Violence in Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Violence in Nursing - Research Paper Example While this patient received a five-year sentence after successful prosecution in a court of law, many more such cases go unpunished, and there is continual mental and physical abuse of nurses by their patients each passing day in various medical facilities. In effect, nurses have put up with abusive behavior, and they continue to tolerate this issue on a daily basis. However, it is essential to avoid the current state of affairs to ensure that nurses played their roles and responsibilities in an enabling environment, which ensures their safety as they provide quality care. Conversely, the failure to ensure a safe environment for nurses will have adverse effects on the quality of care provided. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every stakeholder to ensure nurses' safety in the workplace. It is important to point out that there are ongoing actions to put in place measures meant to protect and punish violence in nursing. However, these measures prove not to be effective. Case in po int, a Maryland bill titled, HB 1099 - Second Degree Assault - Health Care Practitioner, sought to protect health care providers in their workplace during their line of duty. The bill, which healthcare providers were instrumental in its push, would apply to second-degree assault on a practitioner while asking for the raise in the penalty from a misdemeanor to an act of felony. Unfortunately, the judiciary committee in the house rejected the hearing of the bill. In effect, this calls for action to ensure a total protection of the nurses. Introduction The world considers health as the most important aspect that guides the development agenda in a nation. In effect, healthcare becomes the most important sector with governments of the world placing the highest priority in terms of resources and policies on healthcare. Based on the foregoing, the role of the nurse is a crucial one in the society and all over the world. In this regard, nurses play the crucial roles of educating their patie nts publicly and privately; advocacy roles essential for promoting health; rehabilitating patients, and most importantly playing the primary role of giving their patients’ the required care and support during treatment. However, it is crucial to ensure that the environment whereby the nurses operated was safe in order for them to provide quality care. Conversely, an environment that is not safe will have adverse effects on the quality of care nurses provided with the society suffering. Safety in healthcare, as in any other profession, is the most fundamental aspect in order to realize and meet the expected standards of care. In this regard, it is crucial to point out that the failure to have stiff penalties against violence impacts the role of nurses and effectively affects the quality of care. Nevertheless, aggressive and violent behavior from patients, their families, and their friends has become the norm rather than the exception on American hospitals and in the world. In effect, this underlines the importance of legislation and policies meant to penalize these incidents of violence against our nurses in hospital since they leave nurses in a state of negative psychological and emotional responses, which affect their productivity. In effect, this review of the literature seeks to investigate the effects of violence in nursing on the society.