The relationship between bullying behaviors experienced by nursing students in clinical practice and their self-esteem level

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the experience of bullying in clinical practice and the self-esteem of nursing students.
METHODS: The research was designed as a comparative cross-sectional type study using a sample of 324 students studying in the nursing department of a university in the period of May-July 2019. A personal information form; the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ-R), used to measure workplace bullying; and the Two-dimensional Self-esteem Scale (TDSES) (Self-Liking/Self Competence Scale),were used to collect data.
RESULTS: The mean NAQ-R score was 39.08±10.94 and the mean TDSES score was 56.67±8.64.The majority of the students (89.81%) were female. The top 3 monthly expenses of the students were food (37.96%), housing (29.02%), and education (20.68%). When asked about use of smart devices, 66.04% of the students reported use of an average of 2-6 hours a day, and 92.5% responded that they spend 0-6 hours a day using social media. In all, 43.21% reported that they felt most active between 12: 00-6: 00 PM. There was a significant difference in the workplace bullying scale score according to the students' age, program year, type of residence, the self-esteem scale scores, and social media usage hours (p<0.05). A negative correlation was found between the NAQ-R and the total self-esteem and subdimension scores (p<0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that several variables had an effect on nursing students' self-esteem level and perceived exposure to negative acts in the workplace. It is important that nursing curricula address self-esteem and bullying in the workplace.