Violence against nurses on the rise - with major financial consequences for employers
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Violence towards nurses is on the rise. A report found that nurses are four times more likely to be exposed to violence compared to other medical professions. The violence comes from different experiences with people; from patients to colleagues, partners, and even total strangers abuse and mistreat nurses. One such nurse shared his story in the Williamette Week Newspaper, reporting that he is threatened by patients, verbally assaulted, spat on or grabbed on almost every shift.
In many cases you read that the employer is to blame, because there is no proper protocol for reporting violence; however, many guidelines are being shared online on how to deal with violence. Another problem is that employees don’t readily report workplace violence. The situation would be effective if employees could call for help at the scene at the moment when needed. In this way, the nurses are helped and the violence is registered. The consequences for employers are major. If an employee gets hurt and needs medical help while on the job, workers’ compensation insurance will typically have to pay the cost. A report on Osha.gov shows a hospital that had to cover medical costs for 30 nurses who had to be treated because of violent injuries in one year. The total cost of those injuries was over $90K, and the costs are not limited to treatments. After assaults, nurses show stress symptoms and sometimes burn-outs which, in many cases, leads to nurses leaving their profession. This can lead to costs for the employer that can range from $27K up to $100K for replacing a nurse, e.g., recruiting, hiring, orientation, training, and lost productivity while a replacement is hired and trained. SayVU can help SayVU is a safety app that offers nurses personal security. The app is centered on saving lives and contributing to the safety of nurses anywhere, anytime. With the shake of the phone or speaking into the phone, a nurse in distress can send a detailed alert to the proper authorities, cutting down on response time and misinformation. With SayVU, you can turn any mobile device into a life-saving tool for a rapid response to life and death situations. SayVU meets all the requirements of the prevention guidelines and can help your organization save money, and give nurses an additional level of security from unforeseen events. Websites used: https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2020/02/10/Nurses-Are-Suffering-More-Violence-in-the-Workplace.aspx?Page=1 https://www.oncnursingnews.com/web-exclusives/violence-against-nurses-a-major-issue-in-healthcare https://www.nurse.com/blog/2020/07/20/what-will-it-take-to-end-violence-against-nurses/ This is the source of all the numbers: https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/rising-violence-emergency-department |
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