I heard this TED talk today on NPR. I think it contains profound wisdom and challenges us as researchers, nurses, citizens, friends, family members, etc. to develop moral courage.
What if more nurses spoke out about problems in their organizations? Is research one way to speak up and press for change?
Are there pressures not to disagree among researchers?
These are important questions to ask ourselves, I think. What do you think?
Nursing Research 
I am currently involved in an interdisciplinary research project, which includes nursing representation. I think it takes courage from one team member to express an idea that contradicts that of another team member, particularly when that member is a co-investigator/junior faculty member contradicting the Principal Investigator (PI). It takes intellectual humility on the part of the PI to be willing and able to say, “You know, I did not realize that. I was not able to see it that way. You are absolutely correct, and I was wrong!” In this scenario, the PI was me!
I believe there are incredible pressures to conform, and not “rock the boat,” particularly in the profession of nursing. Since we are largely comprised of women, we are socialized to cooperate, ad nauseum. We must be able to voice our thoughts and opinions in an environment that encourages us to do so. Anything less than this is a disservice to the nursing profession and those we serve.
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Valerie, you are so right! Often folks on a team are reluctant to speak up and challenge another team member’s opinions or actions Teams can include direct care staff, researchers, classmates, or faculty. How can we get beyond these fears? What are the “real” costs of toxic niceness?
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