There are different types of violence that an individual may encounter at some point in their lives due to conflicting values, experiences and knowledge. In a clinical health care setting, newly registered nurses may encounter horizontal violence, while nursing students may experience vertical violence. The term horizontal is used to illustrate violence between two individuals who are either of the same or unequal status, while the term vertical is used specifically to nursing students (Thomas & Burk, 2009). In my opinion, many nursing students, such as myself, we are unaware of these terms because they are not frequently addressed. However, it is certain that it happened, and it will continue to occur if there is no appropriate action is taken to prevent this violence. Everyone deserves to be treated equally with respect regardless of what their status or level in the society.
Vertical Violence Experience
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According to Becher & Visovsky (2012), “The actual incidence and prevalence of horizontal violence in nursing are relatively unknown, as HV often is unrecognized and underreported” (p. 211). In my case, I did not report it because I felt that it will not make a difference, and I did not want to have any conflict with my nurse before the semester ends. However, if I reported the incident, it could have help other nursing students to avoid experiencing the same situation. Walrafen, Brewer, & Mulvenon (2012) suggest, “With increased awareness and sensitivity, nurses may be better able to monitor themselves, as well as assist their peers to recognize when they are participating in negative behaviors that have the potential to escalate into violence towards co-workers” (p. 11). It is important to report the incident so that other nurses can become aware as well. Nurses should also care about the people that they work with, there is no competition whether who has the most knowledge or
Nurses provide a vital role in the health care system. Sure, we may not be able to diagnose or write prescriptions. However, we are the main advocates for the patients. We also stand by the side of our patients through their entire hospital stay. It is the nurse who notices the smallest changes in their patients.
Police and prosecutors tend to downplay the violent assaults on health care workers unless someone is severely injured, even though 30 states have felony laws against it (Jacobson, 2014, p. 4). According to a descriptive study conducted by Lisa Wolf there were many instances in, which the legal, judicial system was unwilling to pursue charges against patients, or family members who assaulted nurses. Thus the focus on legislation to make an assault on health care workers a felony crime may have limited efficacy unless efforts are made to address society’s complacency toward violence against nurses (Wolf et al., 2014, p. 3). In Pennsylvania two house bill’s were introduced one in 2011 House Bill 1992.
The ANA Scope defines a healthy environment as safe, satisfying, and empowering (ANA, 2015). There are factors that can create changes in the workplace that may result as a barrier that prevent the best patient care and health of the nurse. A shortage of nurses can be one of the factors that impedes a healthy environment. Nursing shortages have been linked to increased mortality, staff violence, accidents or injuries, cross infection, and adverse post-op events (McNeil & Sharpe & Benbow, 2012). Staff violence would definitely affect the environment because this would cause a disruption because of the lack of respect in the teamwork that the nurses are supposed to participate in to provide quality
I respectfully disagree with you. In your post you stated “I believe that as a nurse I might have more knowledge of what is best for the health of the patient.” I don’t believe that a medical professional always “has more knowledge [or always knows] what is best for the health of the patient”. The Josie King story is a good example of the nurse thinking she “had more knowledge” and knew what was best for the patient. Mrs. King questioned the nurses several times throughout the care of her daughter, and if a nurse had listened to her, we might not be having this discussion today.
Organizational readiness for improvement or change in health care settings is vital for the successful implementation of new programs and health care practices (Hall & Roussell, 2014). After detailed conversations with the unit manager and registered nurses, it is clear there is a need for interventions targeted toward patient-to-patient assaults, as safety is a top priority for the patients in the unit. In addition, staff members state that there has been an increase in the number of patient-to-patient assaults in the inpatient psychiatric unit (2–3 incidents per month), and this poses a threat to staff and patient safety. In Hall and Roussel (2014), states that healthcare facilities must be viewed as a high-risk environment and available financial and human resources must be available to address safety issues and concerns (Wieczorek, Marent, Osrecki, Dorner, & Dür, 2015). The unit manager volunteered to provide assistance for the implementation of the program and worked with the doctoral student on scheduling a presentation of education/teaching interventions for staff members.
Great post! Lateral Violence/bullying is a very good concern and topic of discussion. I’m glad that your group have chosen this topic because it truly does need change. It makes it a very sensitive topic to discuss in the workplace because of fear of losing your job, causing conflict or the repercussions that may come for speaking out. Some nurses will leave while others may stick around and accept the behavior.
“While working at a hospital as a Registered nurse, I was being bullied every day at work I became withdrawn, severely depressed, I would break down and cry every day after work. It was a nightmare,” explained Nurse Jackie. Horizontal bullying should not be neglected it is a life-threatening problem affecting the healthcare. Nurse to nurse bullying in the workplace can have an impact on new nurses, the treatment of the patients, and lack of job satisfaction. Imagine being a nurse and additionally feeling nervous about taking care of a challenging patient or meticulously achieving all of the medical records.
Horizontal Violence in Nursing Nursing is a rewarding and growing profession. Yearly, there are about 155,000 new graduate nurses (Changes in, N.D.). Despite this, many organizations are still under the stress of understaffing. This can be due to a concept best known as horizontal violence in nursing.
Kantek & Gezer (2009) has indicated that over 50% of the students frequently and 80% occasionally experienced conflicts. Some student nurses reported that they had experienced aggression and bullying in clinical settings from staff nurses, nursing managers, and patients and their families. Nursing students are particularly inexperienced, immature and unprepared to manage conflict and response in avoiding way frequently in conflict situations (Pines et al., 2014). Therefore, more attention and support should be provided to student nurses due to their inability to effectively manage the conflicts they
Nurses need the ability of fast critical thinking skills and observation of declining signs and symptoms. Nurses also must have the ability to educate
Violence against healthcare providers is a significant problem that has been receiving growing attention. Incidents of workplace violence are experienced by nurses and physicians on a day-to-day basis, especially in emergency departments. The corollary of this phenomenon has become a significant matter due to the psychological stress it is placing on healthcare providers, hence affecting their efficiency and productivity. We may often undermine the consequences of workplace violence, but studies show that it may cause distress, apathy, rage, disappointment, helplessness, anxiety, self-doubt, and insecurity of healthcare workers. (Öztunç 360-365)Hence, their entire job performance is decreased and absenteeism is increased.
Theoretical Framework on Violence in the Workplace Violence can be experienced by many different people in different situations in health care. In the healthcare world, nurses are one of the most exposed groups to workplace violence in the world. Circumstances that lead patients to the hospital can be very stressful which can lead to anxiety, agitation, depression. Through using the theoretical framework developed by Ida Jean Orlando, workplace violence can be viewed and applied to address or even prevent violence experienced by nurses possibly. Violence has been a long-standing issue in the workplace.
Introduction Structural violence is the end result of socioeconomic disparity. It is putting individuals at risk because of economic, cultural and gender classification. Structural violence is dangerous and is overlooked by millions of people. This crisis needs to be disclosed to the public.
Abstract A literature review was conducted to answer the following evidence-based research question "What are the effects of horizontal violence in the workplace on nurses and patient care?" The review includes a systematic review, two qualitative reviews, one quantitative review and a mixed method review that will aid in answering the research question while focusing on the effects of horizontal violence on nurses and what interventions could possibly be used to prevent this type of violence in the workplace. These studies were retrieved through various electronic databases in which will be discussed in the remainder of the literature review. The literature that was used were all published within the last five years with four of them being published in the United States and one from the United Kingdom.