Violence In The Workplace

The social factors of workplace violence show up in various ways, for instance studies show that persistent and repeated exposure to hostility, rage, violence, disrespect, and threats can erode the emotional well being, motivation and job performance of emergency room nurses (Hahn et al., 2012). There is a consistent theme of vulnerability felt by an emergency room nurse and perceived lack of safety (Wolf, Altair, & Cydne, 2014, p. 305). Health care workers who have been assaulted at work report chronic pain, muscle tension, loss of sleep, nightmares, flashbacks, short-term and long-tem emotional reactions, including anger, sadness, frustration, anxiety, irritability, apathy, self blame and helplessness (Gates, Gillespie, & Succop, 2011, p.
The code helps guide nurses in their decision making process. The ethical principle of respect for others states, “We owe each other respect because we are human. However, the respect that’s required of us in human interaction does not extend to tolerating inappropriate or harmful actions (Jacobson, 2014).” Nurses feel an ethical duty to “do no harm” to patients and some will even put their own safety and health at risk to help a patient (OSHA.gov, 2015, p. 1). Nurses are confronted with a variety of ethical issues concerning workplace violence almost on a daily basis. The culture of accepting workplace violence, as part of the job needs to change (Wolf et al., 2014). Being prepared is the best defense against workplace violence. Nurses need to initiate proactive policies. Nurses should request educational programs or have expert speakers lecture on ethical ways to reduce workplace violence on how to handle violent situations. Promoting a safe work environment and mentoring nurses how to handle violent situations helps with nursing retention, patient safety and satisfaction (Lim,
The experience and knowledge of nurses make them increasingly more valuable to change the policies that govern health care. While advocating for policy change nurses should be aware of obstacles and factors influencing decision makers and use their knowledge to proactively get legislation passed. Workplace violence is a very complex issue and requires nurses to be knowledgeable and form organized groups. Emergency room nurses should be supportive of one another, vote in elections, and join professional nursing organizations to have a source of power to change existing policies in ways that benefit nursing (Rayan, Qurneh, Elayyan, & Baker, 2016). Understanding how the legislative process works is imperative to getting bills passed. Nursing organizations have become much more involved politically. Nurses need to push for legislative and administrative policy development for workplace violence. Lack of governmental legislative policies will increase the likelihood of workplace violence (Rayan et al., 2016). Nursing organizations such as the American Nurse Association or the Emergency Nurses Association need to understand, where, who, and how to lobby to achieve objectives in policy development. Nurses can contact their elected officials and make their concerns known or utilize the power of the American Nurses Association to lobby for their professional concerns. There is strength in