The term horizontal violence refers to the aggressive behavior of one or several members of the group to another member of the same group, also includes provoking conflicts and personal bullying. Unfortunately, this problem is widespread in the nursing environment, and it leaves a negative impact on care quality and efficiency. I would like to understand why this happens in groups of like-minded individuals with shared values and goals.
Research of this question should provide a deeper understanding of the causes and facilitate the creation of anti-bullying policies for nurses. I think that this goal is realistic because even if we fail to eradicate horizontal violence, we can try to make this phenomenon less frequent in this particular field.
Bullying significantly affects every individual suffering from it, the clinical environment, and the profession of nurses. Research shows that there is a direct correlation between horizontal violence and job satisfaction among nurses, which affects the efforts of individuals who choose this profession and the public health sector in general (Purpora & Blegen, 2015). It is necessary to research the reasons behind these statistics and find ways of changing the current unacceptable state of affairs.
A friendly and supportive environment is key for any workspace, and especially for nurses, who devote all of their energy and empathy to patients. The current level of bullying affects their efficiency and satisfaction with their job; this is why the level of horizontal violence should be reduced. It would be beneficial for the victims of bullying in the first place and for all the community of nurses, as every one of them is under the threat of being bullied. Secondly, it is supposed to decrease the dissatisfaction of nurses with their working environment and, as a result, raise the quality of care. This change should also cut the shortage of specialists, make it more appealing to the general public, and attract specialists to the profession.
Reference
Purpora, C., & Blegen, M. A. (2015). Job satisfaction and horizontal violence in hospital staff registered nurses: The mediating role of peer relationships. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24(15-16), 2286-2294.