Other Titles
Creating a Culture of Civility and Professionalism in Nursing Education: Addressing Incivility and Bullying Through Policy, Reporting and Culture Change [Title Slide]
Other Titles
Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Background: Incivility and bullying erode psychological safety, belonging, and professional formation in nursing education (Ehsani et al., 2023). Harms fall disproportionately on historically marginalized students (Park & Kang, 2020) and occur across student–student, faculty–student, and faculty–faculty interactions (Clark & Kenski, 2022). Many students normalize bullying as a “rite of passage” (Hale & Phillips, 2019), further undermining respect (Birks et al., 2019). Reflecting the urgency, the ANA’s 2025 Code of Ethics links nurse well-being to ethical practice (ANA, 2025).
Purpose: Translate evidence into practice to reduce incivility within the College of Nursing through coordinated policy, reporting, education, and faculty development aligned with UN SDGs 3, 4, and 16.
Methods: A university climate survey and a CON-specific Qualtrics survey were offered to all nursing students (n=365). Descriptive analyses were triangulated with institutional reporting and faculty development metrics. A seven-component civility framework was implemented: (1) Code of Professionalism and Respect, (2) Clear Reporting Pathways, (3) Policy Development, (4) Civility-Integrated Curriculum, (5) Faculty Incivility Workshop, (6) Clinical Site Engagement, and (7) Feedback Loops for continuous monitoring (see Dafny et al., 2024).
Results: Among 131 respondents, 60% of undergraduates and 57% of graduates reported incivility, with disproportionate impact on marginalized groups. After implementation, recognition of bullying rose 25%, reports increased 34%, and awareness of institutional support improved. Fear of retaliation persisted (UG: 38%; GR: 56%), and graduates reported the highest rates of faculty-driven incivility. Faculty workshops begin October 2025.
Limitations: Fear of retaliation and limited trust in institutional response continue to suppress reporting and engagement. Findings reflect self-report data and early implementation metrics.
Conclusions: Psychological safety and trust are prerequisites for a healthy academic environment. A structured, student-informed civility framework—supported by policy, reporting, and faculty development—can strengthen professional identity, improve faculty–student relationships, and foster inclusive learning across the College of Nursing.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
References:
American Nurses Association. (2025). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements (2025 ed.). American Nurses Association. http://www.nursingworld.org/nurses-books/code-of-ethics-2025/
Birks, M., Budden, L., Biedermann, N., Park, T., & Chapman, Y. (2019). A ‘rite of passage?’: Bullying experiences of nursing students in Australia. Collegian, 25(1), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2017.03.005
Clark, C. M., & Kenski, D. (2022). An integrative review of incivility in nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 61(4), 173–178. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20220209-01
Dafny, H., Waheed, N., Cabilan, C.J., Johnston, S., Pearson, V., Adams, A., Brown, S., McCloud, C. (2024) Effectiveness of Interventions for the prevention and management of workplace violence in student clinical placement: A Systematic Review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 81(3), 1142-1171. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16357
Ehsani, M., Farzi, S., Farzi, F., Babaei, S., Heidari, Z., Mohammad, F. (2023) Nursing students and faculty perception of academic incivility: A descriptive qualitative study. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 12, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_473_22
Hale, R. L., & Phillips, C. A. (2019). Mentoring up: A grounded theory of nurse-to-nurse mentoring. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(1–2), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14636
Park, E-J., Kang, H. (2020) Nurse educator’s experiences with student incivility: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions, 17, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2020.17.23
Sigma Membership
Lambda
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
lncivility, Equity, Bias, and Inclusivity, Workforce, Offensive Behavior, Workplace Incivility, Prejudices, Work Environment
Recommended Citation
Demeter, Nicole Lynne and Carter, Erik, "From Evidence to Action: Promoting Civility for Sustained Healthy Work Environments" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 8.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2026/presentations_2026/8
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2026
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
2026-04-22
From Evidence to Action: Promoting Civility for Sustained Healthy Work Environments
Washington, DC, USA
Background: Incivility and bullying erode psychological safety, belonging, and professional formation in nursing education (Ehsani et al., 2023). Harms fall disproportionately on historically marginalized students (Park & Kang, 2020) and occur across student–student, faculty–student, and faculty–faculty interactions (Clark & Kenski, 2022). Many students normalize bullying as a “rite of passage” (Hale & Phillips, 2019), further undermining respect (Birks et al., 2019). Reflecting the urgency, the ANA’s 2025 Code of Ethics links nurse well-being to ethical practice (ANA, 2025).
Purpose: Translate evidence into practice to reduce incivility within the College of Nursing through coordinated policy, reporting, education, and faculty development aligned with UN SDGs 3, 4, and 16.
Methods: A university climate survey and a CON-specific Qualtrics survey were offered to all nursing students (n=365). Descriptive analyses were triangulated with institutional reporting and faculty development metrics. A seven-component civility framework was implemented: (1) Code of Professionalism and Respect, (2) Clear Reporting Pathways, (3) Policy Development, (4) Civility-Integrated Curriculum, (5) Faculty Incivility Workshop, (6) Clinical Site Engagement, and (7) Feedback Loops for continuous monitoring (see Dafny et al., 2024).
Results: Among 131 respondents, 60% of undergraduates and 57% of graduates reported incivility, with disproportionate impact on marginalized groups. After implementation, recognition of bullying rose 25%, reports increased 34%, and awareness of institutional support improved. Fear of retaliation persisted (UG: 38%; GR: 56%), and graduates reported the highest rates of faculty-driven incivility. Faculty workshops begin October 2025.
Limitations: Fear of retaliation and limited trust in institutional response continue to suppress reporting and engagement. Findings reflect self-report data and early implementation metrics.
Conclusions: Psychological safety and trust are prerequisites for a healthy academic environment. A structured, student-informed civility framework—supported by policy, reporting, and faculty development—can strengthen professional identity, improve faculty–student relationships, and foster inclusive learning across the College of Nursing.
Description
This initiative addressed incivility in nursing education through a survey and a seven-component civility framework with policies, reporting pathways, workshops, and curriculum integration. Results showed improved recognition, reporting, and awareness of support, though fear of retaliation remained. The project highlights the importance of evidence-based strategies to promote equity and psychological safety.