Addressing Bullying and Lateral Violence in the Workplace: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Background Bullying and lateral violence are pervasive in the nursing workforce and have profound psychosocial, physical, safety, and financial consequences for nurses, their patients, and the overall health care organization. Problem Unit-based nursing leaders may be aware of bullying and lateral violence but be unsure of the best approaches to address it. Approach An iterative, multimodal quality improvement initiative was crafted on the basis of the available evidence and principles of transformational, adult learning. Six units were designed to foster didactic, affective, and psychomotor learning specific to bullying and lateral violence and their prevention. Each unit consisted of formal lecture content, practice exercises, and reflection. Outcomes This quality improvement project was well received by participants; a unit-based action plan resulted. Project materials are being reworked and new evidence integrated for deployment across the department. Conclusions This initiative has demonstrated the necessary properties and is appropriate for adoption by other nursing units.