Healthcare Worker Abuse & Violence | An Alarming Trend

There is a trend I'm seeing that is escalating lately, and that is the verbal and physical altercations of healthcare workers. In the past, this type of news was a one-off, something you rarely saw, and it seldom occurred. Professional nursing safety wasn't mentioned in the nursing curriculum when I was in nursing school. No one brought the subject up. It wasn't until I started working that I quickly learned how to keep myself safe professionally and that was through education from my preceptor. It wasn't anything extensive, merely a conversation about where to stand and when. But nowadays, altercations are a common occurrence and frightening, as I'm not sure if nursing students or nurses are receiving education regarding professional safety. We come to work to help others and put our lives on pause, only to be accosted while simply doing what we are supposed to do.

When I pictured the nursing profession, I didn't picture verbal altercations and violence as significant components. I knew it was a possibility, but it was not something I pictured myself dealing with regularly. Lately though, some individuals seem to have an overall undercurrent of rage. This rage is misplaced and now has been directed at healthcare workers. I understand the emotional dynamics that healthcare can provoke. But the people present, the healthcare workers, are the ones feeling this anger and rage, and that's not fair. People are screaming and yelling at healthcare workers. People are injuring healthcare workers. It's as if a new set of rules have been enacted, and we healthcare workers are now the enemy. People are lashing out at the only people present who are showing up to care for them. We aren't the executives of the hospital. Sadly, we don't have control over the infrastructure or how it primarily functions. Long waiting times are a systems issue, not an individual healthcare worker issue. We as healthcare workers are merely a piece of the machinery, trying to do our part to help our community. And for showing up and attempting to help, we get all the smoke. It's sad and distressing. We want patients to be seen as soon as possible. We want patients to get the prompt care they deserve, but not everyone in healthcare is a stakeholder in decision-making processes.

The political climate, the economy, personal dilemmas, and resource scarcities all conjure up emotions that are being directed at healthcare workers simply because we are the physical presence at a moment in time. I get it. The system isn't perfect, but abuse and violence are not something I am willing to accept as the new normal. I'm also unwilling to assume that current safety measures are adequate and appropriate. Because if they were, we wouldn't see this occurring again and again. There needs to be a conversation about safety regarding environments and mechanisms in place to support healthcare workers. There also needs to be a conversation about the nursing profession prioritizing safety and providing education where needed. We can't keep going at this rate. We can't keep seeing our colleagues getting abused. It's not on the shoulders of the employee alone to ensure the work environment is safe. Organizations must understand this critical factor and focus on keeping their staff safe at all times.