Nurses say violence is part of the job

Three-quarters of nurses providing private and public care experienced workplace violence, according to a recent study. However, only one in six incidents was formally reported.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, found that the majority (92 percent) said they had been verbally abused, 69 percent had been physically threatened, and 52 percent had been physically assaulted. A total of 2,354 incidents were reported to the research team from Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia, with nurses facing an average of two to 46 incidents a year.

"Many of the nurses who took part in the research said that they did not report incidents because they felt that workplace violence was just part of the job," said Rose Chapman, lead author of the study.

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Among the highlights of the report, researchers found that a quarter of the nurses experienced weekly events, 27 percent monthly events, and 25 percent one event every six months. Incidents were highest in the emergency department, where staff reported an average of 46 incidents over the previous year, and in mental health where the average was 40 incidents.

March 15, 2010

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