Linda Leekley RN & Stacey Turnure RN, EmbracingCivility.com

When two North Carolina nurses met, they knew they had several things in common. They were both passionate about nursing, had a knack for writing and were driven to inspire others to embrace lifelong learning.

They later discovered they had something else in common—something they were not talking about. They had both suffered the ill effects of incivility in the healthcare workplace.  Why weren’t they talking about it? Because no one talks about it.  It’s healthcare’s dirty little secret. No one wants to admit that a shameful culture of incivility infects most healthcare workplaces.

Both Linda and Stacey found out the hard way that working in an atmosphere that breeds incivility leaves healthcare workers feeling exhausted, hopeless and dissatisfied . . . but that’s not the worst part.  Incivility in the healthcare workplace also leads to medical errors, poor patient satisfaction, higher employee turnover and higher healthcare costs for consumers.

Linda H. Leekley BS, RN began her nursing career in the oncology department at Duke University Medical Center. After experience in acute care, home health, clinical education and healthcare writing, she founded the healthcare publishing company, In the Know, in 1998. Linda believes that civility and lifelong learning are the keys to both personal and professional success. She lives in Durham, North Carolina--the “City of Medicine.”

Stacey L. Turnure, RN came into nursing as a second career. It was her mother’s diagnosis and eventual death from cancer that inspired the career change. She has worked in oncology, neurology, medical-surgical and pediatrics.  Now, a nurse educator, healthcare education writer and double-time mom to twin boys, Stacey looks forward to inspiring others to follow their dreams, use their voices and make positive changes where change is so desperately needed.