Violence towards ER nurses not uncommon

(HealthDay)—It is not uncommon for nurses to experience violence while providing care in the emergency room, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Emergency Nursing.

Lisa A. Wolf, Ph.D., R.N., from the Emergency Nurses Association in Des Plaines, Ill., and colleagues assessed 46 written narratives submitted by e-mail by emergency nurses describing their experience of violence while providing care at work. Emerging themes in the narratives were identified using narrative analysis and constant comparison.

The researchers identified three broad themes: "environmental," "personal," and "cue recognition." Nurses reported believing that violence was endemic to their workplace. Both limited recognition of cues indicating a high-risk person or environment and a culture of acceptance of violence were cited as barriers to mitigation.

"Violence while providing care in emergency departments is not uncommon; there appears to be an underlying normalization of this phenomenon in both the health care and law enforcement systems which prevents effective interventions," the authors write. "Further research on interventions which identify and mitigate high risk situations [is] needed."