Incivility, Bullying, and Workplace Violence
ANA Position Statement
Effective Date: July 22, 2015
Purpose
This statement articulates the American Nurses Association (ANA) position with regard to individual and shared roles and responsibilities of registered nurses and employers to create and sustain a culture of respect, free of incivility, bullying and workplace violence. Registered nurses and employers across the healthcare continuum, including academia, have an ethical, moral, and legal responsibility to create a healthy and safe work environment for registered nurses and all members of the health care team, health care consumers, families, and communities.
Statement of ANA Position
ANA’s Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements states that nurses are required to “create an ethical environment and culture of civility and kindness, treating colleagues, co-workers, employees, students, and others with dignity and respect.” Similarly, nurses must be afforded the same level of respect and dignity as others (ANA, 2015a). Thus, the nursing profession will no longer tolerate violence of any kind from any source. All registered nurses and employers in all settings, including practice, academia, and research must collaborate to create a culture of respect, free of incivility, bullying, and workplace violence. Best practice strategies based on evidence must be implemented to prevent and mitigate incivility, bullying, and workplace violence; to promote the health, safety, and wellness of registered nurses; and to ensure optimal outcomes across the health care continuum. This position statement, although written specifically for registered nurses and employers, is also relevant to other health care professionals and stakeholders who collaborate to create and sustain a safe and healthy interprofessional work environment. Stakeholders who have a relationship with the worksite have a responsibility to address incivility, bullying, and workplace violence.