Lawanna Brock Talks About Lateral Violence

Years ago Lawanna Brock went into “nursing” to become a nurse anesthetist or practitioner. She was young and dumb and, while she did not care for bedside nursing, she had an intense love for medicine and helping people. She wishes to share with anyone considering this profession the cold hard facts about what it is really like. Healthcare is not about helping the patient anymore, it is about competing for jobs, position, and power (all which equals money), the realistic conflict theory in play. Lawanna is referring to something that is worse than cyberbullying or racial taunting. This ends careers. It is called lateral violence.

According to the USLegal.com, lateral violence occurs when people, who are in a situation to achieve dominance, turn on each other rather than confront the problem that oppresses them both. Lateral violence occurs when groups or individuals internalize feelings such as anger and rage, and manifest their feelings through behaviors such as gossip, jealousy, putdowns and blaming. Some turn to board reporting and chat site ridiculing to cause harm to their victims. According to Heather World of nurse.com, it is the violence that ends careers.

Lawanna Brock was a victim of lateral violence and after careful research, she found that it is a growing problem among nurses and in the healthcare setting. Her husband (retired after 25 years in the medical profession) told her that it is was because nurses and most healthcare workers are women and women tend to be envious and vindictive toward each other. This is less publicized than physical violence but it is more widespread. Researcher Martha Griffin PhD reports that people who feel oppressed commit acts of passive aggression. She found that as many as 50% of nurses new to the filed leave their first position due to lateral violence. SIXTY PERCENT. That is a serious problem. What is more, her research also found that 20% of registered nurses leave the profession within three years “to escape hostility.”  To escape hostility!? Where is the management during all this?

Patricia Rowell, Ph.D researched this behavior and concluded that the agency must employ a “zero tolerance” policy related to lateral violence. Sadly, most organization leaders do not want to rock the boat and allow this behavior to continue. Managers, administrators, and even doctors do not want to be a part of the “workplace politics” and turn their head when they become aware someone is the victim of lateral violence. If you are looking for a profession where you will be accepted and treated fairly, do not enter the healthcare field. Two words: Lateral Violence.