This qualitative study is undertaken in order to provide a deep understanding of the impact of certain kinds of encounters on those who experience them. In this study, eleven women, registered nurses, tell their stories about the experience of conversational violence that they had in encounters with physicians. The data collected from these individual interviews was reviewed utilizing Moustakas method of phenomenological analysis.

The findings of the study are based on the lived experience of human beings in certain kinds of interpersonal interactions that led to feeling states and shared and similar emotional reactions. The individual findings from the eleven participants were distilled into a set of common findings, or themes. These themes may be thought of as a universal response to "power over" and are supported as such by the writings of Martin Buber, Paulo Friere and William Isaacs. Seven themes emerged from the synthesis of the described interactions. These are linked to hopelessness, fear, intimidation, loss of self respect, humiliation and shame, issues related to patient care and the "doctor-nurse" game.

These findings and related conclusions are connected to the literature of power, oppression and feminism. Specific nursing literature is reviewed and provides an historical backdrop for the experiences of contemporary nurses. The outcomes of such encounters in the healthcare environment are addressed and include a deeper understanding of the impact on the emotional state of the nurse, as well as implications for patient safety, nursing practice, physician accountability, leadership, education, and workplace advocacy.