“Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another”(“What is domestic,” n.d.). There are many victims of intimate partner violence but they do not know how to safely leave their partner. Therefore, victims are staying in relationships longer because they do not have an adequate amount of information or people to rely on. Because of the prevalence of domestic violence, nurses need to be better prepared to know the basis of domestic violence, the signs, and the necessary interventions to efficiently meet the needs of domestic violence victims.
Intimate partner violence is not something that happens suddenly. It is a
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Therefore, we want to get the patient alone so that we can be more private and put them in an environment where they can openly communicate. In order to avoid anger from the partner, you can deflect their suspicions by reiterating that what you are doing is standard. If this does not work, then try to find a way to get them to leave the room even if it is only for a brief period (Gibbons, 2011). When you have the patient alone, try not to dictate what they should do. Instead, provide information about other places that they can get help. Nurses should also be mindful to give information on paper that can fit in a wallet so that the information cannot be detected by the abuser. Another key component when planning care is documentation and record keeping. There should be a record of the signs that you saw and what you taught and/or gave the patient to show that there were actions taken place to attempt to improve the victim’s safety. While the nurse can recognize the signs and implement the appropriate interventions, it is still up to the victim to leave the situation that they are