A nurse being talked down to by a superior when she asked for help.

What is Nurse Bullying?

The definition of bullying by the American Nurses Association is: “repeat unpleasant, damaging actions intended to injure, violate, and cause anguish in the recipient”.

Older nurses, new young nurses, and even new graduates execute this behavior, better known as “eating our young”. We want more help but harass the new help as soon as they hit the floor. This behavior damages the new nurses' confidence and makes them more vulnerable.

How did this become a common practice among nurses in our healthcare system? 50% of surveyed nurses consider leaving the profession, and new nurses are leaving due to the stress that bullying creates in their lives. Our nursing shortage will only worsen if we continue this practice. This bullying commonly occurs horizontally from nurse mnagers, or laterally from their colleagues.

A nurse being bullied by the peers on her team

There are different types of bullying:

Overt bullying:

This overt bullying is done in the open and is easily identified and seen by all in the unit.

Verbal abuse or name-calling
Intimidation
Blaming
Ethnic jokes or slurs
Constantly finding fault, or assigning blame
Threatening
Physical assault

Covert bullying:

Sabotage: Sabotage can be subtle, but you can often tell when it has happened to you. You know you have been careful to do a task correctly and find that after someone else has gotten involved, everything falls apart, but the blame falls on you.

Sabotage may look like gossiping behind your back, bad-talking you to superiors, and making your abilities and competence out to be worse or something they are not. In short, sabotage means ruining your accomplishments and lowering your trust, ultimately putting your position in danger.

Excluding others
Unfair assignment-extra work
Undermining
Downplaying your accomplishments

Power Dynamics:

This use of their position means superiors or colleagues with more seniority can control newer nurses. They may try to direct and control your assignments, breaks, and shifts, constantly report you to the supervisor for a perceived lack of productivity or competence, push impossible deadlines, and withhold knowledge and help in hopes that you will fail. They constantly tell you how to do things or your job (often loudly in front of others), even if you already know. By using their position to control and direct you, they are not treating you as an equal and are bullying you.

Undermining Personal Values/Beliefs:

Bullying is a consideration if a colleague or superior knows your values and beliefs, and ignores or exploits them. This bullying can come as an assignment that contradicts your values and beliefs. This abuse may mean:

criticizing your morals and beliefs
assigning tasks that show disdain for your morals and beliefs
showing contempt for you
ignoring concerns you may voice
using your morals and beliefs as reasons why you cannot be a good nurse

In the workplace, these actions are a form of discrimination and bullying and should not exist.

Withholding Help:

If you feel able to ask for information, or ask how to do something, you will not likely feel less confident in your actions. Superiors and colleagues should help one another and work collaboratively at times to do their job well, which is why the exchange of information is so important in nursing. Suppose you have a superior or colleague who refuses to mentor or guide new staff. Maybe they refuses to help those struggling and instead seek to increase uncertainty and worry in new nurses. Be careful! In that case, you are likely dealing with a bully.

Skills that can help deter and stop nurse bullying:

Nurse leaders must develop various skills to help them curb harassment and bullying among the staff. These competencies include critical thinking skills, a steadfast commitment to ethical integrity, teaching skills, and leadership capabilities. Earning a Master of Science in Nursing allows nurses to develop these skills.

Critical Thinking: Nurse leaders need solid critical-thinking skills to make prudent, patient-centered decisions based on multiple factors. For example, a supervising nurse may notice that a junior team member needs better feedback about their delivery of patient care. In this situation, the supervising nurse must think critically about the workplace factors impacting that junior nurse and whether bullying may be among them.

Integrity: Nurse leaders who demonstrate personal integrity are more likely to be confident in making the right disciplinary choices when dealing with a nurse bully. For example, a nurse may be famous among experienced staff but also has a reputation for bullying junior nurses. Strong nursing leaders will maintain their integrity by reprimanding the nurse bully, even in the face of objections from the staff.

Training Acumen: Nurse leaders understand the need to prevent bullying before it starts. Addressing bullying while orienting new staff can assist with breaking the bullying cycle. Training also allows nurses to get to know each other and form professional relationships of mutual dependence and respect.

Leadership: Nurses in leadership positions must be able to model behavior for their staff, both in terms of professional integrity and job duty performance. They must also empower staff to come forward and report unacceptable behavior. This may be accomplished by providing anonymity and support to the person doing the reporting and the person being reported on.

85% of nurses reported experiencing nurse-to-nurse verbal abuse.
Thomas & Burk (2009) reported that nursing students, especially new graduate nurses, felt humiliated and insulted in clinical rotations. I have seen this as a nursing instructor and have stood up for my students in the class, or for my students with management if my students were in the right place.
An RNnetwork survey found that other nurses verbally harassed 45% of nurses and 41% of managers and administrators.
Nearly 50% of surveyed nurses considered leaving nursing altogether because they felt admin and staff did not respect them.

A nurse in a leadership position helping a bullied new nurse

There are several ways that nurse leaders can help bullied staff members:

Hold Bullies Accountable: Inaction allows bullies to continue to harm victims. Those bullying others must be reprimanded as soon as the actions occur to reduce harm.
Report to Human Resources: Even nurse leaders who take action and address bullying may find that a bully is continuing their bad behavior. Reporting the person to human resources may be the next necessary step to ensure the harmful act is documented and addressed.
Pay Attention to Staff Behavior: Sometimes, bullying victims feel uncomfortable raising their voices or expressing their feelings. This is why new nurses are not speaking up, so nurse leaders must be cognizant of their staff's social dynamics and keep a close eye on interactions to note if any bullying is taking place.
Create a Bully-Free Environment: Making staff members aware of bullying examples and the harm that can arise from it can help reduce its frequency in the workplace. One strategy is to provide awareness training. Another is to ensure that nurse leaders have an open-door policy for staff members.

Recommended Reading:

Degrees Defined: What Does MSN Mean?

The Importance of Teamwork and Collaboration in Nursing

How Many Nurses Are in the U.S.?

5 Common Examples of Workplace Bullying in Nursing - HealthCare Pros. https://www.healthcarepros.net/5-common-examples-of-workplace-bullying-in-nursing/

Online Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Resources | Regis College Online. https://online.regiscollege.edu/online-masters-degrees/online-master-science-nursing/womens-health-nurse-practitioner/resources/