We’re getting ready to build a specific resource here on this site for nurses that is just about workplace bullying.  This morning an article was published that reviews the new book, When Nurses Hurt Nurses: Recognizing and Overcoming The Cycles of Bullying.  Some of what the author, Cheryl Dellasega, PhD, CRNP, found is shocking for those of us who only meet medical professionals in the examining room.

…73 percent of adult women found workplace bullying to be common or very common. The same women reported that weekly, they are, on average, a bully 1.5 times, a victim of bullying 1.8 times and a bystander to bullying nearly seven times. Dellasega said bullying is often unintentional.

I posted the article to our Facebook discussion group and one of the members said she felt nurses are so focused on caregiving that they don’t fully understand their rights in the work environment.  In the article, Dellasega explains how she sees that play out.

“A lot of what I see is due to these long hours,” she said. “That’s just exhausting. By the end of the day, you’re irritable, you’re frustrated, you’re trying to keep your energy up.”

Dellasega said the whole context of the work environment can be part of a dynamic where somebody starts giving you a hard time or doesn’t have the best communication skills or management skills.

“You’re at the end of your energy and tolerance and the situation just sort of explodes,” she said.

Still, much of the bullying, she said, is aimed at new graduates.

“The group of new nurses may get harassed or picked on or aggressed against, but it’s not like that old dynamic of ‘this is part of the hazing initiative that goes on,'” she said

Send emails, post a comment, or join the Facebook discussion to let me know what you’d like to know more about.  There’s a wealth of research, surveys, and national articles on this topic.  But, most important,  we always need personal stories that help those of us outside of your profession understand and give you back some TLC.

The full article by Linda Friedel about Dellasega’s book published on August 9,2011 is available online thru kccommunitynews.com  [The Kansas City Nursing News]