Hi! I'm Palma

I’m a professional nurse  and earned a Doctoral degree in Nursing Practice (DNP) at the University of Iowa. My passion for eradicating bullying behaviors increased after a two-year plus experience with workplace bullying (WPB). As a manager, I witnessed staff bullying their peers as well as leaders bullying managers. Victims would come to me and report the behavior and share how it has affected their health and work performance. I counseled countless staff and peers who were victimized by someone who had bullied them, coached those who were deeply hurt and provided them guidance and resources. I was happy to be their voice and advocate to hold offenders accountable.

In an work environment of health and healing, I should have felt safe where I could focus on patient outcomes, quality care, organizational initiatives and needs of my staff. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, afraid of what the day would bring. I was emotionally and psychologically abused. 

I sought support from family, trusted friends and professional counseling. After surviving one of the most difficult times of my life, I decided to focus my studies, engergy and work on bullying. Although my current research was focused on workplace bullying, my interests and commitment to put an end to it goes far beyond the workplace.

With the increase of cyberbullying and pressure in schools, my goal is to provide a safe place for people to talk about the effects of bullying and seek support and advice from others, right here.

My focus and mission with Switch off Bullying is to bring awareness to the harmful behavior of bullying, create a safer and healthier work environment through education, legislation,updates and research.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to educate nursing students and nurse residents on workplace bullying. My goals include reshaping WPB policies, continue educating employees and work with our local schools to provide education

Together we can start making a difference in decreasing bullying and someday put an end to it. We just have to start. Please share this site with those that would benefit from it.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me.