Nursing: A generational look at bullying

in the profession
Sarah Perry BSN, RN
Youngstown State University
Nurs 6900: Healthcare Issues and Trends
Dr. Sheila Blank
August 3rd 2022
 Abstract
Nursing is known for its bad reputation of
bullies
• Often seen as “Nurses eat their young”
• Can occur between other nurses, physicians, students and
lay persons
• Bullying has detrimental mental and physical effects on a
person as

Creates problems within a healthcare organization:

1. Increased turnover rates
2. Nursing shortages
3. Decreased patient satisfaction and quality of care
 High Turnover Rates
• study conducted by Al Muharraq et al., 2022 revealed “The rate of
workplace bullying was high, bullying occurred at a cumulative rate of
33.4%” also noted includes “Among the participants, 31.7% exhibited a
high turnover intention.”
• This study concludes a direct correlation between bullying and intent to
leave the workplace.

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 Nursing Shortage
The nursing shortage does not stem from a lack of nurses but
rather nurses leaving the workplace and changing careers
• “Nurses across the United States describe that they experience
unfriendly work environments that include bullying behaviors
such as being ignored, belittled, confrontational, sexually
harassed and a general lack of feeling supported, all of which
influence nurses to leave the profession.” (MacKusick and
Minich, 2010 as cited in JR & LA, 2019)

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 Nursing Shortage cont.
Science Daily 2015 reports “The number of nurses leaving the
workforce each year has been growing steadily from around
40,000 in 2010 to nearly 80,000 by 2020. Meanwhile, the
dramatic growth in nursing school enrollment over the last 15
years has begun to level off."

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 Poor Patient outcomes

New graduate nurses lack:

• Critical thinking skills
• Confidence in decision making
• Experience advocating for patients

Bullying can cause a new graduate to be too scared to ask

for help with a patient leaving the patient at risk for harm.

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 Historical Aspects
Szutenbach (2013) as referenced by Daly et al., 2020 noted that
“bullying in nursing practice was first cited in the literature in the 1970s
and 1980s”
• Can be looked at as a social norm in nursing
• Sought to be a rite of passage for new graduate nurses with
expectations to pick up extra and take the most difficult assignments
• Older generation may not recognize this as bullying as they had to
earn their respect in the same fashion
• Common to see bullying begin in nursing school with warnings to
expect some harassment when starting a new job

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 Nursing Implications
Now more than ever nurses need to lead by example and create a
healthy work environment
• TAKE ACTION, if you see something say something
• Teach, take a new graduate under your wing
• Create confident and competent new nurses

When a unit can work together in creating strong young nurses it paves
a pathway for a successful team

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 Proposal
Implementing a mentorship program for new nurses providing a
preceptor and a second person as a mentor
• Allows a second person to form a safe bond with new nurses
• Second opinion to voice concerns or questions

Management also plays a key role in decreasing bullying on their unit

“Nurse leaders must be attentive to staff communication on and off their units
as WPB can occur between units and floors, causing less participation and
productivity. Frequent, non-threatening contact (i.e., open door policy) may
provide opportunities for employees to share issues arising on and between
the units with their nurse managers.” (Berry et al., 2016)

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 Conclusion
• Bullying in the workplace stems from multiple generations
• Detrimental to nurses' mental health and wellbeing leading to high
turnover rates
• High turnover rates and constant abuse lead to nursing shortages
• Creates tension between coworkers and leads to poor patient
outcomes

Together we need to change the culture of nursing and create a team

that facilitates learning and excellent care for our patients
This can be done with creating mentorship programs and
management

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 REFRENCES
Al Muharraq, E. H., Baker, O. G., & Alallah, S. M. (2022). The prevalence and the relationship of workplace bullying and nurses turnover intentions: A Cross

Sectional Study. SAGE Open Nursing, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608221074655

Berry, P. A., Gillespie, G. L., Fisher, B. S., & Gormley, D. K. (2016). Recognizing, confronting, and eliminating workplace bullying. Workplace Health & Safety,

64(7), 337–341. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165079916634711

Daly, Z., O'Flynn-Magee, K., & Rodney, P. (2020). A call to revisit and address the histories of bullying in nursing education. Quality Advancement in Nursing

Education - Avancées En Formation Infirmière, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.17483/2368-6669.1249

Dillon, S. (2021, January 7). Workplace bullying in nursing: why it happens and how to confront it. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from

https://www.bravadohealth.com/2021/01/07/confronting-nurse-bullying/.

JR, Y., & LA, D. (2019). Bullying behavior does not support the normal standard of care. Journal of Nursing and Healthcare Management, 2(1).

https://doi.org/10.18875/2639-7293.2.101

ScienceDaily. (2015, September 21). Shortage of nurses not as dire as predicted, but challenges remain to meet America's needs. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August

1, 2022, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150921153457.htm

 

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thank you
Sarah Perry BSN, RN