Abuse of nurses rampant

By Christina Spencer, WinnipegSun.com

Rachel Bard knows what it’s like to get punched in the face.

A mental health nurse for 27 years, she was the caregiver for a patient who suddenly became agitated and lashed out.

Yet her experience was hardly unique. One-third of front-line nurses in hospitals or long-term care facilities reported being physically assaulted by a patient in a 12-month period. And 47% said they suffered some type of emotional abuse.

It’s a situation that Bard, now chief executive officer of the Canadian Nurses Association, says should be addressed by improving work conditions and tackling nursing shortages.

“If there are abuses happening, we have to be able to report it, to work with the employers to address the pressure points.

ON-THE-JOB DANGERS
“We know that nurses are leaving the profession (because of) on-the-job abuse or just the level of tension, the repeated long hours … I think that it is an area we need to look at.”

Statistics Canada released findings yesterday from a comprehensive 2005-06 survey of 18,676 nurses. It concluded that weaknesses in four areas — staffing and resources; the professional relationship between doctors and nurses; supervisor support; and co-worker support — were “significantly associated with both physical assault and emotional abuse” of nurses by patients.

“Health care providers are subject to a particularly high risk of workplace violence, and nurses are most at risk,” concluded co-authors Margot Shields and Kathryn Wilkins.

Reports of physical assault were highest — 44% — among nurses who thought staffing and resources were inadequate. Nurses dissatisfied with their professional relationship with doctors were also more likely to report a physical attack from a patient.

Related: Full report from Statistics Canada: Factors related to on-the-job abuse of nurses by patients