Peer bullying in a pre-registration student nursing population

Peer bullying is a major problem in schools and workplaces including the National Health Service. Although there are a few published studies exploring the incidence of peer bullying among university students, none is specific to pre-registration nursing students. Nursing programmes are delivered across two campuses of the university however students registered at individual campuses do not mix which makes the experiences of each campus individual. The aim of this study was to explore the incidence and manifestation of peer bullying amongst pre-registration nursing students in the university setting. The study describes the reported incidence of the three types of peer bullying behaviour: physical, verbal and non-verbal bullying. Participants in their final year of adult nurse education were asked to explore their perceptions of peer bullying, the frequency of witnessed or experienced behaviour and the location of where this behaviour occurred on the university campuses via a quantitative questionnaire. In total 190 students were surveyed with 156 (82%) responding. Participants reported peer bullying is experienced by student nurses on university premises and that academic members of staff are sometimes present when this behaviour is demonstrated. Reported levels of bullying decreased during their 2nd and 3rd years of the course compared to the foundation year. This decrease may have been in response to the university's strong anti-bullying stance.