Essay Sample on Bullying Among Nurses in the Workplace

The state of bullying in healthcare occurs at an alarming rate among nurses. In most cases, the nurses bully young nurses who have little experience in the area and the healthcare facility. Bullying is defined as a repetitive abuse where victims of the act are intimidated, humiliated and abused both verbally and physically by the perpetrators. Imperatively, the older and experienced workers bully the new workers hence putting their health and safety at risk and interfering with their job performance. In addition to newcomers, the senior officials also bully those in junior positions. The evil act of bullying demoralizes the defenseless victims. The aim of bullying is to make newcomers or targeted individuals weak and voiceless. Bullying among nurses is a serious issue that has been found to affect the culprit in both psychological and behavioral responses. Besides, it destroys the relationship among nurses and this can have a negative impact on performance.

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Article Search

The articles were searched using Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar search engines. The two search engines were used independently each at a time. For the semantic scholar, the topic of the study was copied and pasted to the search area and filters used to exclude and include specific search. The articles were included based on the year of publication where articles published within the last 5 years were considered. Besides, articles that were accessible in PDF and the search were set to include journal articles only. The search gave rise to 375 results and the abstract of the articles were read to determine the most suitable articles. For Google Scholar, the custom range was set from 2014 to 2019 and yielded 17,000 results. The relevant articles in PDF format were selected. Finally, the five most suitable articles were selected.

Synthesis

Granstra (2015) found that the number of nurses who experience horizontal workplace bullying exceeds 50%. The greatest problem is that the vice is rarely reported by the victims of the witnesses. Nurses experience bullying in three levels namely; victim, bystander or a bully. Addressing the problem is encompassed by various challenges and one of them is a problem in defining behaviors involved in bullying. Granstra (2015) suggests having a policy that condemns the vice as unacceptable. Bullying instills suffering on the victims both physically and emotionally. Not only does the problem affect the victims but also the organization in the perspective of absenteeism, low retention rate, and poor performance. The problem can be addressed by the healthcare leaders emphasizing the need to stop the vice.

The study conducted by Karatza, Zyga, Tziaferi, and Prezerakos (2016) identified serious intrinsic negative emotions effects of bullying and saw the need for the authorities to manage the negative impacts imposed by bullying. It was identified that the use of support systems in managing the negative effects of bullying is of great value. Use of appropriate tools and policies is essential in managing the situation. The found the bullying action to be unacceptable and especially to the healthcare professionals. According to Karatza et al. (2016), the ministry of health has a responsibility in eradicating bullying in the various nursing workplace.

Mohamed, Higazee, and Goda (2018) established a relationship between nursing workplace bullying and organizational justice. The workplace bullying is negatively correlated with the components of distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational organizational justice among nurses. According to the authors, suitable strategies on resources improvement and job demands can effectively address the problem of bullying in the nursing workplace. The responsibility, therefore, lies with the hospital administration and especially the nurse managers who are close to the nurses and can help in addressing their issues whenever they arise. Authentic leadership is essential since it helps in the creation of a supportive work environment and aids in the reduction of workplace bullying and burnout.

Hsieh, Wang, and Ma (2019) posited that workplace bullying is an issue that widely affects many countries. Among the healthcare sector, nurses are the most vulnerable to violence in the workplace. Self-efficacy and bullying were found to be the predictors of mental health and as the compelling factors for nurses to leave an institution. Hence addressing the problem is significant to avert the problems caused by the violence.

Esfahani and Shahbazi (2019) identified three levels that are involved in the investigation of the subject matter. The study identified three social actors namely managers, victims and bullies. It was also found that bullying is caused by a continuum of factors that are highly complex. According to Esfahani and Shahbazi (2019), bullying among nurses in the workplace affects employees in a negative way. Despite the efforts being put in place, bullying is on the rise and this calls for urgent action. The authors suggest intervention on the subject matter. Greater attention to the problem should be taken among the lawyers, managers, counselors, local authorities, psychologists in the organization and the social workers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, bullying among nurses is a serious problem that severely affects the culprit. Due to its far-reaching negative effects, bullying should be fought by all means. Healthcare leaders have a great role to play in ensuring that the workplace is safe and conducive for all nurses irrespective of their position or experience of work.

References

Esfahani, A., & Shahbazi, G. (2019). Workplace bullying in nursing: The case of Azerbaijan province, Iran. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 19(4), 409-415. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a267/bd1ae7276572c4bfa98dafd3ee5e3a9d54d2.pdf?_ga=2.213310108.925877220.1561118081-2082144032.1560478920

Granstra, K. (2015). Nurse Against Nurse: Horizontal Bullying in the Nursing Profession. Journal of Healthcare Management, 60(4), 249-257. https://doi.org/10.1097/00115514-201507000-00006

Hsieh, Y., Wang, H., & Ma, S. (2019). The mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between workplace bullying, mental health and an intention to leave among nurses in Taiwan. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 32(2). doi: 10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01322

Karatza, C., Zyga, S., Tziaferi, S., & Prezerakos, P. (2016). Workplace bullying and general health status among the nursing staff of Greek public hospitals. Annals of General Psychiatry, 15(1). doi: 10.1186/s12991-016-0097-z

Mohamed, H., Higazee, M., & Goda, S. (2018). Organizational Justice and Workplace Bullying: The Experience of Nurses. American Journal of Nursing Research, 6(4), 208-213. doi: 10.12691/ajnr-6-4-9