Nurse Against Nurse: Horizontal Bullying in the Nursing Profession

Healthcare professionals are not immune to bullying; in fact, they experience bullying at an alarming rate. Sometimes the bullying is passed down from superiors, but frequently bullying occurs between coworkers. This is known as "horizontal bullying," and it has become a serious issue within the nursing profession. Horizontal bullying between nurses can cause negative consequences for everyone involved, in particular the nurses, patients, and the entire organization. To fully address and resolve horizontal bullying in the nursing profession, we must consider many factors. The first step is to establish what constitutes bullying and to develop a clear process for dealing with it when it occurs. Before it is possible to eliminate the problem, we need to understand why bullying takes place. To be effective, solutions to the problem of horizontal bullying in the nursing profession must include the entire healthcare industry.