Violence against hospital workers continues to climb
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – At a congressional briefing held by the Emergency Nurses Association on Friday, doctors, nurses and additional healthcare leaders spoke about their experiences.
Dr. Aisha Terry, American College of Emergency Physicians President, said that violence against workers is “wreaking havoc in our emergency departments every single day.”
Quoting a survey carried out by ACEP, Dr. Terry said, “in the year 2023, about 91% of all emergency positions found that they experienced some type of violence in the emergency department.”
Emergency Nurses Association President Chris Dellinger said, “We no longer are just a place of healing because now we have to worry about our own safety and our other patient safety as well.”
According to a study conducted in 2018, 34.4% of the health workers reported verbal or physical workplace violence, 31.9% both verbal and 13.5% physical assault. Among those who experienced physical or verbal workplace violence, 60.2% showed at least one post-traumatic symptom, 9.4% lost their jobs, and 30.1% considered quitting their careers.
American Nurses Association Director of Nursing Programs Katie Boston-Leary believes the numbers are also “grossly underreported” by respondents due to possible “apathy” from nurses, given the difficulty of addressing systemic issues.
Some issues that the panel referenced were patient privacy, legal hurdles and lack of support.
Dr. Terry also mentioned the lack of legislation regarding processes to deal with patients who become violent in emergency departments.