charge nurse , should understand , promote , and support safety policies with a zero-tolerance position on workplace violence .
Incident Reports Organizational policies should require that all violent acts be reported within the organization and to law enforcement . According to Huang and Glenn ( 2016 ), 88 % of nurses who witnessed or participated in an act of violence failed to report when electronic reporting was mandatory .
Front-line supervisors should be proactive and initiate incident reporting processes on behalf of subordinates to make sure it is accomplished . Studies have shown that nurses felt they would not receive leadership support if they reported violence in the workplace ( Baby et al ., 2014 ).
Many nurses decide not to report violence perpetrated by patients because “ perpetrators are patients who need treatment ” ( Cho , Cha , & Yoo , 2015 , p . 217 ). Feeling that the battery is a “ normal ” part of the job , a nurse may not press charges against assailants even if the perpetrator has the mental capacity to understand right from wrong . “ The emergency nurses have to give up their prejudiced attitude toward the victim , act as personnel with a duty to report , and recognize the seriousness of the abuse and violence ” ( Cho et al ., 2015 , p . 217 ).
Law Enforcement , Judges , and Legislators Some states enacted strict laws to address nurse violence . Many of these make it a felony to attack a nurse . Law enforcement must recognize the seriousness of
Winter 2016 Pennsylvania Nurse 6 nurse assaults ; district attorneys should pursue prosecution like they would in other assault cases . Members of the judiciary must also change their mindset . The legal system needs to recognize that assaults on nurses are a violation of their basic human rights ( Baby et al ., 2014 )
Sadly , judges have even been known to dismiss cases of assault against nurses and district attorneys have failed to accept cases solely based on the fact that the nurse was on duty when the assault took place ( Wolf , Delao , & Perhats , 2014 ). In one instance , “ A judge said to a nurse … ‘ Well , isn ’ t that the nature of the beast , being in the emergency room and all ?’ [ The nurse ] said , ‘ Gosh … I almost feel like a rape victim in court ’ …” ( Wolf et al ., 2014 , p . 307 ).
Organizational Support Organizations must support — not blame — the victim . If hospitals want to reduce incidents of violence against nurses , then their management should advocate for the nurse . Ignoring the incident should not occur . There is a lower injury rate in organizations where supervisors support employee safety ( Tucker , Ogunfowora , & Ehr , 2016 ).
Administrative Support According to Kaur and Kaur ( 2015 , p . 127 ), nurses receive little support or encouragement from supervisors to report incidents of violence since “ it has been considered a part of the job and as a result , certain administrations have not supported initiatives to prevent incidents or to mitigate the impact .” In other words , they do not see the system as broken and will not fix it .
Bad publicity and litigation concerns may also cause the hospital to avoid reports of violence . A nurse in one study recounted her supervisor ’ s reaction : “[ The chief nursing officer ] seemed to be more concerned that I was filing a police report than over the fact that I was assaulted ” ( Wolf et al ., 2014 , p . 307 ).
Retaliation and Blame Nurses fear retaliation and blame for causing the behavior or taking actions to stop it ( Duncan , 2014 ). Administrators must create an environment where accounts are used to promote accurate reporting . By issuing an incident report , nurses question whether their supervisors and colleagues will view them as weak or ineffective ( Trossman , 2016 ).
Social Issues of Power Nurse violence perpetuated by patients or bullying nurses is similar to domestic violence in that the act of aggression is akin to gaining power and control over a victim ( Baby et al ., 2014 ). Iris Young ’ s Five Faces of Oppression ( Dubrosky , 2013 ) takes the view of the nurse victim one step further by relating how the traditionally-structured medical hierarchy may be to blame for why nurses have diminished power when compared to physicians or administrators within the hospital power structure . Her framework “... lays out the ways in which nurses are oppressed in today ’ s healthcare system . Understanding the structure of nursing ’ s oppression allows nursing to begin to formulate a thoughtful response to oppression