Registered nurses' lived experiences of peer to peer incivility in the workplace

Incivility negatively interferes with patient care delivery, nursing retention, as well as medical costs. Disregard for another's knowledge and skills through rude and discourteous actions that prevent others from thriving is an actual depiction of an uncivil workplace. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore registered nurses' lived experiences of peer to peer incivility in the workplace. An aim of this study was to understand the participants' experiences of peer to peer incivility in the workplace, its effect on patient safety and nursing job satisfaction and retention.;Descriptive phenomenology was used for this study on the lived experience of being a registered nurse who has encountered peer to peer incivility in the workplace. Participants were enrolled using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews were audiotaped and conducted with participants who had experience with peer to peer incivility in the workplace. Data were collected until saturation was achieved. The audiotapes were transcribed and analyzed for common themes that represented the participants' experiences with peer to peer incivility. Based on the findings of this study, suggestions are offered for further research and required actions to elevate the work atmosphere of the nurse from uncivil to a healthy and professional workplace.