The effects of incivility on nursing education

Incivility in the population has become of great interest within the past decade, particularly in the wake of the school massacre in Columbine and the recent movie theatre mass murder in Aurora, Colorado. While citizens struggle to make sense of these violent behaviors, higher education officials are perhaps most vested in exploring the causes, displays, and solutions to uncivil behavior among both faculty and students. The effects of incivility, whether classified as minor disruptions or major violence, may affect the student nurse and impede his or her progress and ability to become an empathic nurse, which is a goal of nursing education. Academic incivility may contribute to bullying in the workplace, which has been identified as a cause of attrition and contributes to the national nursing shortage. This article describes the effects of uncivil behavior on nursing faculty and students and the effect this may have on the nursing workforce.