Lateral Violence in Nursing: Breaking the Spell

A nurse rolls her eyes at a co-worker as she picks up the assignment sheet that was created by a younger charge nurse. An ICU nurse pretends not to see her co-worker is drowning and ignores her request for help saying she is ‘too busy’. A newly hired RN who was previously a scrub tech finds she is now shunned by both groups. Is this just life as a nurse - or a nurse’s right of passage? Or is it something more insidious?

These behaviors go by several names: lateral or horizontal violence, incivility, nurse-to-nurse bullying, sabotage - “nurses eating their young.” In general, bullying in the United States is a term used to describe uncivil behavior from someone who has power over you – vertical aggression. Rude behaviors from peers are referred to as horizontal or lateral hostility and are defined as: “A consistent pattern of behavior designed to control, diminish or devalue a peer (or group) which creates a risk to health or safety” (Farrell, 2005).

To read the full article, click here: Lateral Violence in Nursing: Breaking the Spell.

Juice has partnered with Kathleen Bartholomew to create a two-part CD/DVD series that addresses the problem of nurse-to-nurse hostility and aims to provide the tools to end it. www.juicehealthcare.com.

About the Author

Kathleen Bartholomew

Kathleen Bartholomew, RN, MN, has been called the most important new voice in American Nursing. With breakthrough professional books such as SPEAK YOUR TRUTH and ENDING NURSE-TO-NURSE HOSTILITY. We are proud to partner with Kathleen and represent her keynote presentations in Canada.