Bullying in nursing: How has it changed over 4 decades?

This study sought to explore how bullying in the nursing profession in Australia has changed over four decades, and why it continues to persist.

Bullying in nursing is recognized as a pervasive problem. While much attention has been given to demonstrating the existence and impact of bullying in the nursing profession, little is understood about the evolution of this phenomenon and factors that contribute to its persistence.

This study employed an historical methodology using the testimony method of data collection. Testimonies were collected online and via interview from seventy registered nurses across Australia. Data were analysed using a three-dimensional analysis to produce a chronological historiography.

This study found that the antecedents, manifestations, responses to and impacts of bullying in the nursing profession changed according to context and over time. The findings shed light on the role of nurse managers in the prevention and appropriate management of bullying in the workplace.

Prevention and intervention approaches must be developed to combat the complex and changing factors that allow bullying to persist.

This study shows the role that management plays in tackling the problem of bullying in nursing. It can no longer be acceptable for culture to be used as an excuse for unacceptable behaviour, nor for power to be abused to protect perpetrators of workplace bullying. The findings discussed in this paper reveal that inexperienced nurse managers are often ill-equipped to identify and manage bullying. Nurses in management positions must recognize and acknowledge this deficit if the problem of bullying is to be effectively tackled.