"Mutual Respect Would be a Good Starting Point:" Students' Perspectives on Incivility in Nursing Education.

Abstract

Background Studies indicate that incivility is common in nursing education and perpetuated by both students and faculty. Academic incivility negatively affects the well-being of those involved, interferes with the teaching–learning process, and is antithetical to nursing as a caring profession. An understanding of academic incivility is essential to establish best practices to address this problem. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine incivility in nursing academia from the perspective of baccalaureate nursing students. Methods The study was conducted using a cross-sectional design, with a mixed method questionnaire administered to 380 students. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and qualitative data through content analysis. Results The majority of students thought incivility is a mild to moderate problem in nursing education. They thought that students contribute to incivility by not taking responsibility (being unprepared and being disinterested) for their education and by not being professional (being disrespectful and being uncaring) and faculty contribute by not being good teachers (being authoritarian, treating students unfairly, having ineffective teaching methods) and not being professional (being disrespectful, lacking compassion). Conclusion Until evidence is available for effective measures to address incivility, nursing schools should consider adopting strategies for solutions as suggested by the students in this study.