Lateral Violence: A Growing Issue In The Nursing Profession

Lateral Violence
Shelisa Cooper
Southern New Hampshire University
Nursing Leadership and Management
NUR 310
Joyce O 'Reilly
June 16, 2014
Lateral Violence
Lateral violence (LV) is growing issue in nursing and tend to be oxymoronic since the nursing profession is known as a profession of caring. Though lateral violence exist in other professions, the nursing profession should lead the charge in resolving such acts among a profession that plays such a vital role in the quality of others’ lives. Lateral violence should become extinct within the nursing profession. In order for this to take place LV need to be brought to the fore front of discussions among the nursing educational arenas and also throughout healthcare
These behaviors can be in the form of gossiping, back biting, body and facial obstinate language or withholding information to set the nurse up so to speak. Student nurses, new nurses and nurses that are new to a workplace are noted to be most susceptible to LV. This population are understood to have the highest probability to leave a job or may even choose another profession within the first year of their profession (Sauer, 2011, p. 3). Student nurses reported that 53% of them experienced being put down by a staff nurse and 56.9% reported that they had be verbally abused and threatened. There are major consequences that occur due to workplace bullying. Lateral violence not only place undo pain and suffering of the direct victim but also causes conflict for the organization and also has an effect on patient care. The Joint commission (2007) has come to the conclusion that unresolved issues of LV adversely affects the safety of patients within that facility and also affect quality of care. LV also affects the ability to retain qualified staff which adds to the already diminished number of working nurses. (Lateral violence and Bullying in the Workplace, 2008, p.
After a period of time the stressors of lateral violence can cause the victim to develop, hypertension, cardiac palpitations, anxiety disorders, and sleep disorders. These symptoms usually occur because the nurse has suffered things like, non-verbal innuendos, sabotage, putdowns and gossiping. Some of this can take place over various media outlets as well. In order to undergo or tolerate lateral violence it is understood that the person usually have the quality of low self-esteem or personal image, suffer from depression, self-hatred and feelings of powerlessness. (Embree & White, 2010, p. 167)
Another theory is that role and gender may have an effect on the prevalence of LV within the nursing profession. The nursing profession is predominately female and it is said that as women have not been raised to value themselves as female. The nursing profession is predominately female and have to be submissive to a predominately male physician staff, which may lead to a feeling of powerlessness within the profession. This may contribute to the inner frustration within the profession which then in turn may promote nurse-nurse violence. (Sheridan-Leos, 2008, p.