Sixty percent of new nurses quit their first job within the first six months due to the behavior of their co-workers, and nearly 50 percent of nurses believe that they will experience bullying at some time in their careers, according to research presented in a new e-book from Aurora, Colo.-based American Sentinel University.
The new e-book, "Dr. Renee Thompson's Series on Nurse Bullying," examines the roots of bullying and conflict resolution as Renee Thompson, DNP, RN, a nursing professional development/anti-bullying thought leader, shares her professional insight on how to best address and eliminate workplace bullying.
Here are five other thoughts and statistics from the e-book.
1. Nearly half — 48 percent — of new graduating nurses are afraid of becoming the target of workplace bullying.
2. In Dr. Thompson's research and observations, she identified two primary reasons why bullying is prevalent in nursing:
Nursing is a female dominated profession. "Theories suggest that age-old female 'competition' has shifted from competing over a man to competing over status, respect and position in the nursing environment. The same behaviors once witnessed between two women fighting over a man are the ones witnessed today in the behavior of bullies," Dr. Thompson wrote.
Nurses are an oppressed profession. Dr. Thompson noted that nurses are seen as a silent majority, which can bring about frustration. "Feelings of frustration, coupled with an increasingly complex and stressful job, can create environments where nurses 'take it out' on each other. Since nurses can't 'take it out' on administrators or physicians, the theory is that they take it out on the already oppressed, subservient group," she wrote.
3. Dr. Thompson identified the following as common overt bullying weapons:
Verbal criticism or name-calling
Intimidation
Blaming
Ethnic jokes or slurs
Finding fault
Threatening
Physical violence
4. Dr. Thompson identified the following as common covert bullying weapons:
Sabotage
Withholding information
Excluding others
Unfair assignments
Undermining
Downplaying accomplishments
5. Dr. Thompson's recommended action steps to address bullying are:
Name the behavior. "Bullies who feel a sense of power during their tirades gain momentum as they scream, yell or spread rumors and sabotage their co-workers. Naming the behavior as it occurs can stop things immediately and prevent an escalation of that behavior," Dr. Thompson wrote.
Document, document and document. "If you are being bullied, start a documentation trail. Keep a small notebook with you and write down dates, times, witnesses, verbatim comments, and any behaviors you believe undermine a culture of safety and a professional work environment," Dr. Thompson wrote. "Keep growing this documentation trail until you are at the point where you can file a formal complaint."
You got it? I blew that one and so did all the contestants. (I did think of Carl Sandburg, but that didn't seem quite right.) But I'll try not to show my jealousy. (Or is it jealously?)
Just to make it clear, NETY has been around for years.
On another note, good luck. I said my peace.
Spouting off "NETY" equates to "Boys will be boys".
It's an ignorant way of addressing an issue that is SO MUCH MORE than what it appears.
NETY = Well, Boys just can't help themselves, that's the way they're hard wired ~ girls should cover themselves up completely so they don't attract attention.
Maybe parents should teach their precious snowflakes that a "stink-eye" does NOT equal bullying. = Maybe Boys should be taught to not objectify body parts on females, and have a deeper respect of the whole package = Maybe the problem lies with the preparation of the student nurse, and NOT the "old" nurse.
Your bent upon insisting that the new/student nurses have NO accountability in the interpretation of a "look", or a "tone" is flawed.
You refuse to look at the bigger picture and see how the changes in social mores, ethno-cultural, fiscal reimbursements, parenting, as well as changes in scholastic accreditation standards have created a situation where the victim is NOT the always the new nurse coming out of school, but can also be the "old" nurse who is subjected to having to deal with an incoming generation of those who have your mentality.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Oh my. Once again, never said you all are the bullies. Since I never personally seen you attack another person in the workplace (and the fact that I don't even know YOU), it's kind of hard to judge you for that !
And secondly, my first comments on this post were about my own personal experiences with bullying that included nurses eating their young, and mentioned how jealously can play a factor in bullying. Jealously along with power and control, any many other things.
Nurses eating their young, backstabbing, humiliation, ignoring, gossip, purposely setting others up for failure, are just a few examples of BULLYING = which you don't get.
I am firmly standing my ground. The end.
I read your list of alleged bullying behaviors and what stands out is that they don't stand out. The instructor who asked if you had a learning disability may have been genuinely trying to help you. But it made you uncomfortable, so you played the "bully" card.
Nurses don't eat their young. The fact that you googled that means nothing more than that someone made a lot of money for coining the phrase and then writing/speaking about it. It was ridiculous then and it's ridiculous now. And if you genuinely believe that someone bullied you because they were jealous of you . . . All I can say is that you need to be an adult to be a nurse.
I read your list of alleged bullying behaviors and what stands out is that they don't stand out. The instructor who asked if you had a learning disability may have been genuinely trying to help you. But it made you uncomfortable, so you played the "bully" card.
Nurses don't eat their young. The fact that you googled that means nothing more than that someone made a lot of money for coining the phrase and then writing/speaking about it. It was ridiculous then and it's ridiculous now. And if you genuinely believe that someone bullied you because they were jealous of you . . . All I can say is that you need to be an adult to be a nurse.
I read your list of alleged bullying behaviors and what stands out is that they don't stand out. The instructor who asked if you had a learning disability may have been genuinely trying to help you. But it made you uncomfortable, so you played the "bully" card.
Nurses don't eat their young. The fact that you googled that means nothing more than that someone made a lot of money for coining the phrase and then writing/speaking about it. It was ridiculous then and it's ridiculous now. And if you genuinely believe that someone bullied you because they were jealous of you . . . All I can say is that you need to be an adult to be a nurse.
I mentioned in another thread that I was bullied throughout school. People spit in my food, pushed me, grabbed my arm, made nasty comments and other behaviors. I imagine several of the nurses posting in this thread have also experienced bullying at some point.
Therefore those of us who say what some members here call bullying doesn't qualify as bullying really do have a frame of reference.
Do bullies exist in nursing? Yes, as they do in every profession. But calling every perceived slight bullying or NETY actually is a diservice to those who are bullied.
Oh, and @AspiringNurseMW, boy do I hear you on the retail front. I worked at a cosmetic counter in a dept store - on commission - and the drama was so bad sometimes that I thought we'd be the next reality show!
Well, write what you want, but bullying can happen because of jealously for whatever reason and most times it is. Why else would people bully one another??? Why? It doesn't matter if it is in a nursing setting, school setting, bullying happens everywhere. This is a "nurse bullying topic" and I wrote 3 examples of nurse bullying that happens to be of an older nurse eating their young. I did not and never meant to upset older nurses. When I meant of retire, I meant of the ones who are down right mean for no reason at all, the ones who are bullies. This topic really holds a special place in my heart because I have seen it happen, not only in nursing but look at the rest of the world. Bullying has a huge effect on people. I get along great with older nurses. BUT there are some that get be down right nasty to brand new nurses ... which is a form of bullying.
Jealousy. It's jealousy. Not trying to be a bully I just couldn't...anymore.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
I was not always the starched white, stellar Guy you see before you. I was once a 98 lb. LPN and I was bullied. COBs used to walk by me on the beach and kick syringes in my face.
Seriously, I have been bullied before. It just so happened that one shift, years ago, I was physically assaulted by a female Nurse. I think she reacted out of anger because of something I did or said. (Can you believe that?)
The act did upset me, and it just so happened I had a Nursing magazine with an article on how to deal with a bully. So, I followed the advice and contacted the Nurse. She apologized and said, "It won't happen again".
That was good enough for me. We got along fine after that.
I was not always the starched white, stellar Guy you see before you. I was once a 98 lb. LPN and I was bullied. COBs used to walk by me on the beach and kick syringes in my face.
Seriously, I have been bullied before. It just so happened that one shift, years ago, I was physically assaulted by a female Nurse. I think she reacted out of anger because of something I did or said. (Can you believe that?)
The act did upset me, and it just so happened I had a Nursing magazine with an article on how to deal with a bully. So, I followed the advice and contacted the Nurse. She apologized and said, "It won't happen again".
That was good enough for me. We got along fine after that.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
...and now you're married! #TeamBelinda
That woman is strong!
I've told this story many times, so if you've heard it, shut up and let me finish:
One of the first times Belinda stayed over at my place (which is now our place), there was an ice storm and two wild cherry trees fell up against the house. The next day, I cut them down and sawed the trunks into five foot lengths just so I could move them out of the way.
I turned off the chainsaw and went to move the logs and they were gone! "What happened to the logs?" I asked Belinda.
"Oh", she said in her soft sweet voice, "I carried them over there", pointing about 25 yards across the driveway.
I've told this story many times, so if you've heard it, shut up and let me finish:
One of the first times Belinda stayed over at my place (which is now our place), there was an ice storm and two wild cherry trees fell up against the house. The next day, I cut them down and sawed the trunks into five foot lengths just so I could move them out of the way.
I turned off the chainsaw and went to move the logs and they were gone! "What happened to the logs?" I asked Belinda.
"Oh", she said in her soft sweet voice, "I carried them over there", pointing about 25 yards across the driveway.
Farawyn
12,646 Posts
I know useless schtuff like that.