BULLYING AND INCIVILITY IN NURSING PRACTICE

www.sciedu.ca/jnep Journal of Education and Practice, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 9

Published by Sciedu Press 1

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Student incivility: faculty lived experience

Elizabeth Ann Sprunk1, Kathleen B. LaSala2, Vicki L. Wilson3

1. Mercy College of Ohio, Toledo, USA. 2. University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA. 3. University of Northern Colorado,
Greeley, USA.

Correspondence: Elizabeth Ann Sprunk. Address: Mercy College of Ohio, Toledo, USA.
Email: [email protected]

Received: March 9, 2014 Accepted: May 20, 2014 Online Published: June 22, 2014
DOI: 10.5430/jnep.v4n9p1 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v4n9p1

Abstract
Student incivility against nursing faculty is recognized as an area of increased concern in nursing education. The negative
experience that this may potentially have on nursing faculty is disturbing. The purpose of this study was to elicit an
understanding of the experiences and impact nursing faculty encountered with nursing student incivility using a
phenomenological research design. Twelve nursing faculty members from seven mid-western universities provided rich
descriptions of their experiences with student incivility. Colaizzi’s analysis method was used to create clusters that
resulted in six identified themes, including: (a) Faculty are subjected to a variety of unacceptable student behaviors;
(b) Dealing with incivility is time consuming; (c) An aftermath of incivility can tarnished one’s reputation; (d) Support
from others is beneficial; (e) Can cause harm to one’s health and well-being; and (f) May result in questioning the future.
Findings support the view that nursing student incivility is becoming more widespread on college campuses and can have
devastating effects on nursing faculty members. This information strongly suggests the importance of identifying
contributing factors of incivility present in nursing students and implementing new and more effective policies and
strategies to address and prevent this increasingly prevalent problem.

Key words
Incivility, students, faculty, Experience, Multifaceted tribulations, Policies

1 Introduction
Workplace incivility is a prevalent problem in today’s society, and the nursing academic work environment is not immune
to this phenomenon. Incivility is often described as any type of action or conduct that disrupts the work, social, personal, or
educational environment [1]. Workplace incivility may cause negative physical and psychological effects on an individual,
such as stress, anxiety, illness, job dissatisfaction, and absenteeism. In addition, workplace incivility may negatively
impact retention and recruitment of qualified workers [2-5]. One of the most drastic effects of incivility is violent behavior,
of which nursing education has experienced [6]. Consistent with the broad definition of incivility, academic incivility is
broadly described as any action, or conduct that disrupts the teaching or learning milieu [1], including the classroom,
clinical, and online settings. Incivility against nursing faculty by nursing students is recognized as an area of increased
concern in nursing education and has been reported in all areas of nursing education [7]. The negative potential impacts on
nursing faculty are alarming. A threat to the psychological and physical well-being of nursing faculty is a potential
consequence of nursing student incivility, and may be detrimental to the recruitment and retention of faculty, an academic

www.sciedu.ca/jnep Journal of Education and Practice, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 9

ISSN 1925-4040 E-ISSN 1925-4059 2

area that is already experiencing a large shortage of qualified nurse educators [8, 9]. Academic incivility may negatively
affect the student–teacher relationship, as well as the teaching–learning process [10, 11]. Clark [12] noted that incivility occurs
on a continuum, ranging from mild, irritating, and annoying behaviors to severe, aggressive, threatening, and potentially
violent behaviors. Stress associated with nursing education has been identified as a major cause of both nursing student
and faculty incivility [10]. When people experience stress, uncivil behaviors become more common, which in turn can
escalate into violent behavior if not constrained [1].

There is a need for nursing research to illuminate the character of the lived experience through the eyes of nursing faculty,
including the potential consequences. There is a lack of empirical studies that describe faculty experiences and reactions to
nursing student incivility. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe and understand the experiences and
consequences nursing faculty have had with nursing student incivility at a college or university. Findings may help bring
awareness of the issues and guide the development of policies, procedures, and interventions in the academic setting to
deal with and prevent nursing student incivility. The overarching research question that guided this study was: What is the
lived experience of a nursing faculty member who has experienced nursing student incivility? Sub questions included the
following: What are faculty responses and reactions to nursing student incivility; What are consequences suffered by
faculty related to nursing student incivility experiences; What is it like for nursing faculty to teach nursing students after an
experience of incivility?

Relevant scholarship/literature
Several definitions of academic incivility in various contexts have been noted in the nursing literature. Overall, the
definitions are similar. These definitions point out that incivility not only disrupts the teaching-learning process, but also
negatively impacts the well-being of an individual and the relationship between individuals.

The outcomes of incivility can include elevated stress levels, headache, inability to sleep, and a weakened immune system,
leading to illness. Common examples of emotional effects are erosion of self-esteem, self-doubt, anxiety, and depression.
In addition, incivility may lead to impairment of cognition, resulting in an inability to concentrate or learn. Incivility may
lead to behavioral changes, such as withdrawal, retaliation, and potential violence [6, 8, 10, 13]. Incivility also weakens
personal relationships. In the academic setting, this could lead to impaired relationships between students and faculty, as
well as between faculty members. In the academic setting, incivility may also impact recruitment and retention of faculty
and students, hinder job satisfaction, increase absenteeism of faculty and students, and interfere with communication and
collaboration [2, 3, 10, 11].

The rigors of nursing education are stressful, often leading to physical and psychological symptoms, behavioral changes
including incivility, as well as impeding the learning process [14-16]. Examples of stress include the clinical experience
expectations, large amount of academic work in the nursing theory classes, time management and financial pressures, and
strain on personal relationships [14, 17]. The need to work full-time or part-time in addition to pursuing the rigors of a
demanding nursing program are frequent and persistent stressors that students are faced with, and often lack the ability to
cope effectively with. The fear of failure, combined with nursing faculty who frequently demonstrate a lack of caring, add
to the already stressful experience nursing students face and leads to a struggle between nursing faculty and students.
Robertson [18] noted that this struggle devalues and diminishes the educational experience for both faculty and students,
and, in turn, may lead to frustration and uncivil behaviors. Individually, each problem is manageable, but it is the
compounding effect of numerous issues and factors that aggravate the situation, leading to incivility [15, 16, 18-21].

The problem of incivility in nursing education as viewed from the perspective of the nursing student and the nursing
faculty member has been perceived to be a moderate problem [6, 8, 22]. Several nurse researchers investigating incivility in
nursing education have indicated that students were more likely to engage in uncivil behavior than were faculty. The most
commonly noted student negative behaviors noted by these researchers were arriving late for class, leaving class early,
cutting class, and not paying attention in class. Other uncivil behaviors of students noted were cell phone usage, sleeping in

www.sciedu.ca/jnep Journal of Education and Practice, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 9

Published by Sciedu Press 3

class, and cheating. The most frequent faculty behaviors noted were belittling or humiliating students, being distant or cold,
being inflexible, and being unavailable outside of class [6, 8, 23]. Extreme behaviors of student incivility included vulgarity
and harassing comments, challenging the faculty member’s knowledge, taunting and disrespectful comments, and threats
of physical violence [24].

Academic incivility is not limited to expressions of uncivil behaviors between faculty and students. Faculty-to-faculty
incivility is becoming an increased area of concern in nursing education. Nurse researchers investigating this phenomenon
have found that uncivil behaviors between faculty members are common in the nursing academic environment [4, 25-27].
Clark et al. [26] found faculty-to-faculty incivility in nursing education to be a moderate to serious problem. Heinrich [4, 27]
specifically addressed faculty-to-faculty incivility in a qualitative study. This author refers to faculty-to-faculty incivility
as a joy stealing game that smothers relationships and deters the pursuit of knowledge and scholarship. Similarly, Clark [25],
in a recent national study, found that faculty-to-faculty incivility not only negatively impacts faculty members subjected to
uncivil behaviors physically and psychologically, but also negatively impacts the educational organization. Faculty-
to-faculty incivility may result in increased absenteeism, decreased work performance, and high faculty turnover [25, 26].

After a review of the literature, this researcher found that very few qualitative studies have specifically addressed the lived
experience of nursing faculty members who have experience nursing student incivility. This gap in the nursing literature
identifies the necessity to investigate this phenomenon further. Continued research on this topic is needed to promote the
importance of establishing civility in the nursing education environment. Civility, rooted in caring and mutual respect is
essential for nursing education. Civility and ethical behaviors exhibited by students in nursing school are linked with
civility and ethical behaviors exhibited in the nursing profession [1, 28]. More research is needed on this topic to allow for a
better understanding of this phenomenon. This in turn, may lead to the development of effective prevention strategies and
help direct the development of policies and interventions in the academic setting to handle nursing student incivility in the
nursing educational environment.

2 Method
A phenomenological design was used to examine the lived experience of faculty dealing with incivility from nursing
students and its consequences. Congruent with the purpose of this study, Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology was
used to provide discovery of the understanding and valuing of the lived experience. This method seeks to describe
individuals’ common experiences of a particular phenomenon and provides for a common essence or meaning of the
phenomenon to be described. This method helped the researcher illuminate and understand the lived experiences described
by nursing faculty who participated in this study, and, in turn, helped to answer the research question [29-33].

Approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board prior to data collection. Participants were recruited from
nursing faculty listings on websites at colleges and universities located in two Midwestern states and by word of mouth
networking. Potential participants were sent an electronic message explaining the purpose of the study, benefits of the
study, pertinent information regarding the study, as well as the researcher’s contact information. The potential participants
were asked to contact the researcher via telephone or e-mail indicating their interest in being a participant in the study.
After making the initial contact with potential participants, the researcher then determined if the interested potential
participants met the criteria for this study and had experienced nursing student incivility. The eligible participants were
invited, verbally by the researcher, to participate in the study and had the option of whether to participate or not. The
procedure of informed consent was followed to provide assurance of the rights of human subjects. Taking into
consideration potential emotional responses of the participants, strategies to be followed in the event anxiety or distress
occurred related to expressing or reliving the experience associated with nursing student incivility were outlined in the
informed consent form. These included: (a) The researcher assessed the participant’s level of comfort during the entire
interview; (b) The researcher reminded the participant that he/she had the option to withdraw from the study at any time;
and (c) A phone number to a local hospital and a local rescue center was provided prior to the interview commencing.

www.sciedu.ca/jnep Journal of Education and Practice, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 9

ISSN 1925-4040 E-ISSN 1925-4059 4

The final purposive sample for this study consisted of 12 Caucasian women ages 39 to 65 (Χ̄ = 55.8 years), which is
representative of the average age and race of nursing faculty in the two Midwestern states in which the study took place
and in the United States. Ten were married, one divorced, and one single. All 12 were employed full-time at a college or
university in one of two Midwestern states as nursing faculty members. Five taught mainly in the classroom, five taught in
both the classroom and clinical, and two taught in the clinical setting only. Participants’ hours of teaching per week ranged
from 12 to 32 hours (Χ̄ = 18.8 hours/week). Years of teaching experience ranged from 2 to 35 years (Χ̄ = 13.9 years).

Descriptive data was collected via one-on-one interviews, lasting approximately 60 – 90 minutes. The interviews occurred
either face-to-face in a quiet location of the participant’s choice, such as their work office, or a quiet restaurant, or via
telephone. The interview began with an open-ended statement: “Tell me about your experience with nursing student
incivility.” The researcher used open-ended cues and prompts to obtain clarification and depth. An interview guide was
used to provide direction for the discussion and a guide of issues that were covered during the interview, such as asking
participants to describe their experiences with student incivility and how it affected them, and provide accounts of any
physical or psychological consequences of incivility suffered, effects on the student-teacher relationship, and feelings
about their future as a nurse educator. Follow up clarification was obtained as needed. Interviews were audio-taped and
transcribed by the researcher. Audio tapes were erased after transcription was finalized. Transcriptions were stored
electronically in a password protected file. Pseudonyms were used to protect confidentiality of participants. Demographic
forms and participant responses were anonymous with no identifying information in the data summary.

Colaizzi’s [34] phenomenological analysis method was employed to analyze the transcribed qualitative data, including
identifying significant quotes and statements related to the phenomenon of student incivility; creating formulated
meanings by making general restatements of the significant statements; creating theme clusters; developing an exhaustive
description of nursing student incivility experiences expressed by the participants by synthesizing theme clusters and
formulated meanings; identifying the essence of the phenomenon of nursing student incivility by performing a thorough
analysis of the exhaustive description; and validating with the participants the final essence of nursing student incivility.

To ensure validity and trustworthiness of this research study, verbatim accounts were used to make sure that the
descriptions were those of the participants. Personal biases were reflected and examined, using the bracketing technique
throughout the study to set aside any biases or previous knowledge identified. Member checking was used by going back
to the participants and asking them to check the precision and accuracy of their words and thoughts, and the researcher’s
conclusions, helping to avoid bias. An outside, experienced qualitative researcher was employed to verify the steps of this
research process.

3 Results
The analysis provided for rich descriptions of the participants’ encounters with student incivility and the effects on them
personally and professionally. The encounters with incivility described by participants occurred from as recent as 2 weeks
prior to the interview to as long as 14 years prior. Student incivility resulted in multifaceted tribulations for the nursing
faculty members. Two main theme clusters developed related to the main research question: What is the lived experience
of a nursing faculty member who has experienced nursing student incivility? The two theme clusters included: (a)
frequently subjected to inappropriate student behaviors, and (b) consequences of being subjected to inappropriate student
behaviors. The main theme related to theme cluster one was identified as subjected to a variety of unacceptable behaviors,
primarily (a) rude and disrespectful behaviors, and (b) threatening and intimidating behaviors. Theme cluster two focused
on the consequences of inappropriate student behavior, including sub-themes of (a) time consuming, (b) tarnished
reputation, (c) support is beneficial, (d) harmful to health and well-being, and (e) questioning the future. Figure 1
illustrates the multifaceted tribulations of nursing faculty members who have experienced student incivility, illuminating
the lived experience.

www.sciedu

Published by

3.1 The

Variety
All particip
conduct. Th
to threateni
threat of po
unacceptab

Nancy desc
unsafe clin
caused con

“T
re
ou
w

u.ca/jnep

y Sciedu Press

Figure 1

eme rela

of Unaccep
pants described
his type of stud
ing and intimid
otential violenc
ble student beh

cribed a meeti
nical performan
ncern.

The student cam
eason why she w
ut of her mouth
as angry, and I

. Multifaceted

ted to su

ptable Beh
d being subjec
dent behavior r
dating behavio
ce towards a fa
aviors experien

ng she had wi
nce. The studen

me into the off
was failing, and
h was profane.
I thought she w

tribulations of

ubjected t

aviors
cted to inappro
ranged from ru
ors such as stud
aculty member
nced by nursin

ith a disgruntle
nt exhibited no

fice and sat do
d she started sc
I physically th

was going to las

Jour

f nursing facult

to inappr

opriate and una
de and disrespe
dents making t
. Excerpts from

ng faculty.

ed student who
ot only disresp

wn right next t
creaming and c
hought she was
sh out at me.”

rnal of E

ty who experie

ropriate s

acceptable beh
ectful behavior
threats that the
m participant in

o had failed th
pectful behavio

to me. She wo
cussing at me. S
s going to hit m

Education and P

enced student in

student b

haviors that vio
rs such as yelli
ey will compla
nterviews follo

he clinical port
or but threateni

ouldn’t even lo
She said it was
me. She kept s

Practice, 2014, V

ncivility

behavior

olate the studen
ing, arguing, or
ain to administr
ow, detailing so

tion of the cou
ing behavior as

ok at me. I rev
all my fault. E

saying she hate

Vol. 4, No. 9

5

nt code of
r cheating,
rators or a
ome of the

urse due to
s well that

viewed the
Every word
ed me. She

www.sciedu.ca/jnep Journal of Education and Practice, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 9

ISSN 1925-4040 E-ISSN 1925-4059 6

Rita described vividly an inappropriate behavior that she was subjected to 14 years ago from a student who was not
performing in clinical in a satisfactory manner.

“We require each week that the students have a clinical reflective diary. And in that diary he [the student] was
saying how clinical is not a learning experience for him because he couldn’t do anything right to please me. The
line that he wrote in the diary that probably caused me the most stress was, “who do I have to kill to get you off
my back?”

These behaviors were undeserving and clearly violated not only the student code of conduct but also ethical standards for
nurses (and students). faculty subjected to these behaviors voiced concerns ranging from aggravation to fear.

3.2 Themes related to consequences of being subjected to inappropriate
student behavior

3.2.1 Time consuming
The majority of participants noted that the time to manage or contend with uncivil student behavior was great. This
increased time expenditure often took time away from the faculty member’s time to prepare for teaching or other job
responsibilities, leading to frustration and discontent. Extra time expenditures included activities, such as coordinating
extra meeting times to discuss the situation with administration, writing counseling forms, letters of explanation, and
police reports, as well as arranging for extra meeting times to counsel students. In addition, faculty noted the need to take
the time to develop new policies, procedures, or methods of teaching as a result of uncivil student behavior in an attempt to
prevent similar uncivil behaviors from occurring in the future. Examples follow:

Irene voiced concerns about the time she had to expend to deal with an overly disrespectful and unruly class.

“I spent more time on that class than any class I ever had. Because there were so many of them having issues with
disrespectful behavior, I had to take the time to meet with all of them individually and talk with each of them
about their behavior. I had to make appointments and meet with each of them in my office.”

Celeste described frustrations with having to change her class time test review policy due to an experience with severe
uncivil student behavior during test reviews. This policy change requires much more time expenditure on the part of
Celeste.

“I certainly changed the way I talk about exams now. I don’t do exam reviews unless it is one–on–one, and we sit
down in my office. I have the student e-mail me to make an appointment. The student comes to my office, and we
do the exam review in my office. Of course, this is more time consuming for me, but helps prevent this rude
behavior.”

3.2.2 Tarnished reputation
Damage to the faculty member’s reputation was a major concern and consequence of incidences of student incivility
towards nursing faculty. Both personal and professional attacks were made to most faculty members’ reputations. Social
media, circulation of letters, student comments on faculty evaluations, and word-of-mouth were all avenues for attempting
to damage the faculty members’ reputations. Faculty described this as upsetting and hurtful.

Theresa was distressed that an uncivil student was attempting to harm her professional reputation by making negative
comments about her on Facebook.

“Other students were telling me that there was a Facebook posting like an ongoing site where she [the uncivil
student] was saying things that were uncomplimentary about her experiences with me, and it was not only

www.sciedu.ca/jnep Journal of Education and Practice, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 9

Published by Sciedu Press 7

directed towards me but her behavior was directed at other students. She was trying to harm my reputation with
other students. The postings were among student groups, so definitely she was trying to harm my
professionalism.”

Laura was extremely upset by the behavior of a group of uncivil students in her class that were spreading rumors around to
the class to try to discredit her.

“It was that they were sending e-mails around to classmates to report me to the board of nursing. I don’t know
what they thought I was violating, but they were telling the class they should file a complaint against me to the
board of nursing. They were badmouthing me, especially one gal in particular. She began telling other students
that they had gotten me fired, that I was losing my job, that I had been demoted from teaching in the classroom,
and I would be losing my job at the end of my contract, and I had been disciplined. All these things were not true.
It was an attempt to discredit, diminish my role, and ruin my reputation. Basically to undermined me as a
faculty.”

3.2.3 Support is beneficial
The importance of administrative, peer, family, or security support was noted by all participants. Faculty found this to be
very beneficial when dealing with incivility. Others who experienced a lack of support found this troubling and voiced a
strong need. Sample descriptions of participants’ thoughts are below.

Isabelle found support from security and administration comforting after receiving a threatening letter in the mail from a
student. Isabelle recalled:

“The police took it very seriously and actually did check the return address and found out who it came from. The
dean also responded to a letter I wrote her requesting the doors to our office suite remain locked. The dean said
they would be kept locked. The dean reassured me that the suites would be kept locked. This made me feel a bit
safer.”

Laura discussed how the lack of support made her feel.

“I kind of feel like almost defeated. I felt almost victimized that it was allowed to go on without repercussion, and
I felt faculty are almost a sitting target. You know that students can do this [act uncivil], and faculty can file
formal complaints and nothing is going to happen. So I feel here at this college that students are allowed to do it
[act uncivil]. I really felt helpless and that is not a good feeling for me to have.”

All participants valued being supported by their superiors, peers, and other pertinent people. The support led to a feeling of
being defended, validated, and important. In contrast, participants who were not supported felt disappointed, hurt, and
unimportant.

3.2.4 Harmful to health and well-being
All participants described being harmed emotionally and/or physically. Participants voiced being scared, worried,
intimidated, threatened, paranoid, stressed, distressed, upset, defeated, and sad. Some described feelings of anxiety and
dread. Several participants reported feeling upset due to the classroom disruption resulting from incivility and the negative
impact the uncivil behavior had on their relationship with a student or group of students. Participants described negative
physical effects such as migraines, bowel disorders, inability to sleep, and crying.

Rita reported being scared and feeling like her family was in danger after receiving a threatening note directed towards her
and her family in a student diary (even 14 years later).

www.sciedu.ca/jnep Journal of Education and Practice, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 9

ISSN 1925-4040 E-ISSN 1925-4059 8

“I was concerned about my family. I had small children and a husband. My phone number is in the book. And we
live in a small community. It wouldn’t take much to look through the telephone book and find my name. My
concern was that he [the student] was saying …