Bullies in White: The Reality of Incivility in Nursing

Incivility, bullying, horizontal, vertical, and lateral violence are unethical behaviors. This affects job satisfaction, retention, and causes added stress. The purpose of this article is to provide information relative to key descriptions of incivility, discuss its impact on nurses and patient care, and lastly to discuss ways to reduce incivility in the workplace and nursing as a whole. The phrase, nurses eat their young, was commonly used in the past. Bullies in white refer to intentional maltreatment of the nurses, by the nurses. It is reported that more than one-third of nurses leave their employment, costing the healthcare industry billions of dollars annually because of incivility.