This research study examined the abusive behavior that physicians directed towards 362 female and male perioperative registered nurses in a Midwestern state, and found that there is a difference in the abuse nurses personally experience and witness based on their gender. The age and marital status of the nurses were also examined and although there was some variance, these variables were weak. Male nurses were somewhat more likely to experience physician abusive behaviors and female nurses were much more likely to identify the behaviors they personally experienced and witnessed as severe and negatively impacting their job and work environment.

To conduct this research, The Survey of Experiences of Female and Male RNs in Their Perioperative Practice was designed and developed. This instrument uses Likert-scale questions and two open-ended questions, based on a review of the literature and sexual harassment case law. The quantitative and qualitative results of this study indicate that the abusive behavior female nurses personally experience and witness from male physicians may constitute gender harassment, a violation of the law.