Did you read it? — Workplace violence is on the rise, with nurses on the frontlines

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According to a recent article by The Huffington Post, healthcare workers are suffering from an increased degree of violence in the workplace. From hospitals to healthcare facilities, both personal safety and overall morale is being compromised by an apparent widespread failure to ensure that healthcare workers receive an adequate level of protection while they’re on the job.

And nurses? Well, they’re no exception. In fact, they’re the furthest from it. Check out what the article has to say about this disturbing trend below.

The author begins by highlighting a number of chilling, violent incidents that occurred in hospitals or other facilities all over the map in a period of three months. Here are just two:

• A 68-year-old male patient attacked four nurses with a metal bar at a Minnesota hospital; one nurse suffered a collapsed lung, another a broken wrist and two others cuts and bruises.

• A 58-year-old man who entered an Oklahoma City hospital emergency room complaining of chest pains pulled out a knife and attacked three nurses and a security guard, causing stab and bite wounds.

This prompts to author to note that while hospitals should represent the very pinnacle of safety, the hospital’s status as a secure space has been threatened by an increasing number of violent confrontations. And this, of course, needs to change.

However, before violence in the workplace can effectively be curbed:

We must completely dispel the prevailing notion that being physically or verbally assaulted is just “part of the job.”

Yes—even the seemingly minor incidents.

Less visible is the daily drumbeat of violence that goes unreported but makes health care workers fearful and contributes to distrust, dissatisfaction and decreased performance in the workplace—workers being struck, bitten, kicked, spat upon and verbally threatened and harassed by patients, family members or visitors.