{"id":2877,"date":"2021-06-01T11:00:43","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/?p=2877"},"modified":"2021-06-01T12:18:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T16:18:15","slug":"workplace-violence-the-untold-threat-toward-nurses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/workplace-violence-the-untold-threat-toward-nurses","title":{"rendered":"Violence Towards Nurses: The Untold Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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No matter what job you have, there are always going to be certain things that make you dread going to work from time to time. Maybe you have a stressful presentation coming up, or you just got denied the promotion you had been dreaming about. Usually these things are just minor setbacks, and are not enough to sway you from loving the job itself.<\/p>\n

As a nurse, you go to work expecting to get covered in blood or bile at some point in the shift. It\u2019s the glory of the job \u2013 NOT! While these things aren\u2019t fun<\/a>, they are an anticipated part of the job and it\u2019s what you signed up for. However, leaving work covered in bruises was never part of the job description. Unfortunately, workplace violence is common in the medical field, and nurses often take the brunt of it.<\/p>\n

\"Workplace_Violence_Website\"<\/h2>\n

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What is workplace violence?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, workplace violence is any physical assault, threatening behavior or verbal abuse occurring in the workplace. It\u2019s hard for other people to imagine this happening in their workplace or office, but nurses know it all too well. Almost all medical facilities have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to physical or verbal abuse. This doesn\u2019t change the fact that patients are completely unpredictable and even a policy often isn\u2019t enough to protect nurses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical Violence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Physical abuse is extremely prevalent in the workplace. As a nurse, you have the most interaction with patients, but this is often a double-edged sword. The upside is that you have the privilege of providing essential care to patients. But the downside is that you\u2019re the first person to make contact with patients. This puts you on the frontline, leaving you vulnerable if the patient turns violent. It\u2019s not always patients either, sometimes it\u2019s their family members or friends<\/a> that initiate violence towards nurses. This adds another element of concern because nurses must be constantly alert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, nurses are 5 times more likely to be violently attacked than anyone else (in any industry!). A shocking 70% of nurses have been physically or verbally abused. This number is staggering enough on its own. But the hard truth is that a lot of workplace violence goes unreported \u2013 leading us to believe that that number is even higher.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"violence<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The threat is real<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To stress the severity of the situation and emphasize just how real the threat of workplace violence is, Medscape<\/strong><\/a> and WebMD recall some of the most serious cases that have occurred in the past few years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n