The professional consequences of whistleblowing by nurses

When nurses encounter misconduct in the workplace, their ethical codes of c onduct bind them to the role of patient advocacy and compel them to safegua rd the patient from harm. However, reporting misconduct can be personally a nd professionally risky. The aim of the research was to examine the profess ional consequences of whistleblowing and nonwhistle-blowing in nursing. A d escriptive survey design was used to examine the professional effect of rep orting misconduct (whistleblowing) and not reporting misconduct (nonwhistle blowing). Ninety-five respondents were included in the study; 70 were self- identified as whistleblowers and 25 were self-identified as nonwhistleblowe rs. Results indicated that there were severe professional reprisals if the nurse reported misconduct, but there were few professional consequences if the nurse remained silent. Official reprisals included demotion (4%), repri mand (11%), and referral to a psychiatrist (9%). Whistleblowers also report ed that they received professional reprisals in the form of threats (16%), rejection by peers (14%), pressure to resign (7%), and being treated as a t raitor (14%). Ten per cent reported that they felt their career had been ha lted. These findings suggest that when nurses identify and report misconduc t in the workplace, they may experience serious professional consequences.