- Email: [email protected]
When Nurses Hurt Nurses
REVIEWS
When Nurses Hurt Nurses Cheryl Dellasega Sigma Theta Tau International 2011, 224 pages, softcover This book focuses on relationships between nurses and relational aggression, a form of female bullying. Relational aggression is defined as “gossip, exclusion, teasing, tormenting, undermining, cyberslamming, and a lot of other verbal and social behaviors designed to wound another person.” The book explains the behavior and the saying every nurse has heard: “Nurses eat their young.” The author is a professor of humanities and women’s studies. She has worked clinically as a nurse practitioner and is an expert on relationships between women and within families. As a nurse, she has experienced relational aggression firsthand from other nurses and is able to describe unfortunate situations of the type that every nurse has witnessed or been a part of as the bully, bystander, or victim. This book flows smoothly, answering the kinds of questions nurses are likely to ask about relational aggression. It is organized into two parts: the first is about nurses and relational aggression, and the second is about healing from relational aggression situations. The author discusses how nurses, members of a profession known for caring, can be so brutal to each other. Factors include that nurses are competitive, are driven by a sense of threat or fear, and are motivated internally. Chapters address the different types of relational aggression, the roles of individuals within relational aggression situations, the consequences of such situations, how to avoid the situations, and how to heal from them. The author also addresses how relational aggression among nurses negatively
www.aornjournal.org
affects patient care and team performance. At the end of each chapter is an exercise to help readers analyze their own participation in relational aggression situations. The book concludes with numerous resources that nurses can use to get more information about relational aggression and bullying within the nursing profession. At the end of the book are several appendixes that include more exercises and give additional information about relational aggression. This book is a quick read, and all nurses should read it, no matter their roles or how long they have worked in nursing. Nursing students and faculty members would benefit from reading this book and recognizing the relational aggression that students may face from fellow students, faculty members, or nurses within the clinical environment. Staff nurses and managers also would benefit from reading this book by learning how to avoid being a bystander for relational aggression and avoid situations that can result in incidents of relational aggression. This would be an excellent book to read as a class or unit, allowing the group to discuss past bullying situations and find solutions. When nurses are victims of relational aggression, they feel lonely and scared. The author lets nurses know that they are not alone in having this problem and helps them learn how to deal with future episodes of aggression by recognizing and overcoming the cycle of bullying. The book addresses situations in every nursing environment. If you are serious about creating positive change in an environment in which bullying occurs, this book will assist you in analyzing the situation and creating the needed change. STEPHANIE LYNN KEFER MSN, RN, CNOR, FNP-BC CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY NURSE PRACTITIONER PARKVIEW PHYSICIANS GROUP e CARDIOVASCULAR SURGEONS FORT WAYNE, IN http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2012.01.027
The authors of this column have no declared affiliations that could be perceived as posing potential conflicts of interest in the publication of this article.
AORN Journal j 225
When Nurses Hurt Nurses Cheryl Dellasega Sigma Theta Tau International 2011, 224 pages, softcover This book focuses on relationships between nurses and relational aggression, a form of female bullying. Relational aggression is defined as “gossip, exclusion, teasing, tormenting, undermining, cyberslamming, and a lot of other verbal and social behaviors designed to wound another person.” The book explains the behavior and the saying every nurse has heard: “Nurses eat their young.” The author is a professor of humanities and women’s studies. She has worked clinically as a nurse practitioner and is an expert on relationships between women and within families. As a nurse, she has experienced relational aggression firsthand from other nurses and is able to describe unfortunate situations of the type that every nurse has witnessed or been a part of as the bully, bystander, or victim. This book flows smoothly, answering the kinds of questions nurses are likely to ask about relational aggression. It is organized into two parts: the first is about nurses and relational aggression, and the second is about healing from relational aggression situations. The author discusses how nurses, members of a profession known for caring, can be so brutal to each other. Factors include that nurses are competitive, are driven by a sense of threat or fear, and are motivated internally. Chapters address the different types of relational aggression, the roles of individuals within relational aggression situations, the consequences of such situations, how to avoid the situations, and how to heal from them. The author also addresses how relational aggression among nurses negatively
www.aornjournal.org
affects patient care and team performance. At the end of each chapter is an exercise to help readers analyze their own participation in relational aggression situations. The book concludes with numerous resources that nurses can use to get more information about relational aggression and bullying within the nursing profession. At the end of the book are several appendixes that include more exercises and give additional information about relational aggression. This book is a quick read, and all nurses should read it, no matter their roles or how long they have worked in nursing. Nursing students and faculty members would benefit from reading this book and recognizing the relational aggression that students may face from fellow students, faculty members, or nurses within the clinical environment. Staff nurses and managers also would benefit from reading this book by learning how to avoid being a bystander for relational aggression and avoid situations that can result in incidents of relational aggression. This would be an excellent book to read as a class or unit, allowing the group to discuss past bullying situations and find solutions. When nurses are victims of relational aggression, they feel lonely and scared. The author lets nurses know that they are not alone in having this problem and helps them learn how to deal with future episodes of aggression by recognizing and overcoming the cycle of bullying. The book addresses situations in every nursing environment. If you are serious about creating positive change in an environment in which bullying occurs, this book will assist you in analyzing the situation and creating the needed change. STEPHANIE LYNN KEFER MSN, RN, CNOR, FNP-BC CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY NURSE PRACTITIONER PARKVIEW PHYSICIANS GROUP e CARDIOVASCULAR SURGEONS FORT WAYNE, IN http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2012.01.027
The authors of this column have no declared affiliations that could be perceived as posing potential conflicts of interest in the publication of this article.
AORN Journal j 225