Incivility has several negative outcome on any organization. The impact of bullying behaviors on the organization are lower morale, lower productivity and increased absenteeism (due to physical, psychological and emotional harm), followed by rapid and increased turnover, which compromises patient safety. Workplace bullying also leads to lawsuits, compensation for disability, loss of profits, negative impact on organizational reputation, and a corrosion of the patient to health care worker relationship. Employees, patients and families who witness behaviors that are not civil are concerned about how care can be impacted.
- Think about a time in your nursing practice where you experienced or witnessed incivility.
- Provide a concise description of this experience.
- What are some steps that could have been taken to prevent this from occurring?
- Discuss some important ways to create a culture of civility in the workplace.
Solution
As a senior year nursing student, I got a job as a student nursing assistant in an inner-city hospital in Washington DC. This hospital had a program in which nursing students worked on clinical floors and would have the opportunity to participate in clinical interventions most nursing assistants were not able to. I worked on a geriatric floor with a crew of seasoned and quite possibly burned-out nurses. As a student nurse, I was quiet and respectful and very willing to learn. But I also had many questions as I did not want to do anything wrong. There was one nurse in particular, a male nurse, who seemed particularly disgruntled that a young nursing student was working on the floor. If I asked him a question, he gave me the silent treatment, if I asked for help, he ignored me, and I often heard him either mumbling under his breath about me or gossiping to someone else about nursing students and their incompetence. He would assign me to do all the worst jobs on the floor such as giving….Kindly click the purchase icon to purchase the full solution at $5