ABUSE AGAINST NURSES
-PHYSICAL ASSAULT
-NON-PHYSICAL ABUSE ( VERBAL, SEXUAL, EMOTIONAL)
It is no banter that the prevalence of workplace violence/abuse in healthcare remains higher than in most profession-about a quarter of the world's workplace violence is rooted in this sector. The preeminence of which is directed toward the Nursing profession.
According to the 2019 survey by the American Nurses Association (ANA), one in four nurses is physically assaulted on the job, though nearly half of assaults go unreported. A recent study found that 44.4% and 67.8% of nurses reported experiencing physical violence and verbal abuse respectively.
Most unreported cases of nurses abuse stem from the misconception that some nurses feel it is part of the job to deal with abusive language, threats, and violence, and the fear of furthermore being accused/blamed by their employers/hospital administration for doing something wrong. Most often than not, if said abuse is addressed or publicized, it ends up as a blip on the news/news journals decorated with an apology letter from the perpetrators. Many times nurses are thrown under the bus and end up being disciplined/sanctioned or even fired if they involve law enforcement agents outside the confinement of the health centre.
Nurses are victimized by physicians, patients, patient's family and friends, fellow nurses and even the health organization in various forms of physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, emotional abuse & intimidation, work overload, disrespect to the nurse's bill of rights, amongst other forms of assault. Nursing victimization undermines the safety, dignity, well-being and happiness of the nurse resulting in lost workdays, burnout and turnover. The soaring rate of this violence also undermines the efforts to provide quality patient care.
Any form of abuse directed towards a Nurse is in itself an abuse to Nursing as a profession. The Nursing profession is established on a well-defined body of knowledge through specialized education, skills, and scientific orientation, bounded by the Nurses Code of Ethics. The autonomy on which this profession is founded allows and deems it right for Independent nursing functions as caregivers, teachers, client advocates, counsellors, change agents, leaders, managers, researchers and in other expanded career roles in Nursing, and in no way are nurses obliged to act as "ward maids" or physicians "handbags", "punching bag", or instruments for self-gratification, all whilst coexisting interdependently with other healthcare professionals on mutual respect.
The effect of Gender inequality and public misconception in cases of abuse cannot be stressed enough. The public belief that the role of nurses to "obey" doctors is completely erroneous, as the role of a nurse to "assist" physicians and other healthcare professionals is in care directed towards the patient.
Nursing as a profession preaches against blind obedience, intimidation, and gender inequality within and outside the profession, superiority only exists intra-profession.
In an alternate dimension where Hippocrates was a female and Nightingale a male, would public notion deem Nursing as submissive?
How then can we condemn abuse in the nursing profession as nurses and student nurses?
1. Know your right- Legal rights and responsibilities are inherent in Nursing and the knowledge is integrated into every member of the Nursing community. Nurses should be aware of the Nurse's Bill of Rights, Code of Ethics and the Patient's Bill of Rights, and the sense of its purpose shouldn't be lost at any point in their career life. Per the American Nurses Association (ANA), nurses have a non-negotiable right to:
- Full authority to practice at the top of their license, credentials and professional standards without barriers, and in a manner that fulfils their obligation to society, patients and community.
- Continuous access to training education and professional development.
- Right to work and practice in environments
that ensures respect, inclusivity, diversity and equity.
- Right to Just care settings that facilitate ethical nursing practice, standards and care under the code of ethics.
- Right to safe work environments that prioritize and protect nurses' well-being and provide support, resources and tools to stay psychologically and physically whole.
- Freedom of nurses to advocate for their patients and raise legitimate concerns about their own personal safety without the fear of retribution, retaliation, intimidation, termination and ostracization.
- Competitive compensation consistent with nurses' clinical knowledge, experience and professional responsibilities and that recognizes the value and rigour of nursing practice
- Collective and individual rights for nurses to negotiate terms, wages and work conditions of their employment in all practice settings.
2. Know your roles and responsibilities- The responsibility of a nurse is non specified in a varied field of nursing (speciality) from Licenced Nurses to Advance Practice Nurses. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), Nurses have 4 fundamental responsibilities, namely, to promote and restore health; to prevent illness; to protect the people entrusted to their care. The nurse's primary professional responsibility is to people requiring nursing care.
3. Relate professionally with colleagues; within and outside the profession and practice mutual respect for colleagues and patients
4. Report abuse- one of the most important aspects of the nursing profession is managing the responsibility of being a mandated reporter, every form of assault, battery, defamation and slander should be reported to appropriate authorities. The basic human right integrated within the nurse's code of ethics protects the nurse's right to life. Patients showing signs of agitation and aggression should be identified as high risk to prevent an act of violence.
5. Unity- Nurses should function as unified change agents, and work with mutual respect.
The Nursing profession is a service to humanity characterized by empathy, respect for human dignity, altruism, patient autonomy, a friendly environment and holistic care, but...
...."how very little can be done on the spirit of fear"...
~Florence Nightingale~
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