Bullying in the workplace

Nurses Relations

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Specializes in OR, PACU, Dialysis.

I was on the internet the other day, just checking my professional websites, and stumbled onto an article on the ASPAN website about Bullying in the workplace. Anyone else seen this? It's an article about how JAHCO will be mandating a violence in the workplace protocol. The organization must have a policy in place that ID's proper conduct and what steps will be taken to modify inappropriate behavior. All employees must sign the form.

It's about time! In the last three years I gone through three jobs because of hostile work environments. And I've been in the field 2o+ years.

The problem I have with this is you can't put it into practice. Some hospitals aren't JAHCO certified, so they don't follow policies and standards anyway. There are others who don't follow any standards when they are JAHCO certified. So what's the point?

It is estimated 48% of the medical field would be unemployed!

Any thoughts?

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Joint Commission has mandated many policies that have not come into fruition in the real world, and this will just be another one. I'm not holding my breath on that one, but it would be a nice dream come true.

I agree about not being able to put it into practice.

A lot of times it's not right out in the open. It's subtle: passive agressive behavior, a tone of voice or attitude, sabotage, etc.

Signing a paper won't change any of that for some, it might make some others think though.

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I agree about not being able to put it into practice.

A lot of times it's not right out in the open. It's subtle: passive agressive behavior, a tone of voice or attitude, sabotage, etc.

Signing a paper won't change any of that for some, it might make some others think though.

It is hard to describe an attitude, tone of voice, sabotage, etc...effectively. Many times, non-proactive managers will tell us it was all in our heads, we are sensitive, jumping the gun, etc... When I consider where I work, I don't believe it would even make them think, I see them continuing their behavior the same way they brush their teeth.

However, if they can, in fact, really make this effective, I am all for it. At least they are thinking...because it is true. Bullying does affect patient care. If a person has to encounter abuse and ridicule each and every time they have to consult with a physician, head nurse or nursing supervisor, it is no surprise that they may opt out, which may be determental to patient safety.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Peds, Ortho, LTC and MORE.
I agree about not being able to put it into practice.

A lot of times it's not right out in the open. It's subtle: passive agressive behavior, a tone of voice or attitude, sabotage, etc.

Signing a paper won't change any of that for some, it might make some others think though.

California has legislation that requires businesses to have a workplace injury prevention plan and a specific law to combat violence in hospitals---Title 8, CCR, 3203; Penal Code 171b; Title 29, 654(a)(1).

Having that legislation did it help in my situation? NO

I wrote down exactly what happened, I gave copies to the "house supervisor, the director of nursing and (since this was a travel nurse position) my agency.

For 13 weeks this is what I encountered/endured from the charge nurse and other staff nurses:

Examples from my letter:

Verbal abuse ---used profanity directed at myself, in front of other co-workers, patients and patient's family members.

Physical threat---walked up to me and stood so that I could not leave, with another co-worker standing less than 1 foot from me yelling at me.

Deliberately withheld information that was vital for effective work performance --- transferring an assigned patient to another room, and not informing me of an admission.

Psychological harassment-- purposely humiliating me through sarcasm, criticism or insults in front of others with inappropriate comments about my personal appearance,--- asking "What's that crawling in your hair? You have chunks on your head."

While it is true that I might have workplace encounters that lead to personality conflicts- I still have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and professionalism when an instance of conflict occurs, and

have a right to a working environment that is free from

discrimination, harassment and bullying.

So having JACHO giving a madate to have a facillity policy is a good thing, it's another for the persons in authority to act upon said policy and enforce. Having legislation is also good, but not when no one will/ does or wants to take the action required to follow through.

I hope some day that is will not be needed, but until that day comes, I'd sure like to have policy and laws inplace to help protect victums.

Specializes in ER, NICU, NSY and some other stuff.

My facility has a very concisely written policy written on its non-tolerance of lateral violence. It also covers that subtle stuff such as body language, facial expression, etc. Fortunately my department is a great group and I see very little of this here. Now there have been places that I have worked over the years that I would have loved to see something like this in place.

Specializes in med surg ltc psych.

And.. this has become rampant in my nursing program at the clinical sites, and on campus. I remember the medical law and ethics court clearly stating that anyone who verbally assaults another, and or puts their hands upon a person while threatening is assault/battery. I witnessed this two semesters ago, and now that I am going into my fourth level, I have been unreasonably treated with unprofessional verbal behavior and have had the instructor slap my hands during procedures or while pulling meds from pyxis, or while drawing a med. And then hunts me down at the college demoralizing me in front of classmates and has told me to "get out of my face" in front of nursing staff and humiliates in front of my assigned patients. Some of these instructors are completely within the parameters of abuse and no one confronts them. It's like they have assumed a chauvinist pig mentality toward females, and on the edge of sociopathy. I did not experience any such behavior toward me while getting a degree in biology at a university or at ANY community college. Just deplorable.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Bullies target certain individuals in the workplace, and leave other persons alone. It revolves around their perception of us. If you are viewed as a 'softie' who will not defend oneself against the bully, you'll be marked as an easy target. If you're perceived as someone who will resist and not let anyone walk over you, bullies will quickly know to leave you alone.

We cannot depend on management to stop the ugliness. In other words, nurses must "bully-proof" themselves by openly confronting the bullying as soon as it happens. If a person is too challenging to pick on, the bully will simply move on to softer targets.

Bullying is a cowardly act of opportunity. Bullies select the most opportune targets: people who are unlikely to respond in a defensive manner to the bullying. If nothing is done at the moment it occurs, the bully will continue the rampage because he/she knows that he/she can get away with it.

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I also believe that the "hardened" targets have a responsibility to stand alongside the weaker ones and confront the bullies shoulder-to-shoulder.

Bullies get away with it because it's tacitly tolerated by the majority who are not affected and choose not to get involved.

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Each time I go to a new place, I place my 'game' face on. I have to work at a per diem assignment tomorrow, and I intend to do just that. I am respectful and tactful, but I walk with confidence, and the moment it happens, I feel the need to correct the person immediately so that I don't have to endure such behavior. It is disturbing, however, that we have to prepare to be harassed, and be armed with a response. Not sure if Joint Commisson will really be able to change that, especially, when many times, the aggressor is someone of authority.

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Not sure if Joint Commisson will really be able to change that, especially, when many times, the aggressor is someone of authority.

That's what happened in my last hospital job, the bully was one of the assistant department managers who'd been with the organization for 25 years. Now, I'm pretty thick-skinned, but how many people wouldn't be intimidated in a situation like this? I'd been there on and off for only five years, and was in a position of inferiority....that was why I quit rather than confront her. What was I, a mere floor nurse with only a few years on the job, going to accomplish by tweaking the nose of a manager who was regarded as a pillar of the institution?

Unfortunately, that's how they work to beat you down: they make you feel incompetent and simple and stupid, so that you lose the will to fight back. It isn't until you put some distance between you and the situation---and that can literally take YEARS---that you understand what has happened to you, and if you're smart, you grow yourself a shell that protects you from future assaults on your self-esteem. If you don't, you run the risk of becoming a nursing dropout because these people are EVERYWHERE in nursing (as well as other professions). I think more nurses leave the profession because of bullies than any other factor---not the pay, not the snotty MDs and demanding families, not even the long hours and impossible patient loads.

Specializes in OR, PACU, Dialysis.

Thanks for your responses. Just an update: We just had an incident where an ICU nurse was instructed to move a patient to another unit and receive a patient from PACU. The patient had been here 11 hours waiting for a room, had a craniotomy. The ICU nurse refused to move the original patient until 9 PM. When the charged Nurse tried to resolve the situation she was threatened with "you had better stop your behavior (solving the problem) or you will be in a lot of trouble". She asked the manager "Are you threatening me?" "NO I'm not threatening you, I'm just saying..." The manager now denies the conversation.

She has reported the treat to Joint Commission and CMS.

We shall see the out come.

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