Report says nurses face risk of violence on the job

According to a report in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, nearly 75 percent of nurses face danger at work but only one out of very six incidents are reported. Furthermore, nurses face danger on average two to 46 times a year in the workplace.

The February issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing posted a report on the dangers of nursing. Most nurses have faced verbal abuse and more than half have been physically assaulted. "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," says lead author Dr Rose Chapman, from Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia. 113 nurses were part of the study. Most of the subjects were female in their early 40s and had been in the nursing field on average just short of 18 years. Of those 113, almost two-thirds were working part-time. Nurses who worked in the emergency room faced the most violent acts with an average of 46 incidents the previous year. Mental health nurses were in the second most violent position with 40 incidents. The least dangerous field was that of midwife followed by surgical staff and pediatrics. Every week 40 percent of the nurses in emergency departments come face to face with a weapon. Despite being the most dangerous place to work, nurses in emergency rooms are the least likely to make a formal report. While many don't report every incident 70 percent said that if they or a co-worker was injured they would report or if the chance that they would be making a claim for compensation. Half of those who had reported an incident said that senior managers had failed to take action about the report. Roger Watson from the University of Sheffield, UK, journal editor, said in a press release:

"It is vital that workplace violence is tackled to ensure that healthcare systems are able to retain good quality, trained staff. Any studies that provide an insight into how staff cope with violence, and what influences their decision to report incidents, are to be welcomed."