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Nurses’ experiences of unprofessional behaviors in the emergency department: A qualitative study
Author(s) -
Parizad Naser,
Hassankhani Hadi,
Rahmani Azad,
Mohammadi Eesa,
Lopez Violeta,
Cleary Michelle
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
nursing and health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1442-2018
pISSN - 1441-0745
DOI - 10.1111/nhs.12386
Subject(s) - nursing , qualitative research , emergency department , stressor , patient safety , emergency nursing , psychology , medicine , health care , clinical psychology , social science , sociology , economics , economic growth
The nursing profession is focused on serving others and has high expectations that each member behaves professionally and ethically, as articulated in nursing codes of practice and conduct. Where these are not upheld, inappropriate and unprofessional workplace behaviors follow. Regrettably, unprofessional behavior is neither new nor constrained to the nursing profession, but is known to negatively impact staff and workplace relationships, and importantly, patient safety and care. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore Iranian nurses’ experiences of professional communication between colleagues in the emergency department. Fifteen individual interviews were conducted. The overarching theme to emerge from the data was workplace communication, supported by two subthemes: unprofessional behavior and stressors in the workplace. Individually and collectively, these subthemes demonstrated staff attitudes and behaviors that are inconsistent with expectations of professional behavior and practice. Management proactively addressing unprofessional workplace behaviors is fundamental to establishing and maintaining positive workplace environments and supporting safe, quality patient care.