PORTH’S INCIVILITY TEST

“Please provide a quick assessment of your behavior. Before you respond, start with the assumption that
you probably do some of these. Think about specific people you work with, especially those you don’t
particularly care for. Think about habits you have developed, especially those you wish you hadn’t. Try to
remember feedback that close friends may have given you” (Porth, 2016, p 50-53).

An online version of this quiz can be accessed at : http://www.christineporath.com/take-the-assessment/

Please indicate how often you… Never Almost Rarely Sometimes Often Almost Always
Never Always
Neglect saying please or thank you x
Use email when face-to-face is needed x
Take too much credit for collaborative work x
Email/text during meetings x
Keep people waiting needlessly x
Talk down to others x
Delay access to information or resources x
Fail to acknowledge others x
Use jargon even when it excludes others x
Pass the blame when you’ve contributed to a x
mistake
Spread rumors about others x
Belittle others non-verbally x
Retreat into your e-gadgets x
Shut someone out of a network or team x
Take advantage of others x
Pay little attention or show little interest in x
others’ opinions
Don't listen x
Set others up for failure x
Ignore invitations x
Show up late or leaving a meeting early with x
no explanation
Insult others x
Belittle others’ efforts x
Make demeaning or derogatory remarks to x
someone
Take others’ contributions for granted x
Grab easy tasks while leaving difficult ones x
for others
Forget to include others x
Speak unkindly of others x
Are not civil in emails x
Are disrespectful when disagreeing x
Interrupt others x
Avoid looking out for others x
Are judgmental of those that are different x
than you
Fail to appreciate others’ efforts x

1. How can incivility impact patient safety?

 PORTH’S INCIVILITY TEST
Incivility can severely decrease patient safety because staff can become distracted with conflict that is
occurring and having to resolve said conflict which takes away time from caring for the patient. It also
affects nurses demeanors and emotions, which could lead to mistakes and errors due to anxiety, anger, or
just dwelling on the incivility.
2. Describe an incident of bullying or incivility in the health care setting which you observed or
experienced and its impact, if it was resolved effectively, how was it resolved?
This summer during my internship, there was a nurse that recently had moved onto the unit after
working in the OR and being a float nurse. She was best friends with another nurse on the unit but
consistently tended to instigate or stir up drama. One shift she had a patient on TPN who was at
home as well so his wife knew how to monitor it at home who also worked at the hospital. I
answered this patient’s light and they had a question for the nurse which I reported to this nurse.
She said she would go in when she could. The patient’s wife then came to the nursing station and
the nurse was on the phone so another nurse listened to her concerns and told her she would pass
it on so the wife could go back to work. Later, when the patient still hadn’t been checked on by the
nurse, the patient’s wife called the nurse via the hospital communication system. This was
inappropriate on the wife’s side, however it was handled very unprofessionally by the nurse. She
asked who it was, when the wife asked if she had checked on the patient and TPN, and then said
that the patient was fine and hung up. She proceeded to explode at the nurses station about the
wife and her rudeness and then when the charge nurse offered some advice, the nurse snapped “I
don’t need you to tell me how to do my job” to which the charge nurse responded “then maybe
you shouldn’t be venting to everyone about it.” The two nurses eventually had a conversation but
the other nurse filled out an incident report for the patient’s wife and the situation which the
escalation could have been easily preventable. This situation severely distracted from the patient
care, made everyone in the nurses station uncomfortable and then led to time away from caring for
the patients that the nurses were talking about the situation and rehashing it, as well as it damaged
the nurse-patient-family relationship.
3. At your current facilities, or where you complete clinicals, what is being done to combat
incivility, what else could be done?
At this hospital, there was nothing formally being done to combat incivility but there were a few
examples from this summer that indicated training or meetings were necessary for this unit.
Informally I think activities and tactics that improve team morale and unity on the unit are
important. But I also think that incivility training, as well as intentional and prompt one-on-one
meetings with persons involved in incivility are necessary as well.
4. After taking Porth's Incivility test, what areas of your own behavior can you enhance to promote
civility?
I can work on promoting civility by more intentionally in my own behavior by more frequently
acknowledging other’s accomplishments and positive contributions, refraining from interrupting others
in conversation, taking ownership for my own actions, and overall being more conscientious of others
in my day to day interactions.