Nurses In The Workplace

It has long been acknowledged that some nurses engage in hostile behaviors toward other nurses, as evidenced by the often repeated expression, "Nurses eat their young.” Nurses play a significant role in ensuring patient safety, but the safety of nurses also needs consideration. Nurses have the right to practice in an environment free from any form of abuse. Abuse in the work environment arises from various sources, but what is especially disturbing is hostility in the form of inappropriate behaviors that generate from co-workers. Behaviors such as verbal abuse, intimidation, belittling, criticizing someone in front of others, fault-finding, blocking of information, and isolating or freezing someone out of group activities can threaten the performance of an individual or the health care team through a breakdown in communication and collaboration and result in adverse events (Woelfle & McCaffrey, 2012). Charge nurses, the front-line leaders in the unit, are accountable for …show more content…
When tensions are high in the workplace, nurses are unlikely to perform at their best and the result is often poor patient care. There are both physical and psychological consequences of horizontal violence for nurses as well as for the institution in which they work (Longo, Cassidy, & Sherman, 2016). The institution suffers because staff lacks initiative to do their job well. Horizontal hostility drains nurses of energy and undermines the institution's attempts to create a satisfied nursing workforce. Professional relationships can improve if nurses make every effort to care of one another and acknowledge the part they play in the workplace culture of horizontal violence (Longo et al., 2016). Recognizing what these behaviors are and how they continue is important if nurses are to overcome them. Changing the cycle of negative behavior will involve both personal and professional