“They can crush you”: Nursing students’ experiences of bullying and the role of faculty

Abstract

This paper will explore the faculty role when nursing students experience bullying, and what teaching practices best support student confidence and learning. Failure to address the issue of bullying in nursing education contributes to bullying in the profession, and creates an atmosphere of distrust between students and faculty. Nursing students have reported that faculty sometimes behave in bullying ways or are ill-prepared to address bullying as it occurs. Faculty may contribute to bullying unknowingly, as students may perceive teaching behaviours, such as giving feedback, as bullying. Giving feedback is a skill in itself, and faculty members should consider factors influencing a student's perception of student/teacher interactions. Having a firm grasp on conflict resolution processes and reviewing related curriculum are responsibilities of post-secondary nurse educators. Faculty also have the responsibility to recognize and address conflict in a timely manner, and turn difficult situations into learning experiences or teachable moments. In order to prevent faculty bullying of students, faculty members should acknowledge the inherent vulnerability of learners, and also reflect on their own communication practices and their potential impact on learners.

Experiences of Saudi Female Students towards the Phenomena of Bullying Behaviors during Nursing Education Program

“…In another study conducted in United States (US), Smith, et al [24] confirmed that nursing students experience various forms of bullying behaviors in clinical setting. In contrast, recent research of Seibel and Fehr [3] emphasized that different types of bullying can be happened in class or clinical settings within and between student and faculty groups.…”

“…Abd-Elrahman [22] revealed that 87.6% (N=709) of Egyptians' student nurses are experiencing bullying behaviors. Accordingly, Seibel and Fehr [3] recognized bullying behaviors as common complaints among nursing students and routine experiences in academia and clinical setting. In this aspect, Smith, et al [24] illustrated that the extent of bullying behaviors experienced by nursing students is unclear as percentages range among studies.…”

“…Bullying behaviors can spread through the nursing workforce and infect the future generations of nurses [12]. Additionally, students have lower levels of social support and higher psychological demand due to being in the learning role and having only temporary bonds with specific nursing units' work and staff [3].…”

“…In contemporary society, bullying becomes a serious problem that negatively affects the students, educators, workplace, quality of training, and patient care [1,2]. Bullying defined as a form of interpersonal violence or personal harassment that directed against someone who cannot easily defend him or herself [3]. It is an aggressive, intentional behavior that is carried out by a group or an individual, repeatedly and over time [4].…”

“…It often involves power abuse, feelings of defenselessness, injustice, and undermining dignity. Bullying is an apparent contradiction in a nursing profession where the importance of caring is considered to be absolute [3]. It may be directed upward (faculty against students), downward (students against faculty), or horizontally (student to student or faculty to faculty) [7].…”