Horizontal Violence

Horizontal Violence: What Nurses Can Do

In today’s society, several nurses have been exposed to horizontal violence. Horizontal violence, also known as lateral violence or workplace bullying, is considered an act of hostility between nursing professionals. Horizontal violence forms harmful work environments while damaging communication amongst nurses and compromising patient care. It is a proven critical worldwide concern. In the PowerPoint, The Effect of Lateral Violence & Incivility on Quality and Safety, Kathryn Schroeter says,

In 2004, The Institute for Safe Medication Practices published a survey on workplace intimidation. Almost half of the 2,095 respondents, which included nurses, pharmacists and other providers, recalled being verbally

abused when contacting physicians to question or clarify medication prescriptions. (7)
Schroeter describes how a medical institute gave a questionnaire about horizontal violence to 2,095 individuals who work within the different medical professions. These individuals were likely verbally abused because they were asking their superiors a question to get more knowledge of the situation.

This caused the respondents to fall vulnerable to horizontal violence. Nurses have the power to put an end to horizontal violence. In order for these nurses to prevent horizontal violence, all nurses within the nursing profession should be taught to stand up for themselves, educate themselves on bullying, show their coworkers that they care about each other, and not let any negativity get to them.

In order to prevent horizontal violence, all nurses in the nursing profession should have to take a test on bullying about how it makes people feel the need to alienate himself or herself from everyone else. The test will include questions on what the nurses are feeling and thinking. It will develop a strong awareness of society among the nurses who are taking the test in order to help fight feelings of alienation. By taking this test, it will give all nurses regardless of their level of practice a sample on what this can do to a nurse who is feeling alienated. The test can result in fewer nurses quitting their jobs because it will help demonstrate the alienation thoughts for every nurse to be able to

encounter, not just the nurse being bullied. According to “The Impact of Workplace Bullying in Nursing,” Franklin and Chadwick give an example of how horizontal violence caused Vanessa to quit her job. Vanessa was being restricted from all meetings and activities while being tormented by her manager. Even though she tried to take matters into her own hands by going to the Director of Nursing after talking to the Human Resource Manager, she still felt obligated to leave her nursing position (31). All too often nurses around the world are quitting their jobs because the feeling of isolation or not being able to connect with anyone around them. By taking this test, it will generate a sense of belonging and comfort to the nursing society, which will establish a shield towards threats. In the article “Bullying in the Nursing Workplace: Applying Evidence Using a Conceptual Framework,” Lee and Bernstein say, “the victim’s propensities to leave the job and work absenteeism were the most common phenomena” (263). Lee and Bernstein are revealing how horizontal violence forces the victim to miss work because they feel separated from the rest of their coworkers, which can cause an increase of cost damages to the workplace. The test nurses should take on bullying and how it causes nurses to feel alienated will increase the hospitals while creating a sense of belonging within the nurse society. Although horizontal violence causes people to feel isolated and cut off from the rest of their peers, it also causes an increase in insecurity issues.
Whenever nurses pass another nurse, they should give the other person some kind of compliment on how well they are doing their job, whether it is just a high five or simply saying, “Keep up the good work!” In Grey’s Anatomy, the main characters do a remarkable job in giving each other compliments. For example, in season eleven episode thirteen, Dr. Bailey’s patient explains how Dr. Bailey says, “amazing things about [Dr. Herman and how she] is one of the best” (Rhimes). Compliments are so imperative in the nursing profession because there is such a convenience of nihilism and hypercritical attitudes that infiltrate our day-to-day lives. Complimenting a nurse gives a hint that he/she is being appreciated. It gives incentive from the person to do better than before and help the nurses’ boost their self-confidence. If nurses would treat each other the same way that the five nurses in Grey’s Anatomy treat each other, it will put a stop to horizontal violence and assure that all nurses are safe in their working environment. According to “Bullying: The Antithesis of Caring Acknowledge the Dark Side of the Nursing Profession,” Adams and Maykut explain how compliments “[create] a venue for the appreciation of human health experiences and is achieved when nurses [recognize] themselves as a source of values and strength” (766). Adams and Maykut are describing how through words of encouragement, it helps produce better experiences for nurses and help these nurses see themselves as significant and passionate. Looking back at the example, when Dr. Bailey said those endearing things about Dr. Herman, it made Dr. Herman smirk and continue what she does best because she recognized how many other nurses see her achievements. Complimenting a nurse is operative because it is much easier than negative feedback. Compliments deliver veneration and are the building blocks to new relationships. Not only does horizontal violence increase an individual’s insecurity problem, but it also endangers the nurse’s ability to help their patients the way they need to be treated.
All nurses in the nursing profession should be required to take college courses that put them in extremely difficult situations to make sure that even though they are having problems, they can still care for their patient the way they are required to. Referring to the episode of “Starring at the End,” Dr. Bailey started as a vulgar, scornful, and tightfisted doctor. She treated the surgical interns as if they were a piece of gum at the bottom of her shoe. As the show progressed, when the surgical interns became the actual surgeons, it was their turn to be the teachers, like Dr. Bailey. These surgeons then treated their group of students like those that they were treated. They bullied them, made them get whatever they wanted, and even made them feel like they were dimwitted. Nurses may feel as if they must treat their patients the same way they are being treated, by bullying them. Not only did these interns endanger their patients because they were hurt and tired of how they were being treated, but they also wanted to be better than all the other interns to make Dr. Bailey like them were. They started making simple mistakes, jeopardizing their patient’s life. According to “Exploring Workplace Bullying in Nursing,” Etienne explains how “bullying in the nursing workplace has been identified as a factor that affects patient outcomes and increases occupational stress and staff turnover” (6). What Etienne is saying is that horizontal violence decreases a nurse’s ability to provide optimal patient care, while compromising patient safety and causing a great deal of work stress. Like the surgical interns in Grey’s Anatomy, it is very easy to make mistakes when nurses are either competing for someone else to like them more than the other or if they allow their emotions to cloud their judgment. Horizontal violence imperils patient care while causing emotional and mental consequences.
In order to prevent horizontal violence, all nurses in the nursing profession should attend voice therapy for bullying to help establish several different ways a nurse can deal with horizontal violence.

Horizontal violence sometimes causes physical and psychological consequences. For instance, in the movie Cyberbullying, peers were constantly bullying Taylor over social media at her school, which pushed her to her breaking point. By this time, Taylor thought the only option for her to stop the bullying and harassing was to commit suicide, so she did. Like Taylor, thousands of kids are being constantly bullied in school around the world, including nurses. According to “Doctors and Nurses’ Most Likely to Commit Suicide,” Jeremy Laurance explains how “health professionals have higher than average suicide rates because they work in a stressful environment. A total of 342 nurses committed suicide, a rate of 11 per 100,000. The average suicide rate is seven per 100,000 but among women, it is three per 100,000” (Laurance). As stated by “Nurse Against Nurse: Horizontal Bullying in the Nursing Profession,” Granstra expresses how “some of the most common negative outcome are headaches, stress, irritability, anxiety, sleep disturbances, excessive worrying, impaired social skills, depression, etc.” (253). Meaning, horizontal violence has many side effects. Some side effects can be treated while others may become more permanent. By attending voice therapy, a line of treatment that

allows nurses to listen to the concerns about bullying and role-playing to teach them, it helps demonstrates how nurses should appropriately interact to the bully by creating a list of responses they can use if they are being bullied, instead of trying suicidal thoughts. Attending voice therapy will help keep nurses safe and always allow them to feel welcomed in their working society.
Since horizontal violence has become a major issue in today’s society, it is time nurses take control of their own lives and help other nurses around them. Too many nurses around the world are being bullied for trying to get a basic understanding of how things work in the hospitals. By imposing nurses to take college courses that put them in intense positions, it will help demonstrate what can be done in order to maintain correct patient care. Because nurses are constantly bullied, they are not only risking their patient’s life, but also their own. Horizontal violence causes nurses to feel depressed, insecure, and have suicidal thoughts. Referring back to the article “Doctors and Nurses’ Most Likely to Commit Suicide,” Laurance enlightens how “a total of 342 nurses committed suicide” (Laurance). By requiring these nurses to take a test about the effects of bullying, it gives their superiors a sense of what is going on in their hospitals and a solution on how the problem should be improved. Because of horizontal violence, thousands of nurses are quitting their jobs because the bullies make them feel a sense of insignificance. In order to help decrease the resigning rate, nurses should give other nurses some type of applause. A simple compliment can help nurses feel appreciated and valuable. No nurse should have to feel like they are not good enough or useless. Perhaps, if Vanessa’s coworkers would have given her some sort of appraisal, she would not have felt like she had no choice to quit her job. In order to help prevent horizontal violence, nurses need to learn all the possible ways they can either cope or deal with being bullied. There are several options hospitals can demand in order to avoid horizontal violence, but it is up to the nurses to put it to rest.