Lateral Violence in the Perioperative Setting

Bigony, Lorraine; Lipke, Tammy G.; Lundberg, Ashley; McGraw, Carrie A.; Pagac, Gretchen L.; Rogers, Anne

doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2009.01.029

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Volume 89, Issue 4 , Pages 688-700, April 2009

Lateral Violence in the Perioperative Setting

Lorraine Bigony, RN, BSN, CNOR, ONC
- Lorraine Bigony, RN, BSN, CNOR, ONC, is a perioperative nurse manager at Frankford Hospital, Bucks County, Langhorne, PA. Ms Bigony has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.
Tammy G. Lipke, RN, BSN
- Tammy G. Lipke, RN, BSN, is a progressive care unit nurse at Denton Regional Medical Center, Denton, TX. Ms Lipke has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.
Ashley Lundberg, RN, BSN
- Ashley Lundberg, RN, BSN, is an emergency department nurse at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, MN. Ms Lundberg has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.
Carrie A. McGraw, RN, BSN
- Carrie A. McGraw, RN, BSN, is an OR staff nurse at Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights, IL. Ms McGraw has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.
Gretchen L. Pagac, RN, BSN, CNOR
- Gretchen L. Pagac, RN, BSN, CNOR, is an OR nurse manager for cardiac, thoracic, vascular, neurosurgery, and urology at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, Rochester, MI. Ms Pagac has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.
Anne Rogers, LCDR, RN, BSN, CLNC
- Anne Rogers, LCDR, RN, BSN, CLNC, is an active-duty officer in the US Public Health Service and is currently serving as a health insurance specialist for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Chicago, IL. Ms Rogers has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.

ABSTRACT

Lateral violence is disruptive, bullying, intimidating, or unsettling behavior that occurs between nurses in the workplace.

The perioperative setting fosters lateral violence because of the inherent stress of performing surgery; high patient acuity; a shortage of experienced personnel; work demands; and the restriction and isolation of the OR, which allows negative behaviors to be concealed more easily.

Lateral violence affects nurses' health and well-being and their ability to care for patients. Interventions to reduce lateral violence include empowerment of staff members and zero tolerance for lateral violence. AORN J 89 (April 2009) 688–696. © AORN, Inc, 2009.

Key words: lateral violence , nurse-to-nurse violence , workplace abuse , bullying , verbal abuse

indicates that continuing education contact hours are available for this activity. Earn the contact hours by reading this article and taking the examination on pages 697–698 and then completing the answer sheet and learner evaluation on pages 699–700. The continuing education credits for this article expire April 30, 2012.You also may access this article online at http://www.aornjournal.org.Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by Ms Anne Rogers do not reflect the views of any federal government agency including the Department of Health and Human Services or the United States government and are not to be construed as such.The behavioral objectives and examination for this program were prepared by Helen Starbuck Pashley, RN, MA, CNOR, clinical editor, with consultation from Susan Bakewell, RN, MS, BC, director, Center for Perioperative Education. Ms Pashley and Ms Bakewell have no declared affiliations that could be perceived as potential conflicts of interest in publishing this article.This program meets criteria for CNOR and CRNFA recertification, as well as other continuing education requirements.AORN is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.AORN recognizes these activities as continuing education for registered nurses. This recognition does not imply that AORN or the American Nurses Credentialing Center approves or endorses products mentioned in the activity.AORN is provider-approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 13019. Check with your state board of nursing for acceptance of this activity for relicensure.