Lateral hostility and zero tolerance

In the editorial in the June 2007 issue of Critical Care Nurse (2007:10, 12–14), Dr Alspach cites 2 Calls to Action found in the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ (AACN) position statement related to abuse of staff. I agree that lateral hostility occurs and has for the 30 years; also, in general, I agree with the position statement. However, I am disheartened that the first bullet point is to develop a zero tolerance policy. I wanted to share the position statement with our management team, but I feared that they would implement the policy without giving the nurses the tools to correct the behavior.I believe our position should be to educate nurses about lateral hostility and how to correct it, and then, if behavioral change is not noted, take action.Although program development is found in the position statement, I believe this section is lost because it is surrounded by discipline statements. And do we have a position statement regarding the bullying by administration and managers—it goes both ways!!Thank you very much for your comments. The zero tolerance policy listed in the position statement related to intimidation by hospital administration and managers goes for everyone, including physicians, nurses, allied health personnel, administrators, and managers. In addition, AACN provides the resource Guidelines for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments,1 which adds to the discussion regarding healthy work environments.Finally, AACN encourages nurses to participate in the Bold Voices campaign—the Presidential theme of Connie Barden in 2003. Below is an excerpt from Connie Barden’s2 President’s address: