Assessing the impact of workplace bullying on nursing competences among registered nurses in Jordanian public hospitals

Aim To assess the impact of nursing competences on workplace bullying among registered nurses in Jordanian public hospitals. Background Workplace bullying has serious organizational and health effects on nursing staff. Little is known about the relationship between bullying and nursing competence worldwide. Method A cross‐sectional descriptive study using a quantitative method was adopted for this study. The Negative Act Questionnaire‐Revised (NAQ‐R) and Nurse Professional Competence (NPC) questionnaire were used. A convenience sample of 272 nurses completed the study questionnaires. Results The results revealed that there were negative correlations between all NAQ scales and all NPC scales. The higher scores indicated better degrees of perceived competency, while the lower scores indicated the frequency of bullying reported by nurses. These results suggest that nurses who have more clinical competencies are less likely to experience work‐related bullying. Conclusion The study found that workplace bullying against nursing staff is still a considerable problem in participating Jordanian hospitals. Implications for nursing management To prohibit bullying behavior, nurse administrators have to construct a work environment that demonstrates respect and fairness and which is transmitted through nurses’ communication pathways.