Nurse Managers Speak Out About Disruptive Nurse-to-Nurse Relationships

The purpose of this study is to explore nurse managers' (NMs') perceptions regarding disruptive nurse-to-nurse relationships.

Nurse managers play a pivotal role in creating and sustaining healthy practice environments. They must understand how to recognize and confront disruptive nurse relationships that can threaten the health of their units.

A qualitative study design using researcher-participant interviews of 13 NMs from 5 institutions provided data regarding NMs' views on nurse relationships.

Nurse managers reported how they became aware of disruptive nurse relationships, their strategies for dealing with those relationships, and the impact that confronting disruptive relationships had on them personally.

Findings can be helpful to NMs who are faced with addressing disruptive nurse-to-nurse relationships as they endeavor to create and sustain healthy work environments.