Purpose/Objectives:
The purpose of this article was to demonstrate the severity of physical violence toward nurses and explore preventative measures.
Significance:
Further knowledge of violence helps generate a better theoretical model to drive more effective intervention and prevention approaches (Lui, 2004). The significance of violence for the nursing profession cannot be overemphasized. It links person, health/illness, environment, and health outcomes (Lui, 2004). Violence against nurses lessens the profession's ability to recruit and retain qualified nurses. If quality care is to be provided to patients, nurses must be ensured a safe work environment and respectful treatment (International Council of Nurses, 2006).
Background/Rationale:
The role of the nurse in preventing physical violence should include elements of risk identification and education.
Description:
A systematic review of literature from 1998 to 2009 was conducted using CINAHL, PsychINFO, MEDLINE, and PubMed.
Outcome:
According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (2002), each day more than 9000 nurses and health care workers are injured or verbally or physically attacked on the job. Estimates suggest that health care workers are approximately 26 times more likely to be seriously injured than members of the general public (Rew and Ferns, 2005). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported in 1998 that more assaults occur in health care and social services industries than in any other. Research studies throughout the world have demonstrated the magnitude of this problem.
Interpretation/Conclusion:
To prevent violence in hospitals, employers should develop a safety and health program that includes management commitment, employee participation, hazard identification, safety and health training, and hazard prevention, control, and reporting. Hospitals need to develop emergency signaling, alarms, and monitoring systems along with installing security devices such as metal detectors to prevent armed persons from entering the hospital. Hospitals need to install cameras and good lighting in hallways and provide security escorts to the parking lots at night.
Implications for Clinical Nurse Specialist Basic and Continuing Education:
The nurse is central to the progression of violence, either by his/her actions or inactions. In a climate where nursing practice is increasingly expected to be evidence based, the identified disparities in research relevant to violence offer little in the way of definitive guidelines, particularly from a prevention perspective.
Section Description
The journal is proud to share the student abstracts accepted for poster presentation at the 2010 National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Conference. These abstracts are submitted under a separate, later deadline and therefore did not appear in the journal with the general abstracts. Congratulations to these CNS students and their faculty mentors.