Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation - Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Nurse educators contribute to healthy practice environments and positive patient outcomes in part by educating students on civil practice in didactic and clinical environments (Foreman, 2023; Naseri et al., 2022). Incivility among students, nursing faculty, and clinical partners is a growing concern in the nursing profession (Foreman, 2023; Hajira et al., 2022). Nursing educators serve as examples for students through participating in culturally inclusive civil discourse (Meires, 2018). Further, student incivility in the academic setting could lead to future workplace incivility and is tied to unhealthy practice environments and negative patient outcomes (Park & Kang, 2020; Wei et al., 2018).
Nursing faculty identify incivil student behaviors to commonly include overt or covert verbal and nonverbal communication intended to undermine and disrespect (Foreman, 2023). Incivil student behaviors negatively impact faculty and other students, potentially contributing to an unsuccessful or unsupportive learning environment, as well as difficulty in sustaining the nursing education workforce. Likewise, similar incivil behavior from clinical practice partners towards nursing students can result in a student’s inability to gain a meaningful understanding of the professional nursing practice values (Garcia et al., 2021; Naseri et al., 2022). Overall, these examples of vertical and horizontal incivility can negatively impact the work environment and, concurrently, patient outcomes (Foreman, 2023; Garcia et al., 2021; Naseri et al., 2022).
Civil qualities, such as effective communication, true collaboration, and mutual respect are ideally fostered and learned within the safe space of pre-licensure nursing education (Foreman, 2023; Meires, 2018; Ulrich et al., 2019). A pilot project is under development within a pre-licensure nursing program to address the burgeoning issue of nursing-specific incivility and its high potential for negative impact on the healthy work environment and overall patient outcomes (Garcia et al., 2021; Park & Kang, 2020; Wei et al., 2018). This project will utilize self-paced modules, simulation-based learning, and pre/post-testing to facilitate student understanding of the role incivility plays in the nursing work environment.
In a Perioperative Elective Course, students will engage in short simulation experiences highlighting student-to-student, student-to-faculty, and preceptor-to-student civility, as well as the role of the student in the operating room. The aim of these scenarios is to expose students to incivil vs civil behaviors in a controlled environment. By engaging in controlled exposure of both incivil and civil practices, students will be prepared to identify and discuss the interpersonal impact these encounters may have on their current learning, future work environments, and patient outcomes (Foreman, 2023). Further, the faculty member will engage with the students to debrief these encounters, providing follow-up material to enhance the students’ ability to model civility at their clinical practice sites.
Creating a culture of civility in nursing education will mature the next generation of nurses to come into practice with civil qualities that support a healthy practice and positive patient outcomes (Garcia et al., 2021; Park & Kang, 2020). Nursing faculty members have a meaningful role in shaping future nurses to positively impact their workplace and become healthy members of the team (Hajira et al., 2022).
Notes
Presenter notes available in slide deck.
References:
Foreman, R. A. (2023). Cognitive rehearsal: Teaching nursing students to address incivility in the clinical setting. Nurse Educator, 00(0), 1-2. DOI: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000001494
Garcia, M. G., Allen, S., Griffis, L., Tidwell, J., & Watt, J. (2021). Incorporating a civility program into a healthcare system: Journey or expedition? Clinical Nurse Specialist, 35(4), 171-179. DOI: 10.1097/NUR.0000000000000603
Hajira, B., Dhamani, K. A., & Rizvi, N. (2022). Perceptions of nursing students and nursing faculty about incivility and its factors in nursing education: A descriptive qualitative study. Journal of Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, 5(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.32593/jstmu/Vol5.Iss1.140
Meires, J. (2018). Workplace incivility: When students bully faculty. Urologic Nursing, 38(5), 251–255. https://doi.org/10.7257/1053-816X.2018.38.5.251
Naseri, V., Pour, M. B., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F. & Emami, P. (2022). Nursing students’ experience of incivility behaviors and its correlation with their nursing professional values: A cross-sectional descriptive study. NursingOpen, 10(1), 135-141. DOI: 10.1002/nop2.1288
Park, E. J., & Kang, H. (2021). Experiences of undergraduate nursing students with faculty incivility in nursing classrooms: A meta-aggregation of qualitative studies. Nurse Education in Practice, 52, 103002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103002
Ulrich, B., Barden, C., Cassidy, L., & Var-Davis, N. (2019). Critical care nurse work environments 2018: Findings and implications. Critical Care Nurse, 39(2), 67-84. https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2019605
Wei, H., Sewell, K. A., Woody, G., & Rose, M. A. (2018). The state of the science of nurse work environments in the United States: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 5(3), 287–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2018.04.010
Sigma Membership
Eta Gamma
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Nursing Education, Nursing Practice, Work Environment, Nursing Faculty, Nursing Students, Organizational Culture, Civility, Patient Outcomes, Outcomes (Health Care)
Recommended Citation
Wilburn, Breanne N.; Osteen, Kathryn A.; Oliver, Christine J.; and Brandt, Courtney K., "Fostering Civility Between Nursing Faculty, Students, and Clinical Partners to Promote Positive Patient Outcomes" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 34.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/34
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-16
Fostering Civility Between Nursing Faculty, Students, and Clinical Partners to Promote Positive Patient Outcomes
Washington, DC, USA
Nurse educators contribute to healthy practice environments and positive patient outcomes in part by educating students on civil practice in didactic and clinical environments (Foreman, 2023; Naseri et al., 2022). Incivility among students, nursing faculty, and clinical partners is a growing concern in the nursing profession (Foreman, 2023; Hajira et al., 2022). Nursing educators serve as examples for students through participating in culturally inclusive civil discourse (Meires, 2018). Further, student incivility in the academic setting could lead to future workplace incivility and is tied to unhealthy practice environments and negative patient outcomes (Park & Kang, 2020; Wei et al., 2018).
Nursing faculty identify incivil student behaviors to commonly include overt or covert verbal and nonverbal communication intended to undermine and disrespect (Foreman, 2023). Incivil student behaviors negatively impact faculty and other students, potentially contributing to an unsuccessful or unsupportive learning environment, as well as difficulty in sustaining the nursing education workforce. Likewise, similar incivil behavior from clinical practice partners towards nursing students can result in a student’s inability to gain a meaningful understanding of the professional nursing practice values (Garcia et al., 2021; Naseri et al., 2022). Overall, these examples of vertical and horizontal incivility can negatively impact the work environment and, concurrently, patient outcomes (Foreman, 2023; Garcia et al., 2021; Naseri et al., 2022).
Civil qualities, such as effective communication, true collaboration, and mutual respect are ideally fostered and learned within the safe space of pre-licensure nursing education (Foreman, 2023; Meires, 2018; Ulrich et al., 2019). A pilot project is under development within a pre-licensure nursing program to address the burgeoning issue of nursing-specific incivility and its high potential for negative impact on the healthy work environment and overall patient outcomes (Garcia et al., 2021; Park & Kang, 2020; Wei et al., 2018). This project will utilize self-paced modules, simulation-based learning, and pre/post-testing to facilitate student understanding of the role incivility plays in the nursing work environment.
In a Perioperative Elective Course, students will engage in short simulation experiences highlighting student-to-student, student-to-faculty, and preceptor-to-student civility, as well as the role of the student in the operating room. The aim of these scenarios is to expose students to incivil vs civil behaviors in a controlled environment. By engaging in controlled exposure of both incivil and civil practices, students will be prepared to identify and discuss the interpersonal impact these encounters may have on their current learning, future work environments, and patient outcomes (Foreman, 2023). Further, the faculty member will engage with the students to debrief these encounters, providing follow-up material to enhance the students’ ability to model civility at their clinical practice sites.
Creating a culture of civility in nursing education will mature the next generation of nurses to come into practice with civil qualities that support a healthy practice and positive patient outcomes (Garcia et al., 2021; Park & Kang, 2020). Nursing faculty members have a meaningful role in shaping future nurses to positively impact their workplace and become healthy members of the team (Hajira et al., 2022).
Description
This educational activity will provide resources for nursing faculty to identify civil and uncivil behaviors in the academic nursing environment. General education and the presentation of a pilot study will show how civility can be facilitated to improve the work environment and promote positive patient outcomes.