Nursing Faculty's Experience of Faculty Bullying and its Impacts: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Faculty bullying is an ongoing problem in United States’ nursing schools as it can negatively affect the physical and psychological well-being of the targeted individuals, their careers, and the workplace environment. Through nursing faculty descriptions, this study seeks to understand the experience of faculty bullying and its impacts as described by the faculty themselves. Qualitative study design using critical incident technique will be used to interview nursing faculty from mid-western, associate, baccalaureate and/or higher degree nursing programs regarding their experience of faculty bullying. Semi-structured, in depth-interviews will provide nursing faculty the opportunity to share their descriptions of the faculty bullying experience and its impacts. The research question that guides this study is: How do nursing faculty describe the experience of faculty bullying and its impacts? Demographic information will also be collected including: gender, age, ethnicity, faculty/role position, years of employment as nursing faculty, and type of nursing program. Data analysis will be conducted using attribute and descriptive qualitative analysis. Results will be synthesized into a description of the experience of faculty bullying and its impacts.