Strategies for Managing Nursing Students’ Incivility as Experienced by Nursing Educators: a Qualitative Study

Abstract

Introduction: Students’ incivility is an impolite and disturbing behavior in education and if ignored could lead to behavioral complexities and eventually violence and aggression in classrooms. This study aimed to reveal the experiences of Iranian educators regarding the management of such behaviors. Methods: In this qualitative study, qualitative content analysis method was used to evaluate the experiences and perceptions of nursing educators and students. A total of 22 persons (14 educators and 8 students) were selected through purposive sampling and individually interviewed. Results: Categories of unification of educators regarding behavioral management, teaching-learning strategy, friendship strategy and training through role playing, authority, appropriative decision-making and freedom, stronger relationships between students, reflection, and interactive educational environment were some strategies used by teachers for management of incivility. Conclusion: Educators suggested some strategies which could be used depending on uniqueness of behaviors and given situation. Educators and managers of medical fields can use these approaches in their classrooms to control uncivil behaviors.

Nurse educators’ experiences with student incivility: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

“…Management of student incivility A range of uncivil behaviors [13][14][15][16][28][29][30]33] "Before, I thought of a more disrespectful attitude… I now know that incivility can be more than just a bad attitude and smart remarks… it can make you feel unsafe." [29] A sense of shock [14][15][16]29] "I was just flabbergasted… My first thought was I cannot believe they're behaving this way… I was amazed…" [15] Applying various strategies to an incivility incident [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]30,32] "In other words, we use various methods. A single one is not working on everyone.…”

“…[10] Approaching uncivil students in a courteous manner as a role model [10,14,15,32] "… but here, I directly reminded the student of her inappropriate behavior on the basis of the university rules and regulations." [32] Establishing professional boundaries [10,14,16,29,33] "We are still their instructors and we need to keep our relationship on a level where we can maintain that faculty/ student relationship." [29] Feeling alone without support [14][15][16]28,31] "I kind of feel like almost defeated.…”

“…[30] Emotional turmoil and psychological trauma [13][14][15][16][28][29][30] "There were rumors going around the university about me, like my partner was a prostitute and a drug dealer and that I condoned her lifestyle… lived off her…, that I didn't have a PhD… Of course, it was a complete pack of lies." [13] Damage to self-esteem and confidence [10,[13][14][15][16][28][29][30][31] "I almost felt sick, I was rattled. I was rattled to the core.…”

“…Demotivation and job dissatisfaction [13][14][15]27,28,33] "When things like that occur, it makes me unhappy in my job, I wonder why I am doing this, I could be doing lots of other things, I don't have to put up with this…" [29] 4. Impact: professional growth Accountability for the professional development of students [10,14,16,32] "I will continue, and I need to hold them[students] to accountability. And, -because I feel that I have a moral and ethical responsibility to society to provide and educate competent practitioners, and I will not compromise that."…”

Nurse educator academic incivility: a qualitative descriptive study

“…Faculty‐to‐faculty incivility has been reported as being disruptive to the teaching and learning environment, and is associated with poor work output (Mohammadidipour et al 2018). Various terms have been used to describe academic incivility (Raaj et al 2019), for example, threatening behaviours, verbal attacks on others and disregard of other people’s feelings (Rad & Moonaghi 2016). Incivility, in the context of this paper, has been defined by Anderson and Peterson (1999, p. 459) as low‐intensity deviant behaviour with ambiguous intent to harm the target in violation of norms for mutual respect.…”