An Integrative Review of Nurse-to-Nurse Incivility, Hostility, and Workplace Violence

Abstract

Bullying, lateral violence, and incivility are real phenomena in the nursing workplace and remain widespread across all care settings. The American Nurses Association recommends zero tolerance for any form of violence from any source and adopting evidence-based strategies to mitigate incivility and bullying. This integrative review examined the evidence regarding nurse-to-nurse incivility, bullying, and workplace violence for 4 nurse populations—student, new graduate, experienced, and academic faculty. Ganong and Cooper's review methodology structured the evidence synthesis. Twenty-one articles pertained to the clinical inquiry. The evidence consistently described the incidents, instigators, and targets of incivility/bullying, which contributes to 84 negative academic, organizational, work unit, and personal outcomes. A safe and just organizational culture demands a comprehensive systems-level approach to create civil environments. The evidence-based structures, processes, and recommendations serve as a Global Positioning System for practice and academic leaders to use in creating a healthy work environment where nurses are encouraged and empowered. The critical choices by nurse leaders will determine not only the future of 21st century professional nursing practice but how the public views the nursing profession for many years to come.

Impact of workplace incivility on compassion competence of Korean nurses: Moderating effect of psychological capital

“…First, continual exposure to incivil behaviours may lead to chronic negative feelings and poor mental health, including high levels of stress, depressive symptoms and anxiety (Lim et al, 2008; Wing, Regan, & Spence Laschinger, 2015). These negative emotional responses negatively affect employees’ work performance and well‐being (Crawford et al, 2019; Phillips, MacKusick, & Whichello, 2018). Nurses with poor mental health can neither focus on patient care nor sensitively respond to patients’ needs (Sinclair, Norris, et al, 2016).…”

Workplace Violence Is Associated With Impaired Work Functioning in Nurses: An Italian Cross‐Sectional Study

“…However, no professional category in health care is exempt from this risk (Acquadro Maran, Varetto, Zedda, & Magnavita, 2018; Magnavita, 2013; Magnavita, Fileni, Pescarini, & Magnavita, 2012; Magnavita & Heponiemi, 2011). Verbal violence or incivility are extremely widespread and can derive from colleagues and superiors bullying individual workers (so‐called “lateral violence”; Castronovo, Pullizzi & Evans, 2016; Crawford et al, 2019). Lateral violence, a deliberate and harmful behavior demonstrated in the workplace by one employee to another, is a further significant problem in the nursing profession.…”

Good for Nurses, Good for Patients:

“…ullying and incivility among nursing staff is an issue that is not only pervasive, 1 it is destructive to workplace culture, 2,3 jeopardizes patient safety, 2,4 and leads to poor patient experience. 2 Nursing leaders at Nicklaus Children's Hospital (Nicklaus), a 4-time Magnet®-recognized, freestanding, 309-bed pediatric hospital in Miami, Florida, received feedback from their nursing staff across various units regarding an increase in bullying and incivility.…”