Violence In Nursing

Nurses are among an occupational position in which they are exposed to workplace violence. Nurses comprise a majority of the healthcare provided to patients. Due to their increased presence alongside patient care, they are exposed to a great deal of opportunities to be the target of workplace violence. They often spend more time with patients compared to other healthcare providers. This paper will discuss the widespread prevalence of workplace violence in nursing and the many ways it is present in the healthcare environment. Workplace violence in nursing can be seen in the form of physical, emotional, verbal abuse, bullying, sexual harassment, and threats (Chang, H.E. & Cho, S. (2016). It is important to discuss workplace violence in nursing
because it is putting the lives of nurses in harm’s way and in turn making them a patient as well. Nurses potentially face violence from not only patients but fellow healthcare workers as well (Chang, H.E. & Cho, S. 2016). There are two types of violence in nursing with regard to fellow healthcare workers, horizontal and vertical (Ebrahimi, H., Hassankhani, H., Negarandeh, R., Jeffrey, C., & Azizi, A., 2016). Horizontal violence occurs between nurses. These situations can be of verbal, emotional, sexual abuse, and bullying (Chang, H.E. & Cho, S. 2016). Often new nurses or new hires are those that fall victim to such violence. They may be treated differently or get publicly criticized by another nurse deliberately. Some nurses may experience yelling, rude comments, ignoring, demeaning tones from other nurses or even physicians (Chang, H.E. & Cho, S. 2016). When the source of violence is from a physician or provider it is considered vertical violence in the workplace. An individual of higher authority or ranking may be condescending towards those under or disregard their importance (Ebrahimi, H., Hassankhani, H., Negarandeh, R., Jeffrey, C., & Azizi, A., 2016). This is common and as Chang (2016) says, healthcare workers come from a variety of backgrounds and discipline, making interpersonal conflict more prone to occurring.
According to Cashmore, Indig, Hampton, Hegney, & Jalaludin (as cited in Shea, Sheehan, Donohue, Cooper, & De Cieri, 2016), occupational violence and aggression (OVA) has an increasing occurrence in which healthcare workers are highly susceptible to being victims. When they are faced against violence from patients, the abuse can be in the form of verbal or physical origin. Verbal abuse can be anywhere from yelling at nurses to threatening remarks. Many nurses are the main subject of patient and family fear and stress. Patient and families take out their fear, stress, and anxiety onto the nurse. Some instances can even go as far as physical abuse and kick, hit, scratch and grab nurses (Shea, Sheehan, Donohue, Cooper, & De Cieri, 2016).
The effects of workplace violence in nursing regardless of source of violence can have negative long lasting effects on the victim.
Nurses that are victim to violence in the workplace can experience loss of sleep, nightmares, and job dissatisfaction (Bordignon, M., Monteiro, M.I., 2016). Though these effects may not seem grand, if they are not resolved and continue, they can develop into mental health conditions. Nurses are faced with both mental and physical health negative outcomes following a violent occurrence in the workplace. Nurses experience “pain, sprain, hearing damage, palpitations, sleep disorders, stress, depression, fear of patients and/or visitors, and the feeling that the profession is not respected” (Bordignon, M., Monteiro, M.I., 2016). These attributes can lead to severe depression, anxiety, and helplessness in their own work environment. Not only is the nurse affected but so is the organization as a whole. When violence occurs among the nursing staff it can lead to an increase in intent to leave, job dissatisfaction, increased turnover rates, low staff morale, and increased absenteeism. It can also cause monetary repercussions to the organization in the form of property damage, workers comp, and litigations (Bordignon, M., Monteiro, M.I.,
(2016).
Some consider “violence” to be a part of the job for a nurse, and that mentality is what contributes to its prevalence in the nursing realm. In order to slow the progression of the widespread occurrence, the healthcare system has to be more involved with identifying the issue (Williams Cantey, 2013). Not enough awareness is brought to this issue in nursing because of its normalcy. This is not okay and more awareness and policies should be in place to prevent its increase. An increase in violence prevention programs should be brought about in the workplace along with teaching de-escalation techniques. Zero-tolerance policy towards workplace violence should be more commonly enforced. The offenders of violence should also face more serious consequences. Interventions and precautions on workplace violence are needed. The leaders in the healthcare realm should constantly be observing for violent acts and initiating counseling (Williams Cantey, S., 2013). The healthcare environment should be one that fosters encouragement and comfort all around. Entering a place of employment that continually reminds employees of their asset would help others to see their value as well.
In summary, it is important to discuss workplace violence in order to raise awareness and bring about prevention.
Nurses become susceptible to workplace violence by the actions of patients, families, and other healthcare workers in both a horizontal and vertical form. The list is extensive when it comes to perpetrators of workplace violence in nursing. Nurses experience various avenues of violence as well, ranging from verbal to physical abuse. Both verbal and physical attacks have detrimental effects on the mental and physical health of the victimized nurse. When nurses walk into their place of work they typically walk in with a mind set to heal, help, and comfort. They sign up for this line of career to aid others and to be of assistance in the healthcare field. However, sometimes that mindset can be set astray when their workplace takes a fierce turn and they become the patient. The effect that violence has on healthcare is detrimental to not only patient care but to the stability and care of the
nurse.