Lateral Violence/ Bullying in Nursing
Lateral violence is bullying. Awareness is the first step in stopping these behaviors. There are many articles written on this subject. When reading this list, think of how you may be involved in these behaviors without pointing fingers at others.
List formulated by Martha Griffin, RN, PhD. She is a nationally recognized expert on lateral violence and has identified ten of the most common forms of lateral violence in nursing. These include: (Italics listed below are taken from other articles on bullying)
- Nonverbal innuendo, negative facial expressions
- Verbal affront with audience, bossing, sarcasm
- Undermining actions; unavailability
- Withholding information
- Sabotage; “setting up to fail”
- Infighting, forming “camps”
- Scapegoating
- Backstabbing, gossiping, slandering
- Failure to respect privacy
- Broken confidences, exaggeration, lying
Nurses need to become more collegial and supportive of each other. Stop the dysfunctional behaviors. When nurses are appreciated or valued by management, these negative behaviors tend to decrease significantly between staff members. 08/12/2014