[Nurses' experience of incivility in general hospitals]

This study was done to describe nurses' experience of incivility in hospitals and to consider nurses' work environment.

Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi' phenomenological analysis methodology. Participants were seven experienced clinical nurses working on a general ward (2 nurses), or in an intensive care unit (2 nurses), emergency room (2 nurses), or operating room (1 nurse).

The incivility that nurses experienced was categorized as follows: 'being afflicted as a weak person', 'being treated as less than a professional', 'being overwhelmed by shock and anger', 'experiencing an untenable situation', 'struggling to survive', and 'pursuing professional growth'.

Behavior guidelines should be developed to reduce incivility, and incivility cases should be continuously monitored by the nursing department. Also, to handle incivility problems in clinical nursing areas, a reporting and counseling system and education programs are needed.