Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
Committee Chair
Ann L. Bianchi
Committee Member
Kristen Herrin
Committee Member
Kimberly A. Carson
Subject(s)
Nurses--Psychology, Nurses--Education (Continuing education), Courtesy in the workplace, Behavior modification
Abstract
Positive work environments and a feeling of support from coworkers, preceptors, and nurse managers are crucial to the retention of new nurses. Workplace incivility, uncivil or unprofessional treatment toward colleagues, can be a major factor in unhealthy work environments. When workplaces address unit culture and empower nurses, they demonstrate greater job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to improve the workplace environment. This will be accomplished, first through assessment and measurement of nursing incivility, then through education and cognitive rehearsal training aimed at stopping the uncivil behavior. The project will focus on incivility directed toward nurses, particularly nurses newer to practice. Improving the experience of new nurses will help the hospital to retain staff; thereby improve the working conditions for all nurses. Better staffing will improve patient outcomes and decrease the hospital’s cost of continually training new staff. The project coordinator of this program believes that most nurses do not wish to cause patient harm. Most entered the profession wanting to help patients. For some reason, the culture of nursing has made it a common, almost expected practice that newer nurses should undergo an initiation into the profession. This is almost as a new sorority or fraternity recruit is forced to undergo hazing to “toughen them up”. Bringing incivility out into the open through an educational quality improvement program, will demonstrate that patients, as well as nurses are being harmed as an outcome of this so called initiation. Victims will be taught how to respond to uncivil behavior in a professional manner. This will, hypothetically, encourage a change in behavior and an improved work environment.
Recommended Citation
Razzi, Catherine C., "Implementing a cognitive rehearsal program to combat nursing incivility" (2019). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). 29.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-dnp/29