Introduction
Lateral violence is the covertly or overtly expression of dissatisfaction among nurses who are at par with their duties. The latter can also be among nurses who are at different ranks, like between seniors and juniors and even those nurses less potent than some of their fellow workers (Sanner Stiehr & Ward-Smith, 2017). The practice is unethical, with it being reported to occurring in most hospital setups and to the young and even the old nurses. They have worked in different hospitals and healthcare facilities. Among some of the practices that are included in lateral violence include but not limited to, bullying. The latter could occur between physicals and nurses and would, in turn, make them feel less appreciated. Some of the theories that are placed forward in seeking to explain the practice include power imbalance where the juniors feel oppressed and even the nurses feeling oppressed by physicians.
It could be argued that since the practice of lateral violence has existed so much in the nursing industry, it is viewed as part of the training with it being typical for the situation to happen to the nurses that are entirely new in their practice. However, such a practice should not be given any forum to being incorporated in the nursing sector since it is only meant to hurt others by making them feel less appreciated. This could include where nurses are overworked by those in senior positions or, in the case of a new nurse, overworked by nurses that have stayed at the healthcare facility for a longer time. Individuals are viewing it as a rite of passage for those who have joined the nursing practice and also meant to build resilience in them.
New graduates who have been victims of this type of aggression have, in the course of their stay, resulted in high absenteeism in their work areas. They have also had some issues with reduced work satisfaction, an increase in the stress they face in their work, and eventually, some which have not been strong enough to have the burning desire to leave their job. Due to some ethical reasons, lateral violence in nursing has been served as a moral issue with nurses being considered as needing a safe working environment so they could feel comfortable and love the work they are doing rather than living in fear and distress of their workplace.
Some of the ethical dimensions that are involved in the practice include with the first being, non-verbal innuendo, some aspects of verbal affront, undermining activities to the victims, withholding information from the victims, nurse to nurse sabotage, infighting, scapegoating the new individuals for the deeds that are done by other nurses in position—also broken confidences by those in power, backstabbing the newly included nurses and even failure by those nurses in control to respecting information privacy of the victim. Such information about the victim that leads to a source that is not reliable would tarnish the performance of the victim, which would, in turn, lead to not only psychological damage but also emotional damage.
Lateral violence in nursing has been viewed as an ethical issue in the workplace of most healthcare setups. This activity, without a doubt, causes much damage to the nurse’s code of ethics that implies that collaboration between colleagues requires mutual trust, recognition of the position of different people in the workplace setup, and also respect among the healthcare team individuals. It also indicates that the decision made regarding a patient should be mutually shared among colleagues with an inclusion of the concerned team with an open dialogue among the parties of interest to the particular patient.
Among the practices that are reported to being lateral violence could include some aspect of repeated instances of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse. The victim, in the long run, ends up being emotionally controlled by the abuser. The form taken as physical abuse among nurses would include gossiping the target victim, personal jokes that are targeted to the victim, verbal aggression, insults, and even belittling them. It could also fall among the following practices like scheduling excessive workloads, misinformation, and loss of records, and also a breach of confidentiality. The basis of lateral violence becoming an ethical issue includes the unfair treatment experienced by the nurses and even their general effect on the healthcare sector, including the state of the healthcare facility of the institution. The behavior towards the victim is meant to diminish, humiliate, and also purposefully demean the victim.
There are vast effects on the lateral violence that would be experienced in the workplace. Such an unethical issue would have resulted in the risk of diminished healthcare of the organization. In the United States alone, lateral violence has been regarded as losses that would accumulate to around $4 billion. The latter would be experienced through malpractices such as lost time, productivity, and also the turnover of the staff who are trained. The practice is, however, greatly underestimated due to instances such as the victim’s fear of reporting the issue. The unethical practice could also result in the victim suffering from depression and even leaving the workplace. With the resignation of the victim nurse, probably, there would be a gap in the healthcare team. The deficit would result in the loss of morale of other workers due to their increased workload.
It is estimated that the loss of one nurse due to the unethical issue would result in the institution suffering the injury of about twice the salary of the resigned nurse victim. It is estimated that cost of total replacement of the victim upon their resignation would cost up to around 1.3 times the wages of the victim with such costs associated with issues such as recruiting of the new member of staff, hiring them, training them for the duties that they are meant to undertake and also retaining the newly found workforce.
The relevance of the health issue to the healthcare professionals and the sector at large would include some adverse effects that would have been brought about by the workforce that is either directly or indirectly involved in the practice. The latter would consist of an overall impact on the quality of the health services provided and also the safety of both the victim nurse and the patient concerning sabotaging the victim. It is also projected that there is deemed to be a reduction in the nursing workforce due to the resignation of those who fell victim to lateral violence. Such departure would lead to a definite reduction of the workforce, with the worst of the episodes almost felt when older nurses retire. The ethical practice could also lead to questioning of the issue of whether the services provided by healthcare individuals would be of good quality.
With the knowledge of such an occurrence by the health care institutions, there would likely be positive changes in regards to curbing the practice. Such would include a formulation of a zero policy that would aim to make an institution free of the method. It would also lead to formulating the laws of the institution involving appropriate investigations in the event of the occurrence of such an issue. With the knowledge of the effect of lateral violence and also bulling, there would also be support for the victims suffering from lateral violence or even bullying. Awareness of the issue has led to the education and counseling of victims who are directly involved with the matter. Another relevance of the case is its knowledge and condemnation. It is expected that a culture is created where there is the encouragement of open and respectful communication between one nurse to another despite the age and also the position of the nurse. It has also created a culture among nurses where there is a reflection of how the nurses conduct themselves and even their behavior towards others so they would not, at any chance, get accused of committing lateral violence. The nurses have also been advised to carefully conduct interdisciplinary initiatives that would go all the way in the prevention of abuse.
Relevant ethical analysis of the practice would include all the aspects, principles, and also the standards of practice in regards to the moral issue. One of the benefits of ethical analysis is the formation of a clear picture of the occurrence of the situation for purposes such as correct decision making regarding the issue. Through a logical analysis of the ethical issue presented, it would be natural and beneficial to figure out options that are effective and also moral. The situation could be identified through the application of principles such as truth-telling, beneficence to all involved, including the victims of the case, justice administration, promise-keeping, non-maleficence, and also autonomy.
According to Rawal (2019), there are two major ethics theories in nursing whose sole purpose is to identify and also rationalize the principle and even the moral rules regarding the health services provided. The theories include deontology and utilitarianism. The first theory is based on the ethical theories that guide and also influence one's decision making in contrast to other methods. Deontology, in short, offers clear guidance regarding oneself. The rule is always applicable to individuals who are in the same moral state. The choices made which are based on the later law are not only tied to the effects but the conformity of the moral norm. Utilitarianism, on the other hand, is based on the incense of pain and pleasure in human beings. The latter forms the basis of utility with utility bringing personal happiness. Utilitarianism states that are either right or wrong in a proportional type of manner with the sanctions of the latter, including the provision of kindness and fear of unhappiness. The ethical theories, in turn, are meant to provide an environment that would be free of lateral violence.
According to the Nurses’ code of ethics, all nurses are meant to respect human dignity (Stievano & Tschudin, 2019). The latter not only encompasses patients but also includes colleagues who are also nurses and health professionals. In the code of ethics, there is mention of the nurses’ relationship with their fellow nurses. The law of ethics states that they should maintain a professional association, caring relationship and also should be committed to fair treatment among them and their fellow nurses and even the resolution of conflicts that are between nurses. The nurses also have to provide a pleasant environment for their working and also ensuring that the population is based on civility, which is achieved by treating their colleagues with kindness, dignity, and respect.
Standards of nursing practice include the code of ethics that are founded based on moral tradition, distinguished nursing practices of a modern nurse. Standards of nursing have, over time, hinted to the prevention of illness for children and also for older patients who are immunosuppressed. It also includes alleviation of suffering to sick individuals with the hope of making the patients feel better. Nurses are also meant to provide health protection, promotion, and even the restoration of the perfect health status of individuals, groups of people, communities, and also families. Nursing services should be offered none discriminately. It is of perfect sense that for the nurses to accomplish the goals that they are meant to achieve that there should be an aspect of unity among the nurses. The latter would also say that for the
