Nursing Assignment: Workplace Violence and Leadership Attributes

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT 1
Nursing Assignment
Student’s Name
Institution

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 2
Nursing Assignment
Workplace violence is one of the main issues facing the healthcare industry with nurses
being the most affected of all the healthcare professionals. Workplace violence comprises of any
physical or psychological actions that are damaging and which occur within a professional’s line
of duty. The prevalence of workplace violence and their impacts on physical and emotional
wellbeing for nurses especially in the emergency departments is worrying concern for many
nursing leaders. Furthermore, other adverse effects such as job dissatisfaction and high nurse
turnover are also associated with the issue (Morphet et al, 2014). This paper proposes that the
efficacy of educational and training programs coupled with the implementation of a zero
tolerance policy on workplace violence is dependent on key leadership attributes and skills
including; vision, staff empowerment, driving change, level of influence and authority, and good
listening and communication skills. Alternatively, nursing leaders should use strength-based
nursing principles by strategically contributing to the development of policy.
Overview of the Issue and Its Context
Some of the most common types of workplace violence include but are not limited to;
direct physical assaults, written and verbal threats, physical and verbal harassments, and
homicide. Nurses are subjected to physical aggression from their patients in various areas
of practice. They are in turn affected both physically when they incur injuries and
psychologically when they are verbally abused (Martinez, 2016). Workplace violence within
the health care industry can be classified into four basic types with type 2 and type 3 being the
most prevalent case of violence in the nursing profession. Type 1 involves criminal intent where
the perpetrator of violence is driven by criminal intent and has no relationship to the organization

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 3
or the employees of the organization. The second type of workplace violence is orchestrated by a
customer, client or patient. In this case, the patient becomes violent while receiving health care
services. Type 3 involves worker-on-worker where employees or nurses attack themselves. The
final type of violence occurs among individuals who have interpersonal relationships such as
patients and their families (Johnson, 2015).
In the healthcare industry workplace violence occurs in almost every sector wit ED,
maternal and child health units, acute care settings, and psychiatry departments all experiencing
different levels of workplace violence. In all these areas, sensitive and emotionally charged
issues were the root causes inclining patients to be violent against nurses (Papa & Venella,
2013). Studies have also indicated that triage nurses especially in ED have likewise exhibited
workplace violence against each other.
Analysis of the Issue and Why Change is required
Aside from being the largest sector in the healthcare workforce, nurses are particularly
vulnerable to workplace violence because they provide the first line of care to the patients. This
also implies that they spend more time with the patients and interact with all types of patients
checking into health care facility. The emergency department is the most adversely affected
department and this can be attributed to a variety of factors. Their first point of contact status
primarily puts these nurses at the highest risk. Other factors including crowding, drugs and
alcohol consumption among patients, high patient volume and prolonged waiting times are some
of the primary reasons putting ED nurses at the highest risk of workplace violence (Papa &
Venella, 2013).

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 4
Recent reports indicate that more than 50% of the emergency room nurses experience
some form of workplace violence either in the form of physical or verbal abuse. Although most
of the commonly experienced abuse was in the form of verbal abuse such as yelling, swearing
and threats, nearly half of the nurses who reported physical abuse revealed that they were pulled
and grabbed by their offenders (Papa & Venella, 2013). The prevalence of violence in the
workplace creates a high stress environment which results in nurses’ burnouts and reduced
quality of care. By being concerned about their safety, nurses become dissatisfied with their
work environment a factor which may incline them to leave their jobs (Niu et al, 2019). In the
event that these nurses leave their jobs, high staff turnover will be observed thereby creating
another adverse effect in the form of staff shortages (Morphet et al, 2014). It is therefore, critical
that this issue be immediately addressed.
Critical Discussion of the Barriers to Change
One of the main barriers to change relates to the limited number of reports made by
nurses. Nurses are particularly deterred from reporting workplace violence because they are
fearful of retaliation and lack of support from their employers. Most worryingly, most of the
nurses currently do not understand which acts constitute violence and thus warrant reporting
(Niu et al, 2019). Hence, the failure to report such incidences by emergency department nurses
results in cases of under-reporting. Study by Blando et al (2015) found other multiple factors
that act as barriers to change process. They include; varying perceptions of violence, lack
of action even after an incident is reported and lack of accountability from management
(Blando et al, 2015).