Workplace Violence Against Nurses

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Workplace violence is problematic for nurses working at a healthcare institution. Violence can derive from physical and verbal abuse. An escalated physical violence can cause injuries and in severe cases, death. Several risk factors can increase workplace violence against nurses. Mandiracioglu (2006) found that demented patients had 11 percent chances of being violent than patients with other psychiatric diseases had 25 percent. Furthermore, patients with drugs and alcohol abuse had 35 percent chances of being violent against nurses (DuHart, 2001). Patients under influence of drugs had 50 percent chances of being verbally abusive and 96 percent chances of being physically violent (Crilly, Chaboyer, & Creedy, 2004). Crilly et al. (2004) stated …show more content…

Safety is defined as to “ minimizes risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance” (Cronenwett, Sherwood, Pohl, Barnsteiner, Moore, Sullivan, Ward, & Warre, 2009). Nurses implementing Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSA) about a patient and family can prevent workplace violence. An example would be a patient under alcohol influence. Knowledgeable nurse would recognize the erratic behavior of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol withdrawal changes patient’s state of mind and can cause verbal or physical abuse. Therefore, a knowledgeable nurse will implement skills in promoting patient and individual safety. Strategies such as sedation, restraints, sitter, or security at the bedside can be implemented before the escalation of work place violence occurs. Furthermore, a nurses attitude towards this patient matters in order to de-escalate anger. An angry or confused patient must be a handle wisely with proper nursing intervention. Nurses must listen, acknowledge, and control tone and body language during communication. A calm and collective nurse can promote safety and prevent workplace