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Abstract

Aim:To present findings from a study that explored nursing students’ experiences ofbullying in clinical and academic settings, the strategies used to negotiate bullying,and recommendations for empowering future students.Background:Nursing students are identified as a group who are at particular risk of bullying.Numerous studies have examined students’ experiences of bullying in clinicalcontexts by qualified nurses, however, there has been far less attention to thebullying that occurs in academic settings where the perpetrators are university staff and other students. Design:The qualitative findings presented in this paper form one component of a mixedmethods,multi-site study that examined the nature and extent of bullying in onecohort of nursing students.Methods:A convenience sample of 29 first, second and third year undergraduate nursingstudents from one semi-metropolitan Australian university was recruited for semistructuredinterviews in 2014. Interview data was analysed using NVivo.Findings:Participants described multiple examples of bullying occurring in both clinical andacademic settings. Perpetrators included clinicians, facilitators, academics and fellowstudents. Bullying ranged from incivility to physical attacks. The impact of thebullying was profound; it caused many of the participants to feel anxious anddistressed, it undermined their confidence and perception of competence, and oftenled them to question their career choice.Strategies described by participants to cope with or manage the bullying includedavoidance, trying to ‘just survive’, and seeking support from trusted academic staff,family and friends. No episodes of bullying were formally reported. Conclusion:Bullying remains a pervasive phenomenon occurring in both clinical and academicsettings. Students are, in many respects, a vulnerable and disempowered populationwho often fear the consequences of making a formal complaint. Thus, reportingstructures and support strategies need to be re-examined, and resilience training isimperative.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Courtney-Pratt, H and Pich, J and Levett-Jones, T and Moxey, A
Keywords:	nursing, undergraduate, bullying, violence
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Clinical Nursing
Publisher:	Blackwell Publishing Ltd
ISSN:	0962-1067
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13983
Copyright Information:	© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Courtney-Pratt, H and Pich, J and Levett-Jones, T and Moxey, A, 'I was yelled at, intimidated and treated unfairly': nursing students' experiences of being bullied in clinical and academic settings, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27, (5-6) pp. e903-e912., which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13983. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.
Related URLs:	UTAS Profile: Courtney-Pratt, H
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