Increasing Awareness of Multidimensional Incivility in Nursing

Introduction: Incivility is a word used to describe negative behavior of rudeness, intimidation, and disruption. Incivility is also known as lateral violence or horizontal violence and is an abusive or violent act of disrespect and antagonist behavior towards others you work with. Incivility in a professional environment is used to manipulate, intimidate and degrade others. Multidimensional incivility may occur in a multitude of settings in the professional field of nursing and these uncivil acts occur between faculty and student, student to student, nursing preceptor and new graduates, and in the work environment among nursing colleagues. Literature has identified incivility to be a trend that has impacted many nurses however there are several cases that go unreported. Academic incivility in the nursing profession is a phenomenon that has gained increased interest. Faculty members and students have identified incivility to occur in the classroom and clinical settings. These uncivil acts have a negative impact on the learning process which disseminates to adversities in the profession of nursing. The implications of incivility range from low morale, stress, fear, health problems and decreased job satisfaction with a high turnover rate. Ultimately, these uncivil acts may lead to suboptimal patient outcome.

Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to enhance awareness of negative behaviors taking place in nursing education and the negative effects they have on morale, confidence and the academic environment. Secondly, to promote self-awareness of incivility and introduce tools to elicit change for improving quality of care provided. The target audience of this presentation is inclusive of all individuals who could potentially exhibit uncivil behaviors or be victims of these hostile acts. Therefore, the audience will include nursing students, educators, managers, leaders, and nurses.

Influences on Nursing Practice: Patient quality of care is at risk, patient safety is compromised, and overall patient outcomes are directly affected by incivility. More literature is being disseminated to increase awareness of these uncivil acts. It is an ongoing issue impacting multiple settings of nursing however, increased efforts and more research would be beneficial for finding effective solutions to address this issue. Uncivil behaviors attribute to a negative work environment, decreased job satisfaction and suboptimal job performance in academic and clinical settings. Hostile behaviors learned and enforced in the academic environment can have a negative influence on the profession of nursing. Therefore, it is imperative to increase awareness and implement strategies to eradicate incivility in nursing academia and promote collegiality. Further research is also needed to determine if increasing nursing students’ awareness of incivility will reduce the incidence of these uncivil behaviors. Increased awareness can be achieved by incorporating civility education in the nursing curriculum. It is also imperative that faculty and students increase self-awareness of any uncivil acts they are engaging in. Promoting collegiality and enhancing communication are qualities necessary to prepare nursing students for effective leadership roles.