Celebrate Civility

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Although people enter the nursing profession to help others, even nurses can be bullies. Consider these startling facts from ANA’s Health Risk Appraisal:

Almost half of nurses have experienced aggression from a coworker at least once.
39 percent of nurses have been the target of aggression by a superior.
More than 40 percent have been threatened by a patient or patient’s family member.
One in four nurses has been physically assaulted by a patient or a patient’s family member while at work.

Bullying, hostility, or violence can cause nurses to suffer physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. In addition, workplace incivility can lead to burnout or cause nurses to leave the profession entirely.

Join our 10 day challenge to help you overcome these issues and enable you to take steps towards making lasting positive changes within your workplace. Starts December 9. Click “Yes” under “Ready to Join?” above to sign up. Get started here.

Are you an ANA member? Text healthynurse to 52886 to get our challenge tips OR join the Celebrate Civility Challenge AND be entered to win a $200.00 restaurant gift card for you and a friend to Celebrate Civility by sharing a meal. See the rules here.

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Date & Time

Monday December 9th, 2019

End Date & Time

Friday December 20th, 2019

Category Safety Challenges

How are you doing in the challenge?

25 Comments

JamaicanRose Jan '20

I find that incivility is spread throughout the healthcare profession. A lot of times it is exhibited in passive aggressive behaviors. But many times it is direct. I have no tolerance for it.

StephaniePW60 Dec '19

In my high stress facility, it can be easy to be uncivil to each other but I wasn’t raised to “treat people the way you to be treated.” There is no excuse for being mean because it affects not only team dynamics but also overall morale.

TashaB Dec '19

I do not want to be incivil. I think lack of communication can cause people to become skeptical about intentions. So for me, learning the art of good communication is something I want to invest time and energy into. I will continue to learn how my verbal, non-verbal and attitudes affect how I interact with people. I have high standards. So learning how to manage those standards (which may be too perfectionist) and letting myself and others off the hook more, is what I strive to do. This is hard for me but something I want to keep learning about. I want to be able to see another persons perspective before I jump into their world.

ChristiM Dec '19

TashaB‍ it's great that you are able to see how others may percieve you and make the effort to make sure that your actions aren't misinterpreted. Communication is definitely key!!

rnscholar Dec '19

I was speaking with another nurse yesterday at work. She said that when she started, no one told her how to document the assessments for patients coming out of the Cath Lab. Then she was talked to by management about notdoing it correctly. It made her feel so bad that she now takes new nurses under her wing and explains to them everything she can about how to care for patients and document that care. She also said that she tells newer nurses to not take things personally. She tells then that people are just busy and are not meaning to be rude.

abbyeed Dec '19

rnscholar‍ I was this nurse once. I didn't know how to complete an incident report on the computer so when something happened, I just wrote a narrative note. The next day, the unit director told me that I didn't create an incident report and the staff educator was going around educating the staff because of my "lack of documenting." The only reason why I didn't do it was because no one even told me how to complete one. I didn't even know where it was on the computer. In these cases, I think it's very important to follow-up with the new nurses on the floor to see if they're getting proper orientation.

Deborah Bennett Morales Dec '19

I am really trying. It is difficult to maintain my own good character in a hostile environment. I have made a commitment to be part of the solution and not the problem.

TashaB Dec '19

I have worked in toxic workplaces before. Department of corrections was enjoyable in one state as a travel nurse and a nightmare in another state--with more cussing than I had ever heard by nurses and a lot of lateral bullying by unsatisfied nurses. I ended up having to leave. It was not good for my soul to have joined a caring field only to have it tainted by uncaring, unprofessional behaviors.

abbyeed Dec '19

Deborah Bennett Morales‍ good thinking. I know this can be very hard and sometimes you just want to put people in their place but this is really the bigger person move.

ChristiM Dec '19

Deborah Bennett Morales‍ that's great! Hopefully others will follow your lead and improve on their behavior!

Kirstin Cross Dec '19

I am currently in grad school and my practicum project is improving the hostile OR culture with a team based approach focused on awareness, education, and team building. I am eager to learn more and surround myself with positive nurses such as yourself! Let's make the OR a safe and healthy environment for not only our staff members but our patients too!

TashaB Dec '19

I haven't worked in OR. Is it known for being a tough environment?

abbyeed Dec '19

Kirstin Cross‍ I agree! We should all work as a team instead of against each other.

rnscholar Dec '19

What a great project! It would be great if you could publish your work, either as a research paper or an article in a journal.

Daughters Dec '19

We don’t realize how our personalities, gestures, body language, eye contact, tone in our voices can intimidate a person which are a form of bullying. I have always had a strong personality and very straightforward personality. I had to learn to change myself not to come across as being a bully since I was chosen to orient new employees to our unit.

TashaB Dec '19

Kudos to you for being self-aware and taking in feedback. I think I can be at risk for expecting a lot out of people around me. Perhaps I'm too hard on myself for what I expect and that may come across as bullying if I push others too hard to reach a certain standard, which may not be a realistic standard.

ChristiM Dec '19

Daughters‍ it is very admirable that you were able to recognize in yourself that your strong personality could be perceived as intimidating. I am sure it is appreciated that you adapted to your audience for new employee orientations.

Jeane Dec '19

I've always been a fan of treat others like you would like to be treated. Dignity and respect!! I look forward to learning new tips.

TashaB Dec '19

Agreed.

abbyeed Dec '19

Jeane‍ Same here. It's very simple but it means a lot.

Gail HB Dec '19

As many have commented, I'm also looking forward to the tips for this challenge. I'm sure I've been bullied and I've probably been guilty of bullying others - but certainly not done intentionally. Learning more about this topic has opened my eyes to how our behavior, non-verbal communication, and demeanor can make a difference!

abbyeed Dec '19

@Gail HB‍ that is true. We may say things unintentionally but the person receiving the information may take it a different way. Once we learn these tips, it's best to share them with our peers so we can make them aware too.

FSWfaculty Dec '19

I'm looking forward to the tips regarding this challenge. I just signed up and I'm trying to figure everything out

abbyeed Dec '19

FSWfaculty‍ awesome! Let us know if you need any help with anything like navigating through the site.

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