In the healthcare setting, research shows that 44% of the nurses have been bullied. It is common for nurses to accept bullying from their a nursing as a part of their job (Al-Ghabeesh & Qattom, 2019). It is especially so among new nurses being preyed on by the others, which resulted in the phrase “nurses eat their young” (Al-Ghabeesh & Qattom, 2019). The consequences of bullying are severe and not only affect the healthcare provider but the whole system too.
In a clinic I was working for, a nurse manager kept picking on a junior nurse who had just joined the team. Nancy was big and the manager used that to tease her every opportunity she got. She sent her everywhere even when there were others assigned those roles. She said things like, “empty those dust bins fatty, and you have to stay active to lose that fat. Let fatty finish arranging those files, she doesn’t need lunch today!” By the end of the day, Nancy was too tired to perform her duties accordingly. She was found sleeping on her desk countless times, she was eventually dismissed for poor performance.
The situation would have been different if the management had created a safe system and culture for the staff to report such cases. Previous cases reported had mostly favored the bully because they were in senior positions. No action was taken against the manager after Nancy reported, only the bullying got worse. It was important to confront the bully and support the victim. Nancy’s fatigue due to being overworked was hazardous to the patients’ safety. It increased the risk of medication errors, accidents, and injuries (Giddens, 2015). When asleep, it reduced her reaction times and even motivation to attend to the patients.
References
Al-Ghabeesh, S., & Qattom, H. (2019). Retracted article: Workplace bullying and its preventive measures and productivity among emergency department nurses. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 8(1). Web.
Giddens, J. (2015). Concepts for nursing practice (3rd Ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.