Incivility in Nursing: Impact on Health Environment and Solutions

This essay explores the critical issue of incivility within the nursing profession, examining its detrimental effects on the work environment and the mental health of nurses. The paper defines incivility, highlighting its manifestations such as bullying, harassment, and rude behavior, and its impact on ...Read More

Cultivating healthful
environment

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Incivility can be described as a social behaviour that lacks civility. In simpler words, it
means lack of good manners, lack of respect for elders, rude behaviour, threatening behaviour,
etc., in an individual. Incivility issue affects the nursing work environment in the form of
bullying, harassment, rude behaviour against patients, co-workers, exploitation of patients by
healthcare institutions etc. This incivility issue affects the mental health of nurses, affects their
performances, their intention to remain intact in a particular healthcare organization (Shanks,
(Ed.), 2016). The present paper will cover the importance of incivility in nursing, microsystem
work environment and the profession of nursing. It will also include a scenario of incivility in a
practise and its impact on individual involved.
MAIN BODY
As per the view of Wax, Pinette, & Cartin, (2016) incivility is the behaviour of rudeness,
lack of etiquettes, respect for others, public drunkenness, threatening demeanour of an
individual, organization, institution etc. People communicates with such unsocial behaviour with
others can leave adverse impact up on them. In a specific sector, nurses faces this issue in their
practise to a large extent.
This unsocial communication involves bullying, using of vulgar language, harassment,
rude gestures etc. As per the survey conducted in US, approximately seventy percent of the
healthcare institution in United States do not have proper policies and procedures for controlling
the incivility issues at their workplace. The survey also indicated that about eighty five percent of
nurses in US are victim of incivility issue (Fostering Civility Among Nursing Staff, 2019).
Importance of incivility relating to nurses
The nurses in the healthcare sector of the United Nations suffers from uncivil behaviour
at the workplace to a great extent. The uncivil behaviour not only affects the nurses but it also
influences patients and organizations.
According to the opinion of Sauer, Hannon & Beyer, (2017) this issue has affected the
performance and productivity of nurses in the nation, it has also affected their mental health. The
author pointed out the other negative point of this unsocial behaviour is the connection between
incivility against nurses and its direct impact on patient's safety. A depressed and bullied nurses
tends to ignore the viability of orders from seniors at the workplace. This leads to implementing

the orders without personal discretion. This in turn rises the risk of patient's safety in the
hospitals.
As per the view of Blevins, (2015) the incivility issues adversely impacts the healthcare
organizations and microsystem work environment in it. Bullying and harassment at the
workplace makes the working environment miserable for the nurses and other workers. This
reduces their desire of remaining associated with the institution for longer period. The author
suggested the causes of incivility, one of which is social media. People encourages by the such
activities for posting it on the social sites. It severely impacts the confidence and mental health of
a bullied person. The productivity of the organizations decreases when its nurses does not
perform because of incivility. Healthcare organizations in US incurs huge expenses for the
treatment of employees who have faced such issues at workplace.
Another author Johnson, (2018) expressed that because of the growing of incidences of
incivility issues with the nurses, people are keeping aside this profession as their career option.
The author has observed that nurses who have experienced discrimination, rude behaviour,
harassment has either left the job or has altogether left the profession. This is becoming a major
threat for heath care institution for retaining its employees and also to nursing profession in
whole.
Fictitious scenario of incivility :
My friend experienced incivility while working in a renowned health care institution in
the United States. Vienna, victim faced unsocial behaviour from its colleagues and seniors in the
organization. She experienced discriminative behaviour and harassments from others. These
incidences left the person intimidated by the working culture of the institution. She got mentally
depressed which affected her productivity and performance. She eventually left the job and
doubted the profession's viability.
The organization failed to recognise such behaviours during her tenure in that health care
firm. She expressed her view that because of the inability of organization to recognise and realise
that some people are practising such behaviour at the workplace, it indirectly provoked people to
continue their unsocial behaviour.
The work environment was also impacted negatively because such practises decreases
the efficiency of people leading to less care of patients. These unfavourable conditions results
into high employee turnover and people leaving the institution do not speak good words about

the working environment. This hampers the reputation of healthcare organization (Khamisa &
et.al., 2015).
Developing healthy working environment strategies
In the view of ......(), it is essential for all the healthcare institutions and firms to create a healthy
working environment at their workplace for retaining the employees and for making people
believe in nursing profession. This could be done by adopting the strategy of Formulating a
zero tolerance policy by organizations against such uncivil behaviour. These can be formed in
accordance with the guidelines issued by American Association of Critical Care Nurses. The
standards provide for correct staffing, recognition, appropriate communication skills, leadership.
Having such policy will ensure a proper working environment for employee.
Clark, Kardong-Edgren & Willhaus, (2017) suggests that Training and counselling
programs could be established by healthcare institutions that provides education to nurses
regarding how to handle pressures and such disruptive environment at the workplace. This would
help in making nurses more effective in dealing with such situations.
As per the view of Ginter, Duncan & Swayne, (2018) Establishing a well defined
reporting system for helping victims to take the unacceptable matters directly to the authorities
would create a suitable working environment in the organisation. This will help the organizations
in better recognising such unethical and unsocial behaviours being conducted at the workplace.
CONCLUSION
From the above paper, it can be concluded that healthcare organizations have to take the
incivility issue very seriously for retaining its nurses, for developing health working conditions,
for utmost care of the patients and most importantly for the existence of the institution itself. The
study summarised that nurses who suffers from harassment, bullying and unacceptable
behaviours at the workplace becomes mentally ill, such incidences develops anxiety related
problems in nurses. This is the main reason for the nurses leaving their jobs and even profession.
I would suggest that healthy working environment could be created by forming strict policies
related to workplace bullying, listening to people who have experience the incivility and taking
strong actions against such practises.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Khamisa, N & et.al., (2015). Work related stress, burnout, job satisfaction and general health of
nurses. International journal of environmental research and public health. 12(1). 652-666
Blevins, S. (2015). Impact of incivility in nursing. MedSurg Nursing. 24(6). 379-381.
Clark, C. M., Kardong-Edgren, S., & Willhaus, J. (2017). Combining Cognitive Rehearsal,
Simulation, and Biomarkers to Assess Newly Graduated Nurses' Ability to Address
Workplace Incivility.
Ginter, P. M., Duncan, W. J., & Swayne, L. E. (2018). The strategic management of health care
organizations. John Wiley & Sons.
Johnson, S. (2018). Workplace Bullying and Mobbing in the Health Care Sector. Workplace
Bullying and Mobbing in the United States [2 volumes], 457.
Sauer, P. A., Hannon, A. E., & Beyer, K. B. (2017). Peer incivility among prelicensure nursing
students: A call to action for nursing faculty. Nurse educator. 42(6). 281-285.
Shanks, N. H. (Ed.). (2016). Introduction to health care management. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Wax, J. R., Pinette, M. G., & Cartin, A. (2016). Workplace Violence in Health Care—it’s Not
“part of the Job”. Obstetrical & gynecological survey. 71(7). 427-434.
Online
Fostering Civility Among Nursing Staff. 2019. [Online]. Available through
<https://onlinedegrees.bradley.edu/blog/fostering-civility-among-nursing-staff/>