Enough is Enough
- ANCRUM
- Feb 23, 2024
- 2 min read
Bullying is a huge problem in this country. In the educational system, the police force, and even in the healthcare industry, bullying is prevalent. In nursing healthcare particularly, there is a saying, nurses eat their young. There was an era when bullying was part of a preceptor's ritual for new nurses. It was so bad, that graduate nurses actually quit before their first day. I can remember a good friend and colleague in class became disenchanted with being a healthcare professional. She was clearly bullied. In fact, we all were; it was just what you had to endure during those times. The bullying encountered in the 1990’s and early 2000’s was similar to hazing. Many new nurses considered it a rite of passage.
I can remember a good friend and colleague of mine left healthcare soon after our clinical rotations. We were new nurses completing our final week of clinical rotations. We finally arrived at our last day and as we were leaving the hospital, I asked her where she was going to work after graduation? She told me she was returning home to work with her parents in their jewelry business. I looked at her in disbelief, and I said jokingly, "you did all of this just to return to your parents’ business? Have you lost what little bit of mind we have left?" She laughed, but it was obvious that she was disenchanted with healthcare. A bit of background history... she was a White lady from the mid-west and this was her first time in New York City (NYC). Anyone knows that NYC can be a cultural shock for travelers new to the city. Even New York State finds their city challenging. She said simply, this is not for me, with a sadness in her eyes. Preceptors did not go through the training that we have today, and even today’s precepting could use an overhaul. I knew firsthand what she had went through; instead of being nurtured, she was ridiculed for not knowing things that new nurses wouldn’t normally know anyway.
Unfortunately, bullying continues to happen. On a professional level, it works on your self-esteem. In business, it lowers patient satisfaction scores. As for patients, bullying makes the patient’s safe haven, unsafe. Have you ever been bullied in healthcare? Have you ever been a bully? It is the responsibility of the leadership to make certain that you are not harassed while performing your duties at the jobsite. An interesting article in the Nursing Administration Quarterly, January/March 2024 - Volume 48 - Issue 1, talks about bullying in the healthcare arena and would like to share it with you.
Nursing leadership, if your team is experiencing workplace bullying, and you need an outside source to conduct a training, facilitate mediation or just consult the best way to manage a situation, please give us a call. Our prices are transparent and reasonable. We are always willing to support all parties involved to eliminate and eradicate workplace bullying. Please follow this link to learn more about workplace bullying:
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