Each healthcare organization strives to be the best in terms of internal culture and interaction with patients. To reach high professional standards and ensure proper patient care, a healthcare facility should always review and improve its codes of conduct. Given this, civility in the nursing setting is a critical component of healthcare that should be promoted at all levels because it affects patient perceptions of care delivered.
If healthier practices prevail in the healthcare facility, the more satisfied patients are, and the overall organizational reputation is better. Being polite is one of the common traits of civility, but it is not limited only to this parameter. According to Ota et al. (2022), civility refers to expressing respect to others even if conflict or disagreement emerges. Moreover, demonstrating kindness and empathy is also vital in recognizing differences and finding a common language with others (Ota et al., 2022). Fostering civility among nurses is vital because it represents the foundation of ethical conduct.
One can explain the ‘7 importance of civility’ as the standard that nurses are expected to practice in their interactions with both patients and colleagues. First, civility promotes patient safety through proper communication, which helps to address issues that can potentially affect patient care. Second, it improves the patient experience because the way of communication makes them feel comfortable and trust nurses. Third, civility enhances patient-centered care by prioritizing patients’ needs and enabling their voice. Fourth, this practice positively contributes to teamwork while it fosters a healthy work environment and respect between healthcare providers. Fifth, civility reduces burnout because, within this framework, nurses are expected to support each other, thus creating a collaborative working environment (Ota et al., 2022). Sixth, it increases job satisfaction and prevents high turnover rates because nurses feel valued and motivated. Finally, the seventh assumption is that civility encourages professionalism, as the framework requires nurses to act ethically and respectfully.
Like many other competencies, nurse civility can be developed through specific strategies. Clark (2019) suggests the civility-fostering framework consisting of eight steps. However, some of these stages can be implemented as standalone strategies. First, one needs to raise awareness regarding the positive influence of civility and educate stakeholders about the detrimental impact of incivility (Clark, 2019). The best way to implement this initiative is to conduct training sessions to encourage all healthcare staff to review their practices and attitudes.
The second strategy is the compulsory assessment of the current state of civility practices in a healthcare organization or facility. A range of empirical tools can help perform the evaluation, including the Scale of Civility, Respect, Engagement in the Workforce, or the Healthy Work Environment Inventory, to name a few (Clark, 2019). These instruments are advantageous because they not only measure the level of incivility but also provide the idea of civility practices.
The third strategy should be focused on monitoring the implementation of the framework activities. Clark’s (2019) idea about creating and empowering a civility team looks reasonable and should exist at least at the first stages of implementing the civility-fostering strategy. The assessment mentioned above can help identify the staff members who are committed to healthy practices, trusted, and motivated to address the problem of incivility. Moreover, Clark (2019) emphasizes the importance of involving representatives of interprofessional disciplines, such as nurses, assistants, and even human resource employees. This diversification is needed to comprehensively address the issue.
To conclude, civility is an essential practice that should be in any healthcare organization. Civility can be defined as showing respect to others during an interaction. Its insufficient level at the organization is associated with negative impacts on staff members and leads to poor patient care and worsened organizational reputation. Three strategies related to raising awareness, assessment, and monitoring through civility teams have been proposed to implement civility.
References
Clark, C.M. (2019). Fostering a culture of civility and respect in nursing. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(1), 44-52. Web.
Ota, M., Lam, L., Gilbert, J. and Hills, D. (2022). Nurse leadership in promoting and supporting civility in health care settings: A scoping review. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(8), 4221-4233. Web.