Experiences of undergraduate nursing students with faculty incivility in nursing classrooms: A meta-aggregation of qualitative studies

Faculty-to-student incivility can have detrimental impacts on both the individual students and the nursing profession. This study synthesized the current qualitative research evidence on the experiences of undergraduate nursing students with faculty incivility in nursing classrooms. A meta-aggregation approach was applied in a systematic review of qualitative studies based on the guideline of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The analysis of 11 qualitative studies identified four synthesized findings: (1) faculty incivility included a wide range of uncivil behaviors from disruptive to threatening behaviors, (2) pedagogical incompetence, including ineffective teaching, unresponsiveness, and unfairness, was perceived as uncivil, (3) faculty incivility negatively impacted on psychological well-being and learning, and (4) adaptation efforts included seeking support from family and friends and voicing the need for an official support system. Nursing faculty members need to be aware of the malicious impacts of faculty incivility, have formal teaching preparation, and develop pedagogical competency. The students and faculty members should be empowered by establishing official support systems for students and training faculty members to be role models for civility, respectively. Faculty perspectives of their incivility to students, interventions for cultivating faculty civility, and the long-term effects of faculty incivility are suggested as areas for further research.

Automated summary

Faculty-to-student incivility can have detrimental impacts on both the individual students and the nursing profession. This study synthesized the current qualitative research evidence on the experiences of undergraduate nursing students with faculty incivility in nursing classrooms. The analysis of 11 qualitative studies identified four synthesized findings: (1) faculty incivility included a wide range of uncivil behaviors from disruptive to threatening behaviors, (2) pedagogical incompetence, including ineffective teaching, unresponsiveness, and unfairness, was perceived as uncivil, (3) faculty incivility negatively impacted on psychological well-being and learning, and (4) adaptation efforts included seeking support from family and friends and voicing the need for an official support system.