Workplace Violence in Nursing: Articles Review and Analysis

This essay examines the critical issue of workplace violence in nursing within the Canadian context. It analyzes three articles focusing on underreporting, the 'spirit of fear,' and the psychological stress experienced by nurses due to workplace violence. The essay synthesizes the authors' arguments, highlighting the need for increased accountability, safer working conditions, and support for nurses' mental health. It also presents the author's perspective as an aware citizen, emphasizing the negative impact of violence on nurses' professional and personal well-being, including physical injuries, psychological trauma, and medication intake. The essay concludes by advocating for stricter measures and policies to protect nurses and create a safe work environment, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, communication, and respect for nurses' values and rights.

Running Head: NURSING 0
Trends and Issues in
Nursing
Student Details:

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Introduction
In today’s culture globally, there is increase in violence against workers, say for
example, in nursing. Being in a position of an aware citizen, it is essential to stand for such
issue and focus on its prevention. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the “issue of
workplace violence in nursing in Canada” within the context of discussing three different
articles based on this issue. This paper will combine the views and ideas of these articles and
opinion of an aware citizen on this issue along with evaluating the authors’ agreements or
disagreements. The paper will also summarise the personal and professional values based on
these articles impacting the views on this issue of workplace violence.
The three articles used in this paper by different authors are:
 Workplace violence against health-care workers under-reported, largely ignored by
Kas Roussy
 Canada: The Spirit Of Fear: Nurses And Workplace Violence by Renee Vinett
 Effect of Workplace Violence and Psychological Stress Responses on Medical-
Surgical Nurses’ Medication Intake by Farinaz Havaei and Maura MacPhee

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Summary
According to Kas Roussy, the first article of “Workplace violence against health-care
workers under-reported, largely ignored” argues that it is essential in hospitals and unions to
have more accountability in case of violence perpetrated against nurses as a healthcare
providers. The article reviews that this issue of nurses facing workplace violence in Canada is
getting ignored at large and nurses are tolerating such assault, homicide and rape due to
which, there is increase in crime rates (Roussy, 2016). There is no right under any law for
nurses to get beaten up or assaulted at work or at any other place. In Canada, Roussy told
about the nurses facing dangers of violence on the job widely where it is essential to have a
culture shift of the way to look towards nurses. This is not their part of job to deal with such
issues where “Canadian Federation of Nurse Unions” considered biting, punching and
scratching as a “typical physical violence” along with more harassment and bullying (Clarke,
Kane, Rajacich, & Lafreniere, 2012). Based on the article, nurses face real injuries and
trauma where union groups and provincial governments are trying to makes workplace safer
for nurses along with changing attitudes and making improvements regarding safety in
relation to violence at workplace.
Another article of Renee Vinett “Canada: The Spirit Of Fear: Nurses And Workplace
Violence” reviewed the point of fear spirit in Canada in relation to nurses facing workplace
violence. Nurses being in such a profession practice facing abuse and violence face this fear
legitimately and growingly within workplace and getting troubled of violent incidents
consists of retribution, inaction and termination as well. The argument in this article is based
on the perception of some administrators thinking this workplace violence as a part of nurses’
job (Vinett, 2017). However, nurses even dealing with such issues provides the best patient
care to clients continuously among the fears of paralyzing potentially and indifference

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culture. This article is concerned with viewing the ideas of providing and reporting safety
measures to nurses not only in Canada but across the globe while creating safer working
conditions. It is recommended in every union groups, communities and hospitals to follow
the rules and guidelines strictly under the “Occupational Health and Safety Act” for
eliminating workplace violence against nurses (Duncan, et al., 2016).
The third and last article by Farinaz Havaei and Maura MacPhee shows the research
on “Effect of Workplace Violence and Psychological Stress Responses on Medical-Surgical
Nurses’ Medication Intake” where nurses influenced with this violence have to take
medications for preventing and managing symptoms and sighs due to the effect of
psychological stress responding in a negative manager. The argument is based on negative
impact on nurses at large due to occupational stress in their profession practice along with
their increase in health results due to workplace violence especially in Canada (Havaei &
MacPhee, 2020). This research examined both physical and emotional violence resulting in
posttraumatic stress disorder and emotional exhaustion of nurses due to psychological stress
responses. This is why, nurses need to intake medication for controlling their characteristics
while taking care of patients and responding relevantly (Rocker, 2012). Hence, it is essential
to take precautionary measures to prevent such triggering of psychological stress responses
having adverse outcomes in the workplace on nurses and their well-being and health.

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Evaluations of claims and ideas, issues and opinions
Based on all the three articles, evaluating the views of authors describes the level of
avoiding this critical issue nurses are facing in the workplace in Canada. Every authors’
perceptions, views and ideas depicts that it is essential for the government to take preventive
measures and make strict laws for such violence faced by nurses and in healthcare and
individuals outside this sector across the globe. This issue is a fear for nurses as said by
Vinett, where Roussy reported about the mindset of people thinking it is as a normal concern
and research done by Havaei and MacPhee about psychological mental stress disorder nurses
face in the workplace due to any sort of violence or assault. This articles post the views and
ideas for eliminating such cases concerning nurses facing workplace violence by performing
activities and practices under the legislation stated in the healthcare sector.
Based on combining these articles, authors agrees with the same views and want to
provide their ideas to take stricter actions against people thinking of this as a normal concern
and not caring about nurse in the workplace while doing such violence or assault where they
tolerate such incidents and still pretend normal in front of their patients they are taking care.
None of the author disagreed on this issue taking places highly in some countries such as
Canada. Many of individuals think that this kind of abuse or violence in normal and anybody
can tolerate the same. In nursing, there is a large impact of such activities on nurses such as
psychological stress and such effects of incidents requires for them to take medication while
dealing with their patients and pretending normal continuously. Based on an opinion of aware
citizen, it is really pathetic to read and hear that people are not seriously concerned about
nurses and women who are not safe even on their job.
Due to such workplace violence, nurses go through some traumas and harms such as
physical injuries, permanent and temporary physical disability, serious physical harm,

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emotional and psychological trauma consisting sleep disturbance, depression, mental fatigue,
anxiety, tension and anger, and death (Spence Laschinger & Nosko, 2015).

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Impact of personal and professional values
In the workplace, nurses face violence and disrespect having a negative impact on
their professional and personal well-being. This impact can lead to the persistent experience
of anger, lowered job concern, fear, work performance reduction, humiliation, actual turnover
and turnover intentions, hypertension and insomnia due to not taking this issue of workplace
violence seriously in Canada and disrespecting them in relation to their professional practice.
It is essential to take some severe steps for eliminating these activities and perceptions of
individuals by collaborating and communicating with them and taking care of them within
the workplace as well by respecting (Boafo, 2018). In both developing and developed
countries along with Canada, it is essential to implement principles through strategy ensuring
to provide professional and personal rights to nurses as well as per their values for having
freedom with decent and safe working environments while eliminating such abuse and
violence within the workplace.

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Conclusion
Based on the above observations, it is concluded that these articles deliver the similar
points where authors agrees on the point that workplace violence in nursing in Canada is a
serious issue and need to be controlled with preventive measures and working ethical within
the work environment. It is essential to collaborate and communicate with nurses for
understanding their point and not avoiding this concern where they face traumatic fear. This
issue affected the professional and personal values of nurses where they dealt with the fear of
workplace violence.
In nursing, nurses have to take medications for pretending normal in front of different
patients they are taking care of and still bear so much behind. Such issues are essential to get
resolved by performing activities to prevent or eliminate this concern considerably in
professional practice. It is a high time for people to take steps and for not avoiding this issue
and let the nurses tolerate such abuse or violence. There is a need of the government to take
strict actions against it by making corrective measures, procedures and policies, and guiding
people by securing and protecting nurses or any healthcare providers within the workplace.

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References
Boafo, I. (2018). The effects of workplace respect and violence on nurses’ job satisfaction in
Ghana: a cross-sectional survey. Human Resources for Health, 16(1), 1-10.
Clarke, C., Kane, D., Rajacich, D., & Lafreniere, K. (2012). Bullying in undergraduate
clinical nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 51(5), 269-276.
Duncan, S., Hyndamn, K., Estabrooks, C., Hesketh, K., Humphrey, C., Wong, J., . . .
Giovannetti, P. (2016). Nurses' experience of violence in Alberta and British
Columbia hospitals. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research Archive, 32(4), 57-78.
Havaei, F., & MacPhee, M. (2020). Effect of Workplace Violence and Psychological Stress
Responses on Medical-Surgical Nurses’ Medication Intake. Canadian Journal of
Nursing Research, 0(0), 1-11.
Rocker, C. (2012). Responsibility of a Frontline Manager Regarding Staff Bullying. The
Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(2).
Roussy, K. (2016, April 27). Workplace violence against health-care workers under-
reported, largely ignored. Retrieved from CBC:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/violence-against-health-care-workers-1.3555241
Spence Laschinger, H., & Nosko, A. (2015). Exposure to workplace bullying and post‐
traumatic stress disorder symptomology: the role of protective psychological
resources. Journal of nursing management, 23(2), 252-262.
Vinett, R. (2017, February 6). Canada: The Spirit Of Fear: Nurses And Workplace Violence.
Retrieved from Mondaq:

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https://www.mondaq.com/canada/Employment-and-HR/565732/The-Spirit-Of-Fear-
Nurses-And-Workplace-Violence