Violence in the Healthcare Workplace Today
Today, professional nurses are on the frontlines of healthcare and, unfortunately, the war metaphor is all-too accurate in many cases. Indeed, hospitals can be dangerous places for all healthcare employees but nurses in particular are vulnerable to violence because of the frequent one-on-one contact they have with patients who may be suffering from a wide range of medical conditions that might trigger a violent episode. To determine how this problem is adversely affecting nursing practices, this paper provides a review of the literature concerning workplace violence and nurses, how this problem could be solved if resources and cooperation were unlimited and a discussion concerning how other professions have addressed this problem. Finally, a description of what resources would be needed to creatively address this problem is followed by a summary of the research and important findings about nurses and workplace violence in the conclusion.
Review and Analysis
Explore how and why this problem is affecting nursing practice
Violence against nurses is a serious problem in the United States, and healthcare workers have accounted for fully 66% of all nonfatal workplace violence injuries over the past decade. According to the editors of American Nurse (2013), "These workers face the risk of both physical violence and non-physical violence, such as verbal abuse, on the job" (p. 4).
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has defined workplace violence as being "any physical assault, threatening behavior or verbal abuse occurring in the workplace" (Workplace violence, 2014, para. 1). In this context, workplace violence also includes covert or overt actions that span the continuum from verbal abuse to murder (Workplace violence, 2014).
Moreover, there are no federal standards in place for protecting nurses in the workplace, although some states have recognized the problem and taken steps to enact laws to protect nurses and other healthcare workers (Workplace violence, 2014). These states have already or are in the process of developing legislation that will require the creation of comprehensive prevention...
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