Abstract
AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of academic context characteristics, especially bullying, on innovation in nursing education.
BACKGROUND: Rapid and extensive changes in health care have prompted recognition of a need for concomitant changes in nurse educators' teaching practices. Nurse educator successes in meeting the demands of change, however, are challenged by constraints characterizing their academic practice settings.
METHOD: Narrative analysis structured the study.
RESULTS: The findings suggested that nurse educators' shared stories directed pervasive and lasting beliefs that discouraged innovation, fostered uniformity of teaching practice, and urged acts of bullying.
CONCLUSION: Reflective teaching practice, open communication, and teaching innovation may be constrained by workplace storytelling and the bullying behaviors it engenders. Recognizing the impact of stories told in nursing education settings might contribute to strengthening the uptake of pedagogical research, supporting leadership for and innovation in nurse educators' evidence-based teaching practices.