Jordanian nurses perception of physicians’ verbal abuse: findings from a questionnaire survey

The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the frequency, severity, emotional reactions, and coping behavior of Jordanian nurses working in hospitals in response to verbal abuse. A convenience sample of 138 nurses employed in five hospitals was surveyed using the verbal abuse questionnaire (VAQ), which was developed for this study and received limited testing for reliability (homogeneity) and validity. This instrument measured different aspects of verbal abuse against Jordanian nurses. Findings indicate that the most frequent and most severe forms of verbal abuse reported were judging and criticizing, accusing and blaming, and abusive anger; the most common emotional reactions were anger, followed by shame, humiliation and frustration and most nurses used engaging in negative activities to cope with verbal abuse. Findings of this study highlights the need for hospitals to develop protocols for reporting and dealing with verbal abuse from physicians toward nurses.