Impact of Cognitive Rehearsal Training Over Time for New Registered Nurses

Abstract

Background. New RNs are most at risk for being bullied in health care. Cognitive rehearsal training (CRT) as an anti-bullying intervention is a novel approach to address the issue using role-play to respond to scenarios involving bullying. Previous studies (Grif-fin, 2004; O’Connell et al., 2019) show that students find the CRT strategy useful to increase their confi-dence and competence when managing a bullying sit-uation. Method. New RNs (N = 15) who had attended a CRT workshop 1 to 2 years previously answered an in-depth survey as to how they had used the training in the interim period. Results. Seventy-one percent of the participants were able to recognize bullying be-havior, and 64% had been able to stop from reacting immediately. Half of the participants reported taking time to reflect on the context of the bullying and man-age their emotions and then respond in a professional manner. Conclusion. Nurses in this study requested further CRT to solidify their learning, which could re-sult in more prosocial responses to bullying.