Ryan Ray
The Florida Nurses Association (FNA) today launched a public awareness campaign designed to bring attention and an end to violence against nurses in the line of duty.
The campaign, called “Take the Scare Out of Care,” seeks to educated nurses, heath care facilities, the public and policymakers that assault and battery of nurses will no longer be tolerated.
The FNA campaign will educated nurses about reporting aggressors to the proper authorities initiatives. “Nurses must be willing to take actions necessary to report aggressors to the proper authorities,’’ said FNA board member Marsha Martin, a registered nurse and chair of the Nursing Workforce Violence Task Force. “That’s why it’s important to educate them and make it clear that violence is not part of their job description.”
Nurses are encouraged to contact the FNA with their stories by sending them to [email protected].
The FNA’s public awareness campaign will undertake the following five-point plan:
Educate the public that violence against nurses will not be tolerated in health care settings.
Urge nurses to report perpetrators to the proper authorities.
Ask hospitals and other facilities to enact policies and procedures that protect nurses and punish offenders.
Secure new laws that enhance penalties of assault and battery committed against nurses in the line of duty.
Current law provides enhanced penalties against aggressors who attack nurses and other healthcare
workers and emergency responders in emergency rooms, but not other locations.
Encourage law enforcement officers and state attorneys to arrest, charge, and prosecute perpetrators.
According to a recent American Nurses Association survey of 3,765 registered nurses and nursing students, 43% of respondents have been verbally and/or physically threatened by a patient or family member of a patient.
Additionally, 24% of respondents have been physically assaulted by a patient or family member of a patient while at work. Workplace violence can lead to emotional distress, temporary or permanent injury, or even death. Examples of workplace violence include direct physical assaults (with or without weapons), written or verbal threats, physical or verbal harassment, and homicide.
