Incivility, retention and new graduate nurses: an integrated review of the literature AMANDA M. D’AMBRA BSN, RN 1 and DIANE R. ANDREWS PhD, RN 2 1 Honors Graduate and 2 Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA Correspondence Diane R. Andrews College of Nursing University of Central Florida 12201 Research Parkway # 464 Orlando FL USA E-mail: Diane.Andrews@ucf.edu D’AMBRA A.M. & ANDREWS D.R. (2013) Journal of Nursing Management Incivility, retention and new graduate nurses: an integrated review of the literature Aim To evaluate the influence of incivility on the new graduate nurse transition experience. Background Incivility in the work environment is a major source of dissatisfaction and new graduate nurses are especially vulnerable. Incivility contributes to the high levels of turnover associated within the first 2 years of new graduate nurse employment. Evaluation An integrated review of the literature was conducted using MEDLINE-EBSCOhost, PsycInfo and CINAHL databases. Relevant articles were reviewed for appropriateness related to inclusion/exclusion criteria and for quality using established criteria. Sixteen studies were included in the final analysis. Key issues Themes that emerged included workplace incivility, nurse residency programmes, mentoring through preceptors and empowerment/work environment. Findings indicated that incivility in the workplace was a significant predictor of low job satisfaction in new graduate nurses transitioning into practice. Conclusions While graduate nurse transition programmes are associated with improved satisfaction and retention, they appear to address incivility by acculturating new graduate nurses to the experience of incivility. There is little evidence that the culture of incivility has been addressed. Implications for nursing management Nurse managers have the responsibility to be aware of the prevalence of incivility, assess for its occurrence, and implement strategies which eliminate workplace incivility and tolerance for uncivil behaviours. Keywords: empowerment, incivility, new graduate nurse, programmes, transition, work environment Accepted for publication: 19 December 2012 Introduction High rates of nurse turnover remain problematic for employers and impact the quality of patient care (Bae et al. 2010). In particular, the 30–60% turnover of new graduate nurses impacts the ability of organisa- tions to deliver quality, cost-effective patient care (Kovner et al. 2007, Candela & Bowles 2008). While there are multiple predictors of turnover and expressed intent to leave, incivility has been demon- strated to exert a significant influence (Laschinger et al. 2009). Incivility in the workplace decreases job satisfaction and organisational commitment while increasing stated intent to leave. Incivility is described DOI: 10.1111/jonm.12060 ª 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1 Journal of Nursing Management, 2013