<p> <b>Background:</b> Incivility in health care settings was first identified in 1976. Ten years later, a nurse published an article asking colleagues, &ldquo;Do we eat our young?&rdquo;. In 2000, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) sent a challenge for a safer health care environment and in 2008 the Joint Commission emphasized that disruptive behavior continued to compromise patient safety. Incivility in nursing is quickly becoming a topic of interest, yet it had not been studied from a qualitative approach by exploring it as a social process. </p><p> <b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of this grounded theory study was to adopt an abductive process to acquire an in-depth understanding of the critical factors that trigger the existence and fuel the persistence incivility in nursing and to develop a substantive theory to address the concept of incivility. </p><p> <b>Philosophical Underpinnings:</b> The philosophical underpinnings that guided this study were symbolic interactionism and pragmatism. Method: A constructionist grounded theory approach by Charmaz guided the qualitative research method. Individual and focus group face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data from 29 Registered Nurses. Data analysis involved initial, focused, axial, and theoretical coding alongside memo-writing and reflexive journaling. </p><p> <b>Results:</b> The theory that developed from the data grounded in the voices of Registered Nurses was <i>self-positioning.</i> The four main categories that emerged from the gathered data supporting the theory are <i>neglecting, alienating, relinquishing,</i> and <i> finding oneself.</i> These categories represent the critical factors triggering the existence and fueling the persistence of incivility in nursing. </p><p> <b>Conclusion:</b> An in-depth understanding of the critical factors triggering the existence and fueling the persistence of incivility in nursing has been acquired by adopting an abductive process through a constructionist grounded theory approach by Charmaz. The <b>theory of self-positioning </b> serve as a guideline to nursing education, nursing practice, nursing research, and health/public policy in implementing specific plans of action to diminish the incidence of incivility, address the health and well-being of Registered Nurses, provide quality care, and ensure patient safety.</p>