Factors affecting nursing students' incivility: As perceived by students and faculty staff

Abstract

Students' incivility in institutions of higher education is a serious issue that faces educators in performing their teaching duties. The negative impacts associated with uncivil classroom behaviors have been found to contribute to the disruption of the learning process and the classroom learning environment, and the deterioration of the faculty-student relationship. This study assays the incivility level among nursing students, investigates factors affecting student nurses' incivility, and explores the relationship between students' uncivil behavior and factors affecting its occurrence based on the perceptions of students and faculty staff. A descriptive comparative research design included all nursing students (n=186) and faculty staff (n=66) in the Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The results of the study reflected that less than two thirds of students (60.2%) reported irresponsible behaviors, more than half (55.9%) expressed that they behave inappropriately, and 47.8% of them believed that they behave aggressively. The highest percentage of students (55.4%) recorded a high level of uncivil behavior, while faculty staff recorded a lower level regarding aggressive uncivil student behaviors. Both faculty staff and students agreed that a high level of incivility is affected by the studied factors, including issues related to environmental and study climate, faculty policies, political atmosphere, and faculty staff. Uncivil students' behavior interferes with academic achievement and leads to a declined curve of ethics for nursing students, who are to be considered a symbol of ethics when dealing with their patients. Based on the study results, activated implementation of faculty policies on uncivil behaviors is recommended. Also, there is an obvious need to train faculty staff members to deal with uncivil and bullying students.