Lateral violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lateral violence - Essay Example Many theories have been put forward to explain the phenomena in nursing but low self-esteem plays a major role in perpetrating lateral violence. This paper discusses lateral violence in nursing. In nursing profession, Kramer (1974) defines lateral violence as unsuitable behavior or aggression between fellow nursing colleagues. Lateral violence occurs between nurses working on the same level of nursing hierarchy. A nurse who uses this kind of violence usually intends to inflict psychological pain to the other colleague. The violence manifests itself differently and Griffin (2004) indentified ten forms of lateral violence including non-verbal innuendo, withholding information, verbal affront, undermining activities, infighting, and sabotage. In addition, scapegoating, backstabbing, broken confidences and failure to respect privacy are other forms of lateral violence between nurses (Griffin, 2004). Lateral violence is a serious problem in nursing and many research studies indicate an in creasing trend of the vice in health care institutions. A study conducted by Institute of Medicine (2004) established that 65% of the nurses in the United States healthcare institutions often observed lateral violence behaviors in their colleagues. ... Consequently, these effects enhance professional disengagement, job dissatisfaction, increased turnover and absenteeism, which reduce their performance and productivity in the work places. In this case, patients pay the heaviest price of lateral violence because they receive poor services that expose them to greater health and safety risks (Stanley, 2010). According to Longo and Sherman (2007), lateral violence distracts cognitive abilities of the nurses undermining their concentration at work, leading to increased injuries and errors. Moreover, Griffin (2004) notes that the affected nurses suffer from heightened psychological and physical problems that expose their patients to greater risks. According to Stanley (2010), 67% of nurses in an Australian hospital admitted to making errors when angry about an aggression incident. Kramer (1974) attributes lateral violence to increased nurse turnover in the Unites States’ health care institutions. This trend imposes heavy economic b urden to health care institutions. A study conducted by Stanley (2010) in United States acute care hospitals established that turnover expense of one registered nurse cost the institutions from$62,000 to $67,000. In 2007, Stanley (2010) established that the turnover costs of one registered nurse in the country ranged from $82,000 to $88,000 in the whole year. The costs represented a 32% increase in a 5-year period, from 2002 to 2007. Researchers attribute lateral violence in nursing to various factors. Griffin (2004) argues that the aggression results from oppressed group behavior. The profession demands a lot from the nurses and yet they are not given enough