Here are five things to know about violence against nurses, according to an article in the Atlantic.
1. One in four nurses reports having been physically attacked while they were at work in the past year, which could include scratches, kicks and grabs from patients.
2. There has been a 110 percent increase in workplace violence between 2005 and 2014 in the healthcare industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3. Only around 29 percent of nurses who reported physical abuse said they reported the incident to their supervisors; 18 percent said they feared retaliation due to reporting a violent incident and 20 percent said they thought violence was a "normal" aspect of their profession.
4. Among 700 registered nurses in a Virginia private hospital system, 76 percent reported physical or verbal abuse from patients or visitors during a 12-month period; another 30 percent reported physical assault.
5. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the incidence of workplace violence in healthcare settings accounted for around as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined.
https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hospitals/workplace_violence.html
