Bullying in Nursing by Meaira Williams

Picture yourself constantly working 12-hour shifts, seeing so much trauma and trying to take care of all your patients while sometimes being short on staff. Nurses working without adequate meal breaks, comforting heartbroken family members is only the tip of the iceberg for hospital-based nurses (Tarallo). Nurses have already had enough to deal with so when bullying comes into the mix; it becomes more depressing. Do you know what nurses go through behind closed doors? Let’s explain this epidemic.

History

           The worldwide epidemic of bullying has grown so much in the world. Bullies have always been a part of any group development from the earliest civilizations, and in religions, militaries, schools, neighborhood clinics, families and companies (Taraello). The workplace bullying phenomenon, first entered the public consciousness on the heels of sexual harassment issue in the early 1980’s (1).  

               In the United States, bullying started in schools. During the early mid-1900’s, more American researchers began studying the problem of psychologically abusive behavior at work and the harm they create (Taraello). Today, workplace bullying incidents are 4 times more common in all U.S organizations than sexual harassment episodes (1). People are committing suicide more often due to bullying because they are so scared to stand up for themselves or to not have no one to stand up for them.  

           Workplace bullying is a significant issue confronting the nursing profession (Hutchinson). A plethora of literature suggest that bullying is a widespread epidemic in nursing, and that it can render the workplace, as harmful, fearful and an abusive environment (1). The issue to bullying is a situation that people are overlooking. It's been happening for so long in this world that we are not only putting nurses in a bad predicament but also patients. We have a choice to make bullying be this ending past, instead of bringing it along into everyone's future. Let's put a stop to it now.

Social Effects

          Bullying affects everyone physically and mentally. In general, workplace bullying occurs when the victim experience at least two negative acts weekly or more often (Johnson). Social health and well-being, both on a professional and personal level, are also affected by bullying (1). Bullying leads to you completely being afraid and voiceless.  

           Being bullied could lead to all sorts of behaviors. Victims would want to commit suicide, murder or hopefully say enough is enough and stand up for themselves. Outside relationships suffer as the victim becomes increasingly preoccupied with workplace concerns (Johnson). Constantly being bullied at work can ruin their mental health or their careers. It starts to become a mental issue or a disorder; that is getting worse day by day.

             Workplace bullying can also affect the patients. Witnesses that see the issue happening can also be affected by it. They tend to get stressed. Even though they are not the one getting bullied, they start to have low self-esteem, anxiety and depression (Johnson). Why are they so affected even though they aren't the actual victim? Bystanders feel this way because they couldn’t or chose not to do anything about it. They start to feel guilty and regret not saying anything to make it stop. Wouldn’t you feel guilty? Bullying has been a conflict in our world for many years and their needs to be a solution now.  

Examples

            Bullying is like committing murder. Not physically but with your words and the energy towards the victims. A nurse got in trouble by her nurse instructor for missing one day due to kidney stones. She was told “you need to make better life choices”. Ever since then, she has been getting verbally bullied. Bullying of nurses has been identified as affecting patients’ outcomes, occupational stress and staff turnover. There is a history of nurses committing suicide.

           Nurses are four times more likely to commit suicide than people working outside of medicine (Yazdi). A study released that the female population, nurses are 23% more likely to commit suicide in general (1). It's easier because nurses have immediate access to any type of medicine, if choosing to overdose. Nurses become overwhelmed with having to take care of their patients, the hours they are on their feet; and being exposed to any kind of diseases. Wouldn’t that cause you stress?

             Not getting enough sleep affects your brain and your body. It is not common for nurses to acknowledge falling asleep when working nights (Rogers). This is dangerous due to taking care of patients. When you are sleep deprived, you have no energy, your constantly falling asleep, trying to take care of patients. You can be so tired that you accidentally brought harm to a patient when doing a simple shot. The effects due to sleep deprived are having mood alterations, reduced job performance, reduced motivation, increased safety risk and physiological changes (1). The struggle towards these nurses should be payed attention to and taken care of. The more we solve the problem, the better the world will be, the less stress everyone else would have. Doesn’t that sound nice?

Solution

         When it comes to bullying, there should have been a solution to at least slow the epidemic down. Workplaces, schools, anywhere that involves bullying should be taken more seriously. There should be more assemblies, mandatory counseling, more cameras and stricter rules; more discipline. There should be no reason for a nurse to be afraid to come to work. We should work harder as well to at least let them know that they are welcomed and belong. You should always show your appreciation towards others, especially if you work together.

           The best way to stop bullying in the workplace is to prevent it from happening in the first place. In 2009, a study published in the journal of nursing administration reported “30% of new nurses have left their jobs within their first year” (Raven). The majority of bullying goes unreported. Most nurses just don’t want to speak about the situation and just wants to move on. Only in Utah, Tennessee and California have workplace bullying laws being enacted that require employers to complete a anti bullying training (1). It’s good to see other states figuring out solutions to this situation, but it will be even better to spread the word to other states as well. The better the solution, the more people that can be comfortable at a job their supposed to enjoy.

Bullying in the nursing field should not be overlooked. Bullying threatens the patients, safety and mental health of nurses. There should be report forms that any nurse victim can use anonymously. Nurses that are new to the job are the most afraid to speak about the situation. If we don’t find a solution to stop this epidemic, one day we are going to run out of nurses. The more nurses that get bullied, the more that’s going to quit. We need to find a resolution now.

Camus and Absurdity

Camus would ask “what would be the point of living if you thought life was absurd, that it could never have meaning? (Maguire) “. what do victims due to bullying think of this? Life wouldn’t have no meaning, if you’re constantly getting mistreated. Nurses aren’t going to want to show up, just to get verbally abused constantly. That shows you that there is no meaning to life in that specific situation.

He says, “There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that’s suicide” (Maguire). The problem is we see an easy way out when you’re tired of going in the same pattern that’s causing you pain and emptiness. You think, what's the point of getting out of bed, what’s the point of going to work or even making an effort. Your one job was to take care of your patients, but you constantly get bashed at work every day for that. In your heart you want to keep fighting and show that you belong, but then again, your mind is constantly thinking about the negative comments. You start to think if you were to commit suicide, would the world be a little bit nicer? most nurses aren’t strong enough to continue to take that verbal abuse. They will turn to drugs and take their own life, once believing everything that was said towards and about them.

Conclusion

People should take this epidemic more seriously. If you witness or see someone hurting, help them; show them that they are still cared about and wanted. There are so many suicides because the victim is voiceless; they sometimes need someone to stick up for them. If we don’t find a solution now, no woman is going to want to work in the nursing field. It’s supposed to be a safe place for them, but instead it’s a death trap waiting to antagonize you. The more we come together the better the world will be.

Works Cited

Brown, Theresa. "When the Nurse Is a Bully." Well, 11 Feb. 2010, well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/when-the-nurse-is-a-bully/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.

Colduvell, Kathleen. "Nurse Bullying: Stand Up And Speak Out." Nursing News, Education and Community Stories | Nurse.org, nurse.org/articles/how-to-deal-with-nurse-bullying/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.

Etienne, Emerald. "Exploring Workplace Bullying in Nursing." PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE, m3.wyanokecdn.com/de4b5582662bddd2b8e5c2ae67c6320e.pdf. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.

Hutchinson, Marie. "Workplace bullying in nursing: towards a more critical organizational perspective." Wiley Online Library | Scientific Research Articles, Journals, Books, and Reference Works, 15 May 2006, onlinelibrary.wiley.com. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.

Maguire, Laura. "Camus and Absurdity." Philosophy Talk, www.philosophytalk.org/blog/camus-and-absurdity. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019.

RAVE. "Addressing Bullying in the Nursing Profession." Rave Guardian App, www.raveguardian.com/blog/bullying-in-nursing. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019

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Rogers, Ann E. "The Effects of Fatigue and Sleepiness on Nurse Performance and Patient Safety - Patient Safety and Quality - NCBI Bookshelf." National Center for Biotechnology Information, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2645/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.

Tarallo, Mark. "A Brief History of Bullying." ASIS Security Management, 1 May 2017, sm.asisonline.org/Pages/A-Brief-History-of-Bullying.aspx. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.

Yazdi, Mariam. "Suicide In Nursing: Much More Common Than You Think." Nursing News, Education and Community Stories | Nurse.org, nurse.org/articles/suicide-rates-high-for-female-nurses/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.