procedures to alleviate the problem all together.
There are so many negative effects of nurse bullying that there is not enough time to wait for definitive answers about the root cause.The first step to taking back a nurse’s workplace is acknowledging that bullying is real and it is prevalent everywhere (Stokowski, 2010). It has been proven that bullying is a learned behavior within the workplace rather than a personality characteristic of the individuals (Lewis, 2006). Nurses as individuals, do not have the ability to cure the world of workplace bullying but each nurse should take a honest look at themselves and try to determine why bullying exists in a line of work that is supposed to stand for caring (Stokowski, 2010).
