One hospital in our cover story lost five nurses because of the verbal abuse from one physician. Nurses also have a responsibility to stop the abuse. Allowing it to occur without responding to it or reporting it only enables the abuser. You gang up on him or her. You never let the bully corner you when you re alone.
Colleagues watch each other s backs.
The response, of course, must be professional and not interfere with patient care. It also must be consistent for the message to get through. The abuser will look for the weakest link. Every nurse must respond in the same way every time verbal abuse occurs. The majority of physicians are not verbally abusive and we need to reinforce the behavior of these physicians who do respect us as their colleagues.