Using Cognitive Rehearsal to Address Faculty Incivility in Nursing Academe

Faculty-to-faculty incivility is a national and global problem. Recent studies examining faculty incivility in nursing academe found that respondents expressed emotional and physical distress stemming from workplace incivility, and most avoid dealing with the problem. A top strategy for improving workplace civility includes providing ongoing education to improve communication skills.

Faculty and academic nurse leaders require evidence-based strategies to prevent and address the range of uncivil behaviors occurring in academic work environments.

Cognitive Rehearsal (CR) is a primary prevention and intervention communication strategy used to address incivility in health care and educational settings. Working with a skilled facilitator, participants practice addressing stressful situations in a non-threatening environment. This is the first known publication using CR to address faculty-to-faculty incivility.

The author uses real-life situations derived from faculty-to-faculty incivility research studies and in-person conversations to describe each step of the CR process.