The performance of nurse practitioners and the quality of care they provide is affected by numerous factors that can have either a positive or negative impact on both healthcare professionals and the environment they work in. Among the former, it is possible to point out incivility, which can become a major problem of the facility in case it is not identified and responded to in a timely manner. As a result, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive review of this issue, including its quality custom essay nature, potential effects, relevant cases, and the ways of addressing it in the general clinical setting, as well as within the boundaries of the family practice.
Issue of Incivility
Incivility can be described as a disruptive behavior of a person that causes a distress and may have a considerable impact on the mental and physical state of the ones targeted by it. In most cases, it is considered to be the least dangerous of the violent behavioral patterns that can be observed at a workplace, which also include bullying and mobbing. However, its consequences can be quite significant as it is always associated with increased levels of psychological pressure, which can be particularly dangerous for the people that are engaged in stressful fields of activity, including health industry.
Importance to Nursing
The importance of the issue of incivility in the field of nursing cannot be overestimated, particularly due to the fact it is encountered on the regular basis. According to the surveys, around 27% of employees have experienced this social phenomenon, meaning that this problem is relevant for at least a quarter of the workforce, including the people engaged in the health industry. Moreover, the negative effects of incivility are numerous, with it presenting a threat not only to individuals but also the micro-systems and nursing as a whole. In the first case, rude behavior can affect the overall health of a person, causing various disorders, including migraines and sleep disturbances. As a result, a nurse’s ability to provide high-quality care becomes compromised. In the second case, incivility has an impact on the level of cohesion in the nursing teams, becoming a source of conflicts and, therefore, disrupting teamwork and communication between their members. In the most severe cases, some nurses can be driven out the team entirely, which may result in an increased workload, potentially reducing the performance of the unit and the facility as a whole.
Finally, 71% of American employees are aware of the problem of incivility in the workplace. Thus, one can speculate that it lowers the attractiveness of nursing in the eyes of future specialists as they may also become the target of rudeness and violence. This issue is also combined with significant financial losses that reach $23.8 billion and are the consequences of uncivil behavior in health industry. Therefore, incivility can potentially reduce the supply of nurses in the country as the people do not desire to bear professional and financial responsibility for the actions that were facilitated by others.
Case of Incivility
The threats presented by incivility become particularly obvious when the latter is observed directly in the clinical setting. In this regard, it is possible to provide a case illustrating this issue as an example. A new nurse, who has recently graduated has become employed by the emergency care clinic. Due to the lack of significant experience as well as the status of a newcomer, she has become a target of one of her more seasoned colleagues, who has claimed that inexperienced people should not be allowed to bear the responsibility for the other’s health and life. These claims were accompanied by the use of innuendos (eye-rolling, sighing, and so on) and sarcastic remarks. As a result, the new nurse became nervous, finding it problematic to keep up with the rest of the team, which has resulted in even more rude comments and actions. Eventually, being unable to deal with the pressure, a newcomer has resigned. In turn, the clinic was forced to search for another applicant for the position to prevent the excessive workload on the other nurses. However, this goal was achieved only in a month due to the unfavorable comments on the work environment left by the former employee, which have reduced the attractiveness of the clinic for the other job-seekers. During this period, the nursing team had to work overtime, which did not contribute to the quality of medical services provided by its members.
Creating a Healthful Environment
All of the presented facts contribute to the relevance of the problem of incivility in the field of nursing, dictating the need for the creation of a healthful work environment in healthcare facilities. In this regard, it is possible to propose the three strategic initiatives that potentially allow reaching this goal. The first of those is associated with the expansion of the role of nursing leaders beyond such tasks as coordination and monitoring of the members of their teams to include coaching and the other similar activities. According to the study conducted by Laschinger and colleagues, the establishment of such emotional connection helps to empower the staff, increasing their satisfaction with work and, therefore, reducing the risk of uncivil behavior, which makes it suitable for a wide array of clinics. Next, the issue of incivility can be addressed by making it clear to all the employees that uncivil behavior is met with zero tolerance. This strategy involves the development of a code of professional ethics, as well as the immediate response to its violations, which will eliminate the majority of potential threats to a healthful work environment. Such an approach can be particularly effective for clinics that propagate a specific system of moral values, namely the Christian ones but may be poorly applicable to the other types of healthcare facilities. Finally, it is possible to recommend identifying the individuals prone to incivility and working with them directly. Specifically, such method as cognitive rehearsal that involves responding to particular types of uncivil behavior in an individualized manner can be used to reduce the aggression and avoid conflicts. This strategy is the most cost-effective one as it does not require significant reforms, although its success largely depends on the personality traits and abilities of the people responsible for its implementation.
Practice Application
It is possible to argue that the task of addressing the issue of incivility becomes particularly important in the field of family practice due to its focus on the provision of care in the long-term perspective. Under such conditions, the establishment of the productive relationship with the latter is vital, meaning that any manifestation of incivility can affect the level of trust between the provider and recipient. In order to prevent such scenarios from occurring and contribute to the creation of a healthful work environment, a family nurse practitioner can resort to several measures. The first of those is the mentoring of the newcomers on the principles of behavior in the facility, as well as the code of professional ethics. Additionally, it is possible to provide a positive example to the rest of the staff by upholding the standards of civil behavior. Such activities may reduce the risks associated with the new members’ integration into the team and poor compliance with the clinic’s code of conduct.
Conclusion
The problem of incivility is among the most commonly encountered in the field of nursing and, despite its relative harmlessness in comparison to bullying, has the potential to affect the work of individual workers and the facility, as well as the health industry as a whole, reducing the quality of provided care and affecting nurses’ ability to cooperate with their patients and each other. This statement is particularly relevant for the family practice due to its emphasis on the long-term collaboration between the providers and recipients of medical services, meaning that the creation of a healthful work environment becomes a necessity. Depending on the situation, this goal can be achieved through numerous methods, including the change of leadership style, the introduction of a strict code of ethics, and personalized approach. Moreover, individual nurses can also contribute to its achievement by playing the role of mentors while upholding the standards of civil behavior
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