Related Experiment Videos
Negotiating the tension between policy and reality: exploring nurses' communication about organizational wrongdoing
1Department of Communication, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo 49008-3899, USA. orbe@wmich.edu
Health Communication
|August 12, 2000
Summary
Registered nurses navigate workplace ethical dilemmas by weighing professional ideals against organizational policies. Understanding these communication challenges is crucial for improving nursing practice and addressing policy violations.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Organizational Behavior
- Ethics
Background:
- Registered nurses (RNs) frequently encounter situations involving organizational wrongdoing.
- Effective communication regarding ethical and policy violations is vital for maintaining professional integrity and patient safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how registered nurses communicate about organizational wrongdoing.
- To identify key themes influencing nurses' responses to policy violations and ethical conflicts in the workplace.
Main Methods:
- Phenomenological research approach.
- Gathered critical incidents from over 200 registered nurses.
- Employed description, reduction, and interpretation for data analysis.
Main Results:
- Five central themes emerged: perceptions of wrongdoing, upholding professional ideals, clarity of wrongdoing, consequences of reporting, and workplace dynamics.
- Nurses experience tension between adhering to policy and managing daily professional realities.
- Communication is shaped by the interplay of personal ethics and organizational rules.
Conclusions:
- Findings highlight the complex ethical landscape RNs navigate.
- Addresses the gap in understanding nurse communication regarding workplace misconduct.
- Informs future research and practice interventions to support ethical decision-making and reporting among nurses.