Assignment: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Julie has been a nurse at Memorial Hospital for three years. During that time, she has developed productive relationships with her colleagues and has earned a reputation for providing exceptional care to patients. One day she approaches you, her manager, and asks to speak in private. Once you are alone, Julie explains that over the past couple of months she has heard a physician and two nurses repeatedly make disparaging remarks about people who are homosexual. She appears visibly upset as she tells you this. Julie says that the situation has become so uncomfortable that she no longer feels safe in this environment.Does this scenario reflect a possible case of sexual harassment? How would you respond to Julie, and what steps might you take next?

Sexual harassment is an important topic in today’s organizations–one that is often addressed through HR presentations and trainings. However, even for experienced nurse managers and HR professionals, it can be challenging to recognize some of the behaviors and actions that may indicate sexual harassment. Nurses in leadership and management positions have a critical responsibility to become attuned to the various interactions that can be problematic, including inappropriate remarks and jokes, improper fraternization, quid pro quo situations, and potentially offensive images.

To prepare

Review the articles, “Sexual Harassment – A Touchy Subject for Nurses,” “Why Are Nurses Leaving? Findings from an Initial Qualitative Study on Nursing,” and “Bullying, Harassment, and Horizontal Violence in the Nursing Workforce.” Consider sexual harassment situations most commonly experienced by nurses.Think about a work environment with which you are familiar. Have you witnessed or experienced any behaviors that–perhaps with the benefit of hindsight and increasing awareness–may be construed as sexual harassment, even if you did not think of them that way at the time? Do you recall any instances in which you might have intentionally or unintentionally contributed to or participated in an environment that tolerated harassment against one or more individuals? If so, what were your thoughts and feelings at the time? How, perhaps, has your perspective since shifted?Select one of the following options:               

Option 1: Conduct research via the Walden Library, or other scholarly sites, to select an article that presents an authentic example of workplace sexual harassment.

Option 2: Identify an authentic example of suspected or proven sexual harassment from your professional experience.Conduct research related to your selected example to assess the ramifications that may result from instances of sexual harassment.

Consider how you could partner with HR to mitigate situations of sexual harassment in your workplace. In addition, think about specific steps you could take to diminish inappropriate behaviors in the workplace.

Submit a 3- to 5-page paper in which you do the following:

Describe an authentic example of suspected or proven sexual harassment.              

 Explain how this specific instance of sexual harassment impacted the workplace.Identify at least two legal ramifications that could have (or did) result from this situation and how they could (or did) negatively impact the workplace.

Briefly explain other ramifications (e.g., organizational culture, staff relationships, individual and team performances, patient safety, quality of care) that could have (or did) result because of this specific instance.Describe the actions that were taken to resolve the situation, if applicable.Formulate an action plan that can be used to mitigate and/or ameliorate behaviors that constitute sexual harassment.               

Based on your example, explain how you would educate staff on the identification and prevention of inappropriate behaviors. Describe at least two specific steps you would take to diminish similar sexual harassment situations.Describe at least two ways you could partner with HR to effectively accomplish your action plan.

NOTE: 

For the purposes of this assignment, please do not reveal the name of your workplace or the individuals involved.Reminder: The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

Required ReadingsLussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2016). Human resource management: Functions, applications, & skill development (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Chapter 3, “The Legal Environment and Diversity Management” (pp. 78–117)                    Chapter 3 provides an in-depth overview of the laws that mandate equal employment opportunities in the workplace. The authors define discrimination and sexual harassment and explain how knowledgeable managers can detect and mitigate these behaviors in their workplaces.Cogin, J., & Fish, A. (2009). Sexual harassment – A touchy subject for nurses. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 23(4), 442–462. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. This article describes a mixed-methods research study that was conducted to analyze the prevalence of sexual harassment in clinical settings. Findings indicated that patients and physicians are the primary instigators of sexual harassment. The article highlights ethical decision making and intervention techniques.MacKusick, C. I., & Minick, P. (2010). Why are nurses leaving? Findings from an initial qualitative study on nursing attrition. Medsurg Nursing, 19(6), 335–340.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. For this study, the researchers interviewed nurses who decided to leave the profession after only a few years of service. Study participants commonly cited one or more of the following reasons for leaving: unfriendly workplace (i.e., bullying and/or sexual harassment), emotional distress, and fatigue and exhaustion. Participants shared authentic examples and feelings about each factor.Vessey, J. A., DeMarco, R., & DiFazio, R. (2010). Bullying, harassment, and horizontal violence in the nursing workforce: The state of the science. Annual Review of Nursing Research, 28, 133–157. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. Over the years, bullying, harassment, and horizontal violence (BHHV) among nurses has increased in health care settings. The authors of this article illustrate BHHV situations and solutions through the use of models and authentic examples.

 

"Looking for a Similar Assignment? Get Expert Help at an Amazing Discount!"

1. Identify three (3) areas to assess when working with a person who has been sexually assulted.

2. Formulate two (2) long-term outcomes and two (2) short-term goals for the nursing diagnosis Post Trauma Syndrome.

 

"Looking for a Similar Assignment? Get Expert Help at an Amazing Discount!"

1. Read this article  https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/05/when-men-experience-sexism/276355/ 

 

“Women have been fighting against sexism for a long time. If men can learn from them, it will be to everyone’s benefit.”

— Noah Berlatsky, The Atlantic, 2013.

• What is meant by this statement?
• Cite specific examples from the article to support your conclusions.
• Your essay should be 1-2 pages in length.
• Remember to use appropriate formatting as per APA (6th ed.): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/0

 

"Looking for a Similar Assignment? Get Expert Help at an Amazing Discount!"

 

For this assignment, you are asked to try something new related to understanding an aspect of sexuality.

For example, you might:

– Attend a film screening at the IU Cinema relevant to sexuality (see the Outrage on November 11; this film was an early movie related to sexual assault at a time when even the word “rape” was not allowed to be used in the film’s script): https://cinema.indiana.edu/upcoming-films/index.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

– Attend a lecture about sexuality (The Bloomington Sex Salon is one such local event – see Facebook.com/BloomingtonSalon for more info; these events are free, age 18+, and are held most months)

– Check out an art exhibit at The Kinsey Institute or anywhere else you happen to see a sexuality related art exhibit; Indianapolis area museums often have interesting exhibits too. 

– Visit an adult bookstore or attend an in-home sex toy party

– Watch a film such as Hot Girls Wanted, Turn Me On Dammit!, The Normal Heart, She’s Gotta Have It, How to Survive a Plague, Paris is Burning, Orgasm Inc., Fire, Moonlight, or And the Band Played On. (Fine to watch alone but you may find it more interesting to watch with a friend or roommate so you can talk about the movie, learn about someone else’s reactions, etc).

– Interview your parents, grandparents, a religious leader, or someone else about their views on sexuality topics such as dating, hooking up, sex outside of marriage, sex education in schools, birth control, sexual orientation, gender identity, and so on

– Go to a drag show

– Perform a vulvar self-examination or testicular self-examination

– Get tested for sexually transmissible infections (STI) and/or HIV (check out the local health department, Positive Link, Planned Parenthood, or the IU Health Center)

The point is that you should do something that is new to you and that you think you can *legitimately learn from*. You will get the most out of this assignment if it pushes you slightly outside of your comfort zone and exposes you to information or experiences that are new to you. Please don’t choose something that you have done before. The list above is just a list of examples – you can do something that is NOT on the list provided it is new to you and interesting to you.

Having chosen your “field trip” experience, write and submit a paper via Canvas that is 800-1200 words (approximately) that addresses the following questions:

1) What did you choose to do for your field trip experience and why?

2) Going into the experience, what did you think you might learn from it or gain from the experience?

3) Prior to the experience, what did you think of people who did that sort of thing (e.g., who went to sex talks, went to adult bookstores, went to or worked in strip clubs, etc)?

4) What was your reaction to your experience? What was comfortable or uncomfortable? Interesting or boring? Pleasant or unpleasant? What did you see/hear/feel/think about as part of the field trip experience?

5) Would you recommend that other people try this experience? Why or why not?

6) What did you learn from the experience?

7) Did your feelings or judgments change at all in thinking about the people who go to, pay for, work at, etc such places, or who are involved in such experiences?

1 point will be deducted for every day that the paper is submitted late. No papers accepted more than 3 days late. 

 

"Looking for a Similar Assignment? Get Expert Help at an Amazing Discount!"

Provide a response of at least 150 words to the following question in apa format with in-text citations and references:

How do you serve others in the profession of nursing? Explain how the way you serve others in the profession of nursing could become more closely aligned with the issue of serving as explained by the servant-leadership paradigm. How does the issue of serving differ from the secular view of power?

 

"Looking for a Similar Assignment? Get Expert Help at an Amazing Discount!"