Commentary: Exploring the Intersections between Bullying and Racism in Nursing

Although bullying and racism are often explored separately in nursing literature, this commentary explores how bullying and racism intersect with each other. It emphasizes the importance of clearly understanding the meaning of each concept and argues that a focus on the intersectionality between the two ensures that bullying and racism are addressed not only at the intra- and interpersonal levels but also at the structural level. The authors ask themselves and their readers to reflect on posed questions and to make a commitment not to "do nothing" but instead to "do something."

Stepping out of the shadows: Creating a graphic novella to address bullying in nursing education

The prevalence of bullying in nursing and nursing education is of serious concern. Not only is bullying an issue at the interpersonal level, it is also pervasive at structural and institutional levels. Addressing bullying requires attention to all levels. In previous published work, we emphasized the importance of transparent and easily accessible processes and reporting mechanisms for students if or when they witness or experience bullying in nursing education. In this paper, we describe one of a number of education initiatives designed to inform stakeholders (students, faculty members, clinical instructors, registered nurses, clinical education leaders) about the prevalence of bullying, the nature of bullying, the consequences of bullying, and some strategies to address bullying in nursing education. We chose a creative approach in the form of a graphic novella (aka comic) because we believed that this medium would be visually appealing and user friendly and would therefore draw stakeholders, especially students, to the sensitive nature of the content embedded within it.

Interrupting the cycle of bullying witnessed or experienced by nursing students: An ethical and relational action framework

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of bullying experienced by nursing students continues to be a substantial concern for the profession, especially for nurse educators. It is also an issue in other health care professional programs.

OBJECTIVES

To explore how educational institutions address bullying experienced by nursing and other health care professional students, with the goal of creating a set of procedures for reporting bullying if students witness or experience it during their education.

DESIGN

Qualitative Description. Our central question was "What processes and resources do faculty members use when students disclose an experience related to bullying?"

SETTINGS

Educational institutions in Western Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Nine faculty members and one staff member with a student service role from nursing and other health care profession programs.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews.

RESULTS

We found significant variation in interviewees' conceptions of bullying and the policies, processes, and resources for addressing bullying within programs. We adopted an existing definition of bullying; designed a set of procedures focused on reporting mechanisms; and developed a guiding framework entitled Addressing Bullying in Nursing Education: An Ethical and Relational Action Framework.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing and other health care professional programs should ensure they have 1) clear and transparent procedures to report bullying 2) education about bullying for students and faculty.

Exploring the implications of a self-care assignment to foster undergraduate nursing student mental health: Findings from a survey research study

BACKGROUND

Nursing students experience numerous personal, academic, and practice-related stressors, impacting their mental health. Nursing programs often contribute to student stress and should incorporate strategies to support students' mental health. Self-care has the potential to enhance students' ability to manage current stressors and to build capacity for addressing future stress and burnout; however, the concept has been limitedly integrated into nursing education.

OBJECTIVES

To examine students' responses to a self-care assignment integrated into core nursing coursework.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study using an online survey.

SETTINGS

An accelerated two-year undergraduate nursing program in Western Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Undergraduate nursing students in first- and second-year of a two-year program.

METHODS

A 16-question survey, including closed- and open-ended response fields was developed by the research team. Survey questions were grounded in Bloom's Cognitive, Psychomotor, and Affective learning domains to comprehensively examine the impact of the assignment on students' learning and self-care capacity.

RESULTS

89 participants completed the survey (49% response rate). Participants' increase in self-care practices pre- and post-assignment was statistically significant (p = 0.023). Results further demonstrate that students' knowledge of self-care and capacity to identify and manage stressors were enhanced. Participants reported that overall the assignment supported their well-being. However, some participants described that aspects of the assignment detracted from well-being, including challenges with grading and feelings of guilt when not practicing self-care.

CONCLUSIONS

A self-care assignment is an effective strategy for nursing educators to foster students' capacity to cope with stressors.