Perception of Student Nurses' Bullying Behaviors and Coping Strategies Used in Clinical Settings

Purpose: to explore bullying behaviors experienced by Damanhour nursing students in clinical nursing education, and to evaluate resources used to cope with these bullying behaviors.  Methods: A comparative descriptive study design was adopted to carry out this study, at Faculty of Nursing in Damanhour.  Total sample was all nursing students enrolled at the Faculty of Nursing - University of Damanhour at the academic year 2012-2013, (N=709). Two tools were used to collect the necessary data, consisted of three parts: Bullying Student Nurse Questionnaire; Brief COPE Inventory; and a demographic sheet.  Data were analyzed using percentages and several chi-square tests.  Results: the findings of this study revealed that 87.6 % of student nurses are experiencing bullying behaviors.  The two most frequently reported negative behaviors were: negative remarks and undervalued efforts.  Although, the most frequent source of bullying behaviors was demonstrators/clinical instructors; the confidant person, for whom students chose to report were faculty, and demonstrator/clinical instructor.  Female students reported more frequently bullying behaviors rather than male students.  The majority of students chose not to report bullying behaviors because they fear of poor evaluation, and as a response to bullying behavior "getting angry" was the most frequently reported.  Students who experienced more bullying behaviors used religion and acceptance as adaptive strategies to cope with experiences of bullying behaviors.  Conclusion: Bullying clearly exists in nursing education and is likely to continue unless nurse educators recognize the problem and agree to do something about it.  Creating an organizational culture that actively encourages reporting of bullying is a first step in addressing this problem. Implications for practice include ensuring that demonstrators/clinical instructors are well prepared for their role as educators and implementing policies that address the issue of bullying to avoid perpetuating the cycle of bullying and the socialization of negative practices.