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Nurses' and midwives' assertive behaviour in the workplace.

Fiona Timmins1, Catherine McCabe

  • 1School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. timminsf@tcd.ie

Journal of Advanced Nursing
|June 9, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Professional nurses and midwives frequently compliment colleagues but struggle to express their own opinions. Assertiveness skills are used more with peers than management, with patient responsibility as a facilitator and fear as a barrier.

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Area of Science:

  • Nursing and Midwifery Professional Practice
  • Healthcare Communication Skills
  • Workplace Assertiveness

Background:

  • Evolving roles necessitate assertive behavior for nurses and midwives.
  • Existing literature supports assertiveness in clinical practice, but empirical data on its workplace use by nurses and midwives is limited.
  • While barriers to assertiveness are documented, facilitators are less explored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe assertive behaviors among professional nurses and midwives.
  • To identify potential barriers and facilitators influencing the application of assertiveness skills in the workplace.

Main Methods:

  • A survey design was employed.
  • Data collected using a 44-item questionnaire from a random sample of nurses and midwives registered with the National Nursing Board of Ireland in 2003.

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Main Results:

  • Respondents frequently complimented colleagues and allowed opinion expression but were less adept at expressing their own views or making requests.
  • Assertive behaviors were more common with nursing/midwifery peers than with management or medical staff.
  • Patient responsibility facilitated assertiveness, while managers, work atmosphere, and fear acted as obstacles.

Conclusions:

  • Assertiveness training should be integrated into pre- and post-registration nursing and midwifery education.
  • Local policies and guidelines are needed to foster autonomous practice and client advocacy, particularly given the infrequent use of assertiveness skills with nurse/midwife managers.