Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
A descriptive study of the perceptions of workplace violence and safety strategies of nurses working in level I trauma centers.
Workplace violence is a significant occupational hazard in health care. As the largest group of employees in health care, nurses are particularly vulnerable to workplace violence, with those who work in emergency departments being especially at risk. The purpose of this research was to study the phenomenon of workplace violence by interviewing emergency nurses who had experienced violence while on duty. ⋯ The emergency nurses who were interviewed discussed their experiences with patients, family members, and others who exhibited violent and aggressive behavior. They identified safety measures that they believed were inadequate and discussed their feelings of vulnerability because of violent incidents at work. Further research with larger samples could confirm specific safety problems in emergency departments that must be addressed to provide a safer workplace for emergency nurses, their colleagues, and their patients.