Introduction
Workplace violence has been recognized as a violent crime that requires targeted responses
from employers, law enforcement, and the community. According to data from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, the most common source of nonfatal injuries and illnesses requiring
days away from work in the health care and social assistance industry was assault
on the health care worker. What is not well understood are the precursors and sequelae
of violence perpetrated against emergency nurses and other health care workers by
patients and visitors. The purpose of this study was to better understand the experience
of emergency nurses who have been physically or verbally assaulted while providing
patient care in US emergency departments.
Methods
The study was conducted using a qualitative descriptive exploratory design. The sample
consisted of 46 written narratives submitted by e-mail by emergency nurses describing
the experience of violence while providing care at work. Narrative analysis and constant
comparison were used to identify emerging themes in the narratives.
Results
“Environmental,” “personal,” and “cue recognition” were identified as the themes.
Overall, nurses believed that violence was endemic to their workplace and that both
limited recognition of cues indicating a high-risk person or environment and a culture
of acceptance of violence were barriers to mitigation.
Discussion
These findings are consistent with the extant literature but with an added contribution
of clearly identifying an underlying cultural acceptance of violence in the emergency
department, as well as a distinct lack of cue recognition, in this sample of emergency
nurses.
Key words
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Biography
Lisa A. Wolf, Member, Pioneer Valley Chapter, is Director, Institute for Emergency Nursing Research, Emergency Nurses Association, Des Plaines, IL.
Biography
Altair M. Delao is Senior Associate, Institute for Emergency Nursing Research, Emergency Nurses Association, Des Plaines, IL.
Biography
Cydne Perhats is Senior Associate, Institute for Emergency Nursing Research, Emergency Nurses Association, Des Plaines, IL.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 17, 2014
Accepted:
November 18,
2013
Received in revised form:
October 29,
2013
Received:
July 12,
2013
Footnotes
Earn Up to 9.0 CE Hours. See page 411.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Leadership’s Role in Eliminating Workplace Violence and Changing Perceptions in the Emergency DepartmentJournal of Emergency NursingVol. 41Issue 1
- PreviewThe article “Nothing Changes, Nobody Cares: Understanding the Experience of Emergency Nurses Physically or Verbally Assaulted While Providing Care” by Wolf et al1 added a new dimension of knowledge to the topic of workplace violence in the emergency setting. I applaud the authors for exploring the experiences and aftereffects of assault on our profession.1 Sadly, I recognized the study’s findings related to pervasive acceptance of workplace violence in my own organization.1 As an emergency nurse in Texas, I celebrated when our governor signed House Bill 705 into law in 2013, making assault against ED personnel a third-degree felony.
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