Workplace Bullying in Nursing Clinical Education: A Social Learning Perspective

Background: Workplace bullying in clinical learning environments remains a pervasive issue in nursing education, with significant implications for student well-being and professional development. Despite high global prevalence, theoretical explanations for how such behaviours are sustained within clinical settings remain limited. This study examined the prevalence, forms, and sources of workplace bullying among nursing students during clinical education and interpreted the findings using Social Learning Theory. 
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among second- and third-year nursing students at a government nursing education institution in Sri Lanka. Census sampling was used to recruit all eligible students (second year: n = 142; third year: n = 98; total eligible: = 240). Data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire that assessed non-physical incivility, physical aggression, sexual harassment, and reporting behaviours. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 25. Descriptive statistics and the Mann–Whitney U test were used for data analysis.  
Results: Of the 220 respondents (response rate = 91.6%), 75.9% reported experiencing at least one form of negative workplace behavior. Non-physical incivility was most prevalent (75.5%), followed by physical aggression (15.9%) and sexual harassment (9.1%). Staff nurses (53.6%) and nurse managers (38.6%) were the primary perpetrators. Despite the high prevalence, only 12.7% of students formally reported incidents. Third-year students reported significantly higher total negative behaviour scores (mean rank = 132.74 vs. 97.54, p < 0.001) than second-year students.  
Conclusions: Workplace harassment is highly prevalent among Sri Lankan nursing students but is significantly underreported. Primarily, it manifests as non-physical incivility carried out by staff nurses and nurse managers. Institutional strategies focusing on positive role modeling, strengthened reporting systems, and enforcement of anti-bullying policies are essential to promote psychologically safe and educationally supportive clinical learning environments.