Beginning the Conversation: The Nurse Educator’s Role in Preventing Incivility in the Workplace

Though all nurses in practice have a responsibility to foster civility, the purpose of this article is to discuss the role of nurse educators in raising awareness in pre-licensure students about the continuum of incivility, giving them tools to address uncivil behaviors, and beginning the conversation about creating a culture of civility. We believe it is critical to raise awareness about the continuum of incivility in future nurses in order to prevent escalation of lesser degrees of uncivil behavior to more destructive forms of lateral violence.