Bullying In Nursing

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Workforce bullying is a serious issue affecting the nursing profession and is defined as any type of repetitive abuse in which the victim of the bullying suffers verbal abuse, threats humiliating or intimidating behaviors or behavior by the perpetrator that interfere with his and her job performance and are meant to place at risk the health and safety of the victim” (Murray 2009). Nurses are risk of bullying from co-workers, especially other nurses, family members, patients, people in management positions and physicians. Most nurses will experience bullying at some time in their career. According to O. Ovayolu, N. Ovayolu and Karadag (2014), nurses and other health care workers are bullied more often than any other profession especially young nurses. Nurses have always had a reputation for “eating their young.” (Matt 2012) Bullying is believed to occur due to power struggles, having the need for control, personality flaws and having psychopathic tendencies. Effects of bullying can lead to constant feeling of stress, anxiety, depression, …show more content…
Education and training is needed to help staff recognize the signs of bullying and how to effectively respond to bullying. Nurses have a legal and ethical responsibility to promptly report any incidences of bullying. Any nurse, no matter what position they hold, that engages in behaviors of bullying are in violation of the International Council of Nurses and American Nurses Association codes of ethics (Matt 2014). Perpetrators of bullying may also be subject to criminal and civil charges. With that being said, bullying and other types of violence are emerging as a threat to the nursing profession and workforce (Blais & Hayes 2016) and everyone needs to be vigilant in identifying and reporting issues immediately before situations are allowed to

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