Bullying in Nursing, Black Women, and Mental Health
- tchapple28
- Jul 5
- 7 min read
Nursing carries a heavy emotional and physical burden. Among nurses, Black women often carry an even heavier weight due to bullying, racial discrimination, and lack of support. These issues can break down mental strength and create a harmful work environment. While bullying can affect all nurses, Black women face a unique mix of challenges. They often deal with workplace violence, bias, and less access to protection systems.
This article explains how workplace bullying affects Black women nurses, what makes their experience different, and how mental health suffers because of this ongoing mistreatment. It includes data from research studies that examine bullying, violence, stress, and race-based challenges that Black women face throughout their careers.
What Counts as Workplace Bullying and Violence?
Workplace bullying covers repeated acts meant to harm or humiliate someone. These may include verbal abuse, threats, intentionally ignoring someone, or spreading gossip intended to damage their image. Workplace violence includes physical attacks, threats, or any other act meant to harm another person where work takes place.
According to the World Health Organization, workplace violence includes any use of power—actual or threatened—that causes injury, psychological harm, or suffering due to work-related situations [1]. In healthcare systems, nurses remain among the most vulnerable to this kind of harm.
The primary sources of workplace violence for nurses include:
● Patients
● Families of patients
● Fellow nurses or supervisors [1]
Nurses worldwide have reported high exposure to workplace violence. A review involving 151,347 nurses found that regions like the United States, Canada, and England showed the highest rates of physical and sexual violence at work [1].
In the United States, race-related patterns also emerge. White nurses face more reported cases of workplace violence (78%) than Black (13%) or Hispanic (15%) nurses [1]. However, that number does not mean Black nurses deal with fewer problems. It may reflect underreporting or less access to reporting systems.
High Bullying Rates Among Nurses
Nursing environments have always held strong emotional pressure. But when bullying becomes part of daily life, stress becomes much worse.
One study showed that up to 80 percent of nurses reported bullying during their careers [2]. Another study found 40 percent of nurses had been bullied recently [2].
In that same study:
● Nurses who were bullied scored lower on physical health tests (p = .002)
● They also scored lower on mental health tests (p = .036) [2]
Lower physical health may mean more sick days, headaches, body pain, or sleep problems. Lower mental health often shows up as depression, anxiety, low self-worth, or mood swings.
Bullying affects more than just the bullied person. It can spread doubt, fear, and tension across the whole team. Patient safety may suffer because nurses struggle to stay focused under emotional strain.
Black Women and Workplace Discrimination
Now take this problem and add racial discrimination on top. That is what many Black women nurses deal with every day.
Workplace discrimination targets someone because of race, gender, or ethnicity. It may manifest through unfair evaluations, being excluded from training, or fewer opportunities to grow professionally.
One study looked at Black registered nurses and measured:
● Depression
● Work-related stress
● Experiences with racial discrimination [4]
The results showed that both recent and past experiences of racial discrimination predicted higher workplace stress [4]. This happened even when the nurses did not show symptoms of depression. This means racial stress can damage mental well-being even when outward signs are hard to detect.
These extra stress layers build over time. The effects may not show right away, but they grow stronger as nurses continue to face unequal treatment without support.
Limited Access to Protection Resources
Support systems at work often help nurses who face bullying or violence. These can include:
● Counseling services
● Hotlines
● Reporting tools
● Legal assistance
● Training sessions on handling abuse
But not every nurse gets the same help.
One study involving over 2,000 nurses across four healthcare centers found that Black and Asian nurses:
● Knew less about the services available to address workplace violence
● Used these services less often than White nurses [1]
That gap may come from poor communication, fear of punishment, or past experiences where reports were ignored. The result? Black women nurses feel less supported and more exposed to further harm.
Fear of Speaking Up: Silence as a Survival Strategy
Silence often becomes the only option for many Black women nurses when bullying or discrimination happens. Even when they know the behavior is wrong, they may choose not to report it.
This fear comes from several sources:
● Worry about being labeled “too sensitive” or “angry”
● Fear of losing their job or being transferred to worse shifts
● Past experiences where reports led to no action
● Lack of support from supervisors or human resources
When nurses stay quiet, it does not mean they accept the behavior. It means they do not trust the system to protect them. For many, staying silent feels safer than risking more harm.
This silence leads to internal stress and emotional damage. Nurses may feel trapped or powerless. Over time, this harms their mental well-being and reduces their confidence.
When the system fails to protect its staff, silence becomes a form of self-protection. However, this survival strategy has a cost, one that manifests in mental health, team trust, and patient care.
Burnout, Discrimination, and Patient Safety
The harm caused by bullying and discrimination does not stop with nurses—it can affect patients too.
One UK-based study followed 528 nurses and midwives. It found a strong link between:
● Bullying
● Racial discrimination
● Burnout
● Lower views about patient safety [3]
Burnout refers to emotional and physical exhaustion caused by long-term stress. When nurses experience burnout, their focus, care, and ability to make decisions may suffer.
That study found that:
● Bullying and discrimination led to higher burnout levels
● Higher burnout led to poor perceptions about patient safety
● Black and minority ethnic nurses were three times more likely to report discrimination than White nurses [3]
In simple terms, bullying and racial mistreatment do not just hurt nurses—they may put lives at risk.
Historical Trauma and Personal Vulnerability
The personal lives of nurses also matter when talking about bullying. A study showed that childhood trauma, such as abuse during early years, raises the risk of workplace violence later [1].
In particular:
● Childhood physical abuse raised vulnerability to workplace violence among nurses of all races
● Intimate partner violence increased risk mainly among White and Asian nurses [1]
This means that Black nurses may carry early life trauma into their careers, making the effects of workplace bullying even more damaging. At the same time, they often have less help available and fewer safe spaces at work.
Personal and social vulnerabilities add up. One model explains that people from minority groups face greater risk due to both personal challenges and outside forces like racism [1]. This explains why two nurses with similar roles may react differently to workplace bullying.
Gender Matters Too
Black women carry both racial and gender identities. This double burden means they often face more criticism and less protection.
Sexism in healthcare shows up through:
● Pay gaps
● Unequal treatment
● Fewer leadership opportunities
Combined with racism, this creates what experts call a “double disadvantage.” Bullying may not always come from one person. It can come from the culture of the workplace itself.
Black women may face:
● Stereotypes that paint them as angry or uncooperative
● Over-policing of their tone or body language
● Isolation from their peers
This constant pressure damages mental health and creates a toxic work culture.
Mental Health Toll of Bullying and Discrimination
Mental health problems caused by bullying and racial discrimination include:
● Anxiety
● Panic attacks
● Depression
● Emotional numbness
● Mood instability
● Thoughts of leaving the profession
When these feelings grow without support, many nurses consider early retirement or quitting the profession altogether. That creates a shortage of experienced nurses, especially those from minority groups.
Hospitals lose staff, and patients lose skilled caregivers. Everyone suffers.
What Can Be Done?
Tackling bullying and protecting the mental health of Black women nurses requires action at different levels.
1. Workplace Training and Awareness
All hospital staff should get regular training on:
● Anti-bullying policies
● How to report abuse
● Respectful communication
● Cultural sensitivity
Managers should listen to complaints, take them seriously, and ensure that every nurse feels safe reporting issues.
2. Mental Health Support
Hospitals must provide:
● Free counseling
● Peer support groups
● Mental health hotlines
● Safe spaces for open discussion
Support must be easy to reach and tailored to the experiences of Black nurses.
3. Leadership Representation
Hospitals need more Black women in leadership. When staff see people like them making decisions, trust increases. Representation brings fairness and helps break stereotypes.
4. Stronger Reporting Systems
Nurses require clear and confidential channels to report bullying or discrimination. Follow-up should happen quickly. Nurses should not fear revenge or job loss after speaking up.
5. Policy Changes
Health systems must update their policies to protect minority nurses. Legal protections and audits can ensure fair treatment.
Final Thoughts
Workplace bullying breaks spirits and drains talent. When nurses face violence, racism, and silence from leadership, their mental health suffers badly. For Black women, who already face a mix of race and gender bias, the harm multiplies. They often carry more stress, have fewer resources, and are often ignored when they speak out.
The long-term cost affects everyone, from hospitals to patients. Fixing this problem is not just about stopping bullies. It means listening, supporting, and changing workplace culture from the ground up.
With better training, stronger policies, and more empathy, hospitals can become safer and fairer for Black women nurses. Their voices matter—and so does their mental health.
References:
Sabri, Bushra, et al. "Racial and ethnic differences in factors related to workplace violence victimization." Western journal of nursing research 37.2 (2015): 180-196.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4169764/
Sauer, Penny A., and Thomas P. McCoy. "Nurse bullying: Impact on nurses’ health." Western journal of nursing research 39.12 (2017): 1533-1546.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27920345/
Johnson, Judith, et al. "An investigation into the relationships between bullying, discrimination, burnout and patient safety in nurses and midwives: is burnout a mediator?." Journal of Research in Nursing 24.8 (2019): 604-619.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7932316/
Brandford, Arica, et al. "Examining race-based discrimination, depression, and occupational stress in Black registered nurses." Nursing Administration Quarterly 47.2 (2023): 126-135.
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