Exploring Workplace Bullying in Nursing

Abstract

Bullying in the nursing workplace has been identified as a factor that affects patient outcomes and increases occupational stress and staff turnover. The purpose of this project was to assess registered nurses' perceived exposure to workplace bullying. A convenience sample of a Pacific Northwest state professional nurses' association membership was solicited for this descriptive study using the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ—R). Forty-eight percent of respondents admitted to being bullied in the workplace during the previous 6 months, with respondents choosing “being ignored or excluded” as the most common negative experience in the workplace. The results of this study suggest that workplace bullying remains a problem for which reduction strategies must be devised as a means of retaining nurses and preventing adverse outcomes. One strategy shown to be effective in curbing bullying is assertiveness and aggression training for nurses.