Overview
The focus of the conference was on how to cultivate a healthy workforce in the healthcare industry by addressing disruptive behaviors. The primary audience for the activity were nurses who have either experienced or witnessed bullying in the workplace. As a future registered nurse, I wanted to understand the prevalence of bullying in the healthcare industry and how it has influenced the perception of nurses with regard to productivity and the quality of care that they provide. In addition to learning about real-world solutions that empower healthcare professionals to identify disruptive behaviors, develop the skills required to address and eliminate such behaviors and ways in which nursing units can be transformed in supportive, nurturing, and professional environments.
Problem
For the last 15 years, the nurses have been ranked as the most trustworthy professionals in the Honesty and Ethical Standards in Professions poll by Gallup (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) . Although the nursing profession is about caring and compassion, there is a hidden culture nurse bullying, name-calling, hazing, and disruptive behavior in healthcare units throughout the United States. There is a very high prevalence (40%) of workplace violence among nurse practitioners in the United States (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) . Disruptive behaviors in the workplace create a hostile and challenging working environment that reduces the productivity, satisfaction, and retention of nurses, which affects the delivery of patient-centered care. Healthcare institutions are encouraged to take workplace bullying seriously and find ways of eliminating such behaviors in the workplace (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) . For nurses, the conference provides an avenue for them to learn about the impacts of disruptive behaviors on nurses, patients, and the organization as well as antibullying and prevention strategies that can be implemented in the workplace.
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Solution
Acknowledging that workplace bullying exists in healthcare institutions (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) .
The establishment of a safety culture and system that does not condone disruptive behaviors (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) .
The management must create an environment where nurses can report these behaviors and know that their issues will be addressed (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) .
All nurses must commit to creating a positive workplace culture and stop promoting or participating in disruptive behaviors (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) .
The development of policies and procedures that address bullying lower the fear of retaliation and how to respond to patients and families who witness bullying (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) .
The confrontation of individuals with disruptive behaviors and supporting the targets of bullying and the efforts of bullies to change their behavior (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) .
All employees must be held accountable for promoting professional behaviors in the workplace (Edmonson & Zelonka, 2019) .
Opportunity
The opportunity that the scholarly activity provides is on supporting registered nurses to work in a productive and collaborative environment and manner with administrators, healthcare professionals, and other nurses. The activity is also aimed at educating nurses on how to eliminate destructive behavior in the workplace as well as how to develop the appropriate culture, policies, and codes of conduct that eliminate workplace bullying. Registered nurses are equipped with the information and guidance that is required in managing disruptive behaviors at the workplace, which includes lateral bullying and violence. Disruptive behaviors in the workplace are harmful and they negatively affect the nurses, the patients that they serve as well as the organizations that they work in.
Program Competencies Addressed
MC1: Effective Communication.
MC2: Critical Thinking.
MC4: Global Awareness, Perspectives, and Ethics.
Domain 1 – Professional role in nursing.
Domain 2 – The theoretical foundations of nursing practice.
Domain 3 – Nursing practice.
References
Edmonson, C., & Zelonka, C. (2019). Our Own Worst Enemies. Nursing Administration Quarterly , 43 (3), 274-279. https://doi.org/10.1097/naq.0000000000000353
