“ WHAT DO I SAY TO THE PERSON WHO BULLIED ME ?” SCRIPTS FOR NURSING STUDENTS AND NEW GRADS TO ADDRESS A BULLY ’ S BEHAVIOR
By Mary Gemma O ’ Donnell and Chris Chew
Bullying behaviors in nursing have been the subject of research studies for more than 25 years ( Hawkins et al ., 2018 ; Goh et al ., 2022 ). Nurse workplace bullying has been going on for the last 100 years , according to a New York Times article in 1909 entitled , “ The Hospital Tyrants .” Goh et al . ( 2022 ) report that 44 % to 77 % of nurses face workplace bullying behaviors .
Workplace bullying affects nurses , organizational outcomes , and patient safety . Exposure to bullying is associated with symptoms of depression , anxiety , and psychological distress in nurses , as well as somatic physical health problems , including insomnia and headache ( Goh et al ., 2022 ). Workplace bullying can also undermine a nurse ’ s professional well-being , decreasing engagement and quality of work motivation as well as increasing absenteeism , turnover , and burnout symptoms .
Numerous bullying practices during nursing school have been noted in the literature ( Amoo et al ., 2021 ). Bullying can result in absenteeism and a decline in interest in the nursing profession . Bullies often employ verbal abuse to control students ( Celebioglu et al ., 2010 ; Curtis et al ., 2007 ; Kwon et al ., 2007 ). However , because they impact nursing students ’ psychological well-being , these behaviors are viewed as unacceptable in the field of nursing . These include , but are not limited to , being yelled at , belittled , brutally spoken to , gossiped about , mocked , consistently criticized , blamed , or the target of crude jokes ( Amoo et al ., 2021 , Smith et al ., 2016 ). Other examples include being given tasks that are beneath or above one ’ s level of expertise and making untrue accusations . Bullying behaviors are targeted toward nursing students by faculty , fellow nursing students , and clinical staff ( Bounaguro , 2020 ). Cyberbullying is a phenomenon occurring due to our digital world and places individuals at risk for disruptive behavior outside of the nursing unit and the nursing school environments ( Healthleadersmedia . com , n . d .).
New nursing graduates are not spared negative workplace behavior ( Hawkins et al ., 2018 ). Trepanier et al . ( 2016 ) report that nurses who experience negative job characteristics such as increased workload , emotional demands , and role conflict are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior . It is hypothesized that this causes dissatisfaction and a sense of powerlessness ; as a result , nurses engage in negative workplace behaviors to vent their aggravation and reclaim their sense of control ( Hoel & Salin , 2003 ). This is especially important for newly graduated nurses who are moving into an acute care setting because they frequently feel overwhelmed and strained because of their large workloads and lack of expertise . They must rely on the assistance of other nurses at this critical moment ( Rush et al ., 2014 ; Becher & Visovsky , 2012 ; Laschinger et al ., 2016 ).
25 Scripts for Nursing Students and New Grads After a presentation on the topic of nurse bullying and incivility behaviors , a nursing student asked , “ What do I say to someone who has bullied me ?” I couldn ’ t answer because when I searched , I could find no advice for nursing students . Arizona State University BSN student Chris Chew and I collaborated to develop 25 scripts that nursing students can use when faced with bullying and incivility behaviors . We based our scripts on those developed for healthcare leaders by the Healthy Workforce Institute . ( 2022 ).
Below are the scripts . Remember to speak with the individual in private . Document your conversation , date , and results . When you must confront a peer and want to reduce defensiveness : “ Help me to understand what happened ...” “ I noticed that ( cite the facts ) happened yesterday . Can we talk about what happened so that I can fully understand .” “ Let ’ s openly discuss what just happened so that it doesn ’ t happen again .”
22 NSNA IMPRINT • FEBRUARY / MARCH 2023 • www . nsna . org