In a world filled with “Safe Zones”, this is the question of the day. If being rude to another nurse counts as lateral violence, then every nurse in the world is guilty. No person is 100% perfectly polite every moment of every day.
We may be perceived as surly at times whether intentional or non-intentional. Is that truly an episode of lateral violence, or is our culture so sensitive to any perceived incivility that we now search for offenses? There’s an enormous amount of gray area here and a lot less clarity.
According to the American Nurses Association, lateral violence includes both verbal and non-verbal behavior resulting in psychological abuse between coworkers (usually with one being a higher-level than the other). Essentially, this means bullying, but there are some different ways we need to look at this issue.
Here are two types of communication between nurses that could be viewed in this manner:
First type: Normal. Senior nurses will always tell junior nurses what to do.
That is called, the job. Mentoring and experience needs to be passed down. There are no shortcuts or substitutes and there is a lot of knowledge that comes from working the floor and not from a textbook. It doesn’t matter how well you did on your exams.
Your senior nurses are a resource from which you should be learning. They know things: how to schedule, when to call the doctors, how to assess, which aides to depend and much more! They will teach you the things you didn’t learn in school.
If you aren’t teachable, life as a new nurse will be harsh. There are many times, we are in a rush, or situations where hand-holding a junior nurse takes a back seat to the urgency of the patient. Trust your senior nurse and then ask questions later. Many will explain, but just not in the middle of the episode. Pick your moments. If all your co-worker is asking of you is to get off your behind and take care of your patient. That is legitimate. Patients do come before our comfort.
Senior nurses are in a new age. Back in their day, they were told to “put a little dirt on it” or “suck it up”. That was the mentality then. Newer generations aren’t wired that way. To them, their feelings are important. The fact is newer generations NEED more sensitivity.
Through mentoring, teaching, assisting, and empowering, they will learn they are not victims and they are capable of doing all the things nursing requires. Nurses will not be asked to do less. This generation will need to learn that. We as senior nurses need to assist them in learning that. IF we do not gain their trust they will never listen to us. So slow down a minute. No yelling.
Second type: Abnormal. Psychological abuse, verbal or non-verbal intimidation, emotional abuse.
I have had nursing supervisors tell me the expectation was to work off the clock, in more than one environment, while letting me know my job would hang in the balance. When rude gets illegal, it crosses the line to criminal behavior, but being curt or surly with a junior coworker could be construed as lateral violence.
But is it really?
If you aren’t sure if you are experiencing lateral violence here is a quick quiz about the perceived offence… Be honest and unemotional in your responses.
- Was it deliberate?
- Was it malicious?
- Was it meant to threaten you?
- Was it meant to intimidate you?
- Was the intent to humiliate you?
- Is it ongoing?
- Is this person in a supervisory or mentoring capacity?
If you answered yes to these questions, utilize the following steps:
1. Practice in a mirror discussing the concern with the person or a friend to meet the concern personally. Directly request that the behavior end. Should that not work…
2. Discuss with your supervisor. They can assist with setting boundaries for acceptable behaviors. If this doesn’t help…
3. Contact your Human Resources Designate; they are the person on site who is responsible for enforcing the corporations’ rules of conduct. During ANY point…
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