Incivility in nursing practice education in the operating room

Abstract

BackgroundIncivility toward nursing students has been identified as a contributor to negative experiences in clinical education and may cause a weakened learning environment, anxiety, depression and workplace violence. However, few data with regard to uncivilized behavior toward nursing students in the operating room are available. The operation room is a special place where the tempo is fast and the risk is high. Nursing students may have to face pressure from different people, such as anesthesiologists, surgeons, clinical instructors, and staff nurses. ObjectivesTo explore uncivilized behavior toward nursing students in the operating room and to discuss the source of uncivilized behavior and the attitude of clinical instructors when it occurs. MethodA total of 215 nursing students in the operating room of the Second XiangYa Hospital from January to December 2018 were investigated. The uncivilized behavior in clinical nursing education tool and self-designed questionnaire were used. ResultsThe incivility mean score was (4.6 ± 6.7). In all, 122 (56.7%) participants had experienced various degrees of uncivilized behavior in the operating room. There were significant differences in incivility toward students according to degree of education and age. The most frequent uncivilized behavior toward students was raising of the voice when speaking to students (41.9%), followed by inappropriate tone (36.7%), being embarrassed in front of others (36.3%), and snide remarks (34.4%). Surgeons (59%) were considered as the most important source of uncivil behaviors, followed by staff nurses (46.7%). When students experienced uncivilized behavior, 61.5% clinical instructors defended and comforted them, 23% comforted them privately, 13.1% ignored them, and 2.5% even criticized them together with the uncivil behavior actor. ConclusionNursing managers and instructors should pay more attention to the incivility toward students and take actions to foster a healthy, civilized and respectful work environment in the operating room for students.