Study: Perioperative nurses experience high rates of “disruptive” behavior

Editor's Note:

Healthcare institutions urgently need intervention strategies to reduce disruptive behavior toward perioperative nurses, according to a report published in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing on January 9.

The recommendation follows a cross-sectional survey designed to “investigate the prevalence, characteristics, causes, consequences, and predictors of and responses to disruptive behavior toward nurses in the perioperative arena.” Conducted in March 2020, the survey recruited nurses online to report data on disruptive behavior over the preceding months as well as sociodemographic and environmental information.

In total, 82.1% of participants experienced disruptive behavior, mostly from surgeons. The most commonly reported behaviors were verbal aggression and the assignment of overwhelming workloads, which respondents indicated were caused mostly by interpersonal issues. Although nearly half those experiencing disruptive behavior did not report it, most recounted their negative experiences and more than half talked to their nursing colleagues. Risk factors for experiencing disruptive behavior include middle age, job position, and practice environment.