bullying in the workplace

RNHawaii34 · Dec 21, 2007

how can you differentiate bullying from assertiveness and aggressiveness?
some staff are just being assertive but others are taking it as bullying.

in my workplace here in the united states, bullying is not acceptable. an assertive nurse should be able to communicate in a way that he or she does not hurt somebody's feeling. how? by not screaming, calling nurses a deragotory names, or intimidates. in a hospital setting there are some nurses who sounded "bossy" but depending on your cultural background, especially from asia, it could be interpreted as being a bully, but for a typical american, it is not. if you work in an emergency room, you will encounter a lot of that. another point also, an assertive nurse should be firm, and should be able to get his or her point across professionally. it is very important to be assertive if you work as a charge nurse. bossy/bully nurses can be easily spotted, ( trust me on this one ). they don't have friends at work, and they tend to scream, and b***h about everything. my advise? don't let these people intimidate you, focus on your work, your patient, get your job done, and go home, and at the end of the day? tell yourself...i am glad i am not like that person;)

g_l · Dec 21, 2007

is this similar to your experience?

http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Content/Editorial.aspx?CC=102740

ps sorry if it's off-topic.

potatomasher · Dec 26, 2007

People who bully have some issues in them like inadequacies and insecurities about themselves. I don't know if you agree with that. But I've experience a lot of that stuff especially during my nursing student days. I remember this particular classmate of mine who was a team leader that shift. It was terrible...he was like giving orders so and so and all he does is like that and bully you for doing something wrong or stupid in his eyes. Grrrr...

You learn something from assertive people. But from those who bully, you get nothing but shaming in the end. :S

RNHawaii34 · Dec 27, 2007

people who bully have some issues in them like inadequacies and insecurities about themselves. i don't know if you agree with that. but i've experience a lot of that stuff especially during my nursing student days. i remember this particular classmate of mine who was a team leader that shift. it was terrible...he was like giving orders so and so and all he does is like that and bully you for doing something wrong or stupid in his eyes. grrrr...
you learn something from assertive people. but from those who bully, you get nothing but shaming in the end. :s

oh yeah....i agree with you 100% we have similar experience....with those type of people, i would just back off, and ignore them..you can never win.just go away as far as you can! like, stat! :lol2: