Discussion Post: Training for Toxic Work Culture Should Start in Nursing School. Instructions
Most professional roles require some level of collaboration, communication, and cooperation with others. This is certainly true of the nursing profession at large and the nurse educator role in particular. Nurse education is a setting that by definition requires learners to collaborate with each other, and nurse educators to communicate with learners. This is a strength of the field, but also creates the potential for issues. Collaboration, communication, or cooperation can sometimes lead to issues related to conflict, civility, and collegiality.
In this Discussion, you examine these potential issues. You create scenarios that may present these issues, and you develop strategies for addressing them.
To prepare:
Review the Learning Resources related to conflict management, civility, collegiality, and anticipating issues in instruction.
Based on the topics provided in the Learning Resources, create a scenario that could potentially arise in your professional setting in which students are in conflict with one another.
Based on the topics provided in the Learning Resources, create another scenario that could potentially arise in your professional setting in which an instructor and student are in conflict with one another.
Based on the topics provided in the Learning Resources, create another scenario that could arise in your professional setting in which an instructor and colleague are in conflict (have opposing views)with one another.
Post the three scenarios you created and propose strategies to minimize and manage instances of incivility related to these scenarios and include why you believe these strategies to be the most effective.
Use the Learning Resources and/or the best available evidence from current literature to support your strategies.
Scenario 1:
During a group project, two nursing students get into an argument over differing opinions on patient care. They begin yelling at each other and making personal attacks (Gaffney et al., 2016).
Strategy: Instructors should facilitate respectful conflict resolution training to provide students tools for civil discourse when disagreeing. Ground rules for discussion such as active listening, focusing on issues not people, and seeking common understanding can prevent escalation (Clark, 2008).
Scenario 2:
A nursing instructor belittles a student who asks a question, making the student feel stupid in front of peers. This damages the student’s self-confidence and trust in the instructor (O’Mara et al., 2019).
Strategy: Schools must uphold clear civility policies with consequences like mandatory respect workshops for violations. Instructors also need training on trauma-informed teaching to understand how words impact vulnerable students (Hernández et al., 2019).
Scenario 3:
Two nursing professors have a disagreement over curriculum that turns toxic as they start undermining each other to colleagues. This divides the department and harms collegial relationships (Laschinger et al., 2016).
Strategy: Establishing regular, structured opportunities for constructive feedback between colleagues can help address issues before they escalate. Department heads must also model civil conflict resolution to de-escalate tensions (Clark, 2008; Laschinger et al., 2016).
In conclusion, proactively training all levels of the nursing community in respect, communication and conflict resolution helps foster a culture where individuals feel psychologically safe and supported to have difficult discussions (Hernández et al., 2019). This starts prevention of toxic behaviors early.
Clark, C. M. (2008). Faculty and student assessment of and experience with incivility in nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 47(10), 458–465. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20081001-03
Gaffney, D. A., DeMarco, R. F., Hofmeyer, A., Vessey, J. A., & Budin, W. C. (2012). Making things right: Nurses’ experiences with workplace bullying—A grounded theory. Nursing Research and Practice, 2012, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/243210
Hernández, P. R., Estrada, M., Woodcock, A., & Schultz, P. W. (2019). Prompting students’ positive identity development with an intervention that acknowledges social marginalization. Developmental Psychology, 55(2), 402–416. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000567
Laschinger, H. K. S., Wong, C. A., Grau, A. L., Read, E. A., & Pineau Stam, L. M. (2016). The influence of leadership practices and empowerment on Canadian nurse manager outcomes. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(1), E9–E28. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12288
O’Mara, L., McDonald, J., Gillespie, M., Brown, H., & Miles, L. (2019). Challenging clinical learning cultures: An intervention study. Nurse Education in Practice, 34, 8-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2018.10.003
