Trial and retribution: A qualitative study of whistleblowing and workplace relationships in nursing
Debra Jackson
Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Broadway NSW
Kathleen Peters
School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW
Sharon Andrew
Department of Acute Care, Faculty of Health and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, United Kingdom
Michel Edenborough
Family and Community Health Research Group (FaCH), School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW
Lauretta Luck
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Family and Community Health Research Group, University of Western Sydney, Penrith NSW
Yenna Salamonson
School of Nursing and Midwifery; Family, Community Health Research Group (FaCH), University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW
Roslyn Weaver
Family and Community Health Research Group (FaCH), Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology (UTS), Sydney NSW
Lesley Wilkes
Family and Community Health Research Group (FaCH), Clinical Nursing Research Unit, Nepean Hospital; University of Western Sydney and Sydney West Area Health Service, Sydney NSW
PP: 034 - 044
Abstract
This paper reports a study aiming to present and describe the effects of whistleblowing episodes on nurses' workplace relationships. Eighteen participants with direct experience of whistleblowing were recruited into the study, which was informed by a qualitative narrative inquiry design.
Findings were clustered into four main themes, namely: Leaving and returning to work-The staff don't like you; Spoiled collegial relationships-Barriers between me and my colleagues; Bullying and excluding-They've just closed ranks; and, Damaged inter-professional relationships- I did lose trust in doctors after that.
Findings suggest a need to facilitate a climate in which it is safe for nurses (and others) to raise concerns about patient care or organisational wrongdoing, and to eliminate the existing belief that whistleblowing is a negative act fuelled by revenge or sedition.
Keywords
whistleblowing; workplace relationships; nurses; conflict; qualitative study
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