Healing Nursing from Within: Confronting Lateral Violence and Double Standards
Nursing is a profession built on compassion, teamwork, and trust. But within that same foundation, something harmful too often takes root, quietly, and sometimes unnoticed.
It’s called lateral violence, the subtle but destructive behaviors nurses direct toward one another.
It’s the sarcastic comments.
The gossip.
The eye rolls during report.
The moments when someone is left out or made to feel like they don’t belong.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re symptoms of a deeper issue. One that erodes morale, drives good nurses away, and damages the very culture we depend on to deliver safe, compassionate care.
What Lateral Violence Looks Like
Lateral violence (also called horizontal hostility) refers to hostile, aggressive, or undermining behavior between colleagues of equal rank. It can show up as:
Spreading rumors or gossip
Criticizing a coworker in front of others
Withholding important information
Sabotaging or refusing to help a peer
Showing favoritism or applying double standards
The last one, double standards, deserves special attention.
The Double Standard: The Hidden Weapon
In many nursing units, a quiet hierarchy exists even among peers. One nurse might be allowed to come in late because “she’s having a rough day,” while another gets written up for the same thing. One nurse might make a documentation error and get a gentle reminder; another gets publicly scolded.
These inconsistencies aren’t just unfair, they’re damaging. They create division, resentment, and mistrust.
When certain nurses are given grace, and others are treated harshly for the same actions, it sends a clear message: some people matter more here than others. That’s not only corrosive to morale, it’s a form of bullying disguised as “policy” or “judgment.”
And often, those double standards fall along invisible lines: seniority, popularity, or even personal friendships within the team.
Why It Happens
Nursing is stressful work. Constant demands, emotional fatigue, and understaffing create a high-pressure environment. Under that pressure, it’s easy for frustration to get misdirected. Not upward, toward the broken systems that cause the stress, but sideways, toward each other.
Add to that the culture of “eat your young”. The idea that nurses have to prove themselves by surviving hazing or humiliation, and the problem perpetuates itself. What was once endured becomes what’s later inflicted.
The Cost
Lateral violence, including double standards, has consequences that reach far beyond hurt feelings. It leads to:
Anxiety, depression, and loss of self-worth
Lower retention and higher turnover
Poor communication and teamwork
Medical errors and compromised patient care
No one works well in a climate of fear and favoritism. When nurses are busy watching their backs, they can’t fully focus on the patients or even tasks in front of them.
How to Break the Cycle
Change doesn’t happen through slogans or one-time trainings. It takes a culture shift, from the top down and the bottom up.
Here’s where to start:
Call out double standards when they happen, respectfully, but clearly. Fairness must be visible.
Leaders must model consistency. What applies to one applies to all. Accountability should never depend on who you are friends with.
Promote open dialogue. Psychological safety means nurses can speak up without retaliation.
Mentor, don’t mistreat. Nurses need support, not silent judgment.
Educate and empower. Workshops on communication, empathy, and conflict resolution should be ongoing, not optional.
A Culture Worth Fighting For
Nurses are the backbone of healthcare, and they deserve to work, and thrive,in environments built on respect, not rivalry. It’s time to end the cycle where bullying hides behind professionalism and favoritism masquerades as leadership. Lateral violence, in all its forms, has no place in nursing. Change doesn’t begin with policies or training modules. It begins with us. With how we treat one another. With how we model fairness, empathy, and accountability in every interaction.
When nurses uphold fairness and dignity in how they treat each other, it strengthens the entire profession.
When respect becomes the standard, not the exception, nurses thrive, and so does the quality of care.
Fairness and dignity aren’t optional in nursing, they’re the foundation of trust, with each other and with every patient we serve.
