A new survey from the largest registered nurses union in the U.S. finds that workplace violence is increasing along with staffing issues amid the pandemic.
The survey, released Thursday by National Nurses United, polled 2,575 registered nurses. In addition to concerns about workplace violence and unsafe working conditions, many hospital RNs also reported that their hospitals are still not adequately prepared for a Covid-19 surge.
“We are now more than three years into the pandemic and not only is staffing worse, but workplace violence is increasing,” said Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, a registered nurse and president of the union. “Nurses are experiencing alarming levels of moral distress and moral injury due to the unsafe working conditions.”
Almost half of hospital nurses, or 48%, reported a small or significant increase in workplace violence, according to the NNU’s latest survey. That was up from 30.6% of the nurses who reported the same in the union’s September 2021 survey and 21.9% in its March 2021 survey.
The most recent survey didn’t specifically provide details on incidences of violence. But previously the union reported that: “Violence against nurses and other healthcare workers in hospitals and other healthcare facilities is a growing epidemic across the United States. Nurses report being punched, kicked, bitten, beaten, choked, and assaulted on the job—and some have faced stabbings and shootings.”
The union has said the issue of workplace violence has been exacerbated by the pandemic. It emphasized that it’s preventable, citing issues like cutbacks and outsourcing of security personnel as contributing.
Nurses reported hospitals were also putting them in harm’s way by not doing enough to prepare for an increase in Covid-19 cases.
“Many nurses reported that their hospitals do not have surge plans or enough personal protective equipment in stock to protect staff during a surge,” Triunfo-Cortez said. “It is unconscionable that some RNs are still reusing single-use PPE and putting their health and well-being at risk.”
Only 32% of hospital nurses reported that their employer has sufficient PPE stock to protect staff from a rapid Covid surge.
Most nurses surveyed reported that staffing issues have only gotten worse as well. That includes 64.5% of hospital nurses who reported that their facilities are using excessive overtime to staff units, up from about 49% who said that in September.
The union has been advocating for federal RN-to-patient ratios legislation and for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a permanent standard to protect nurses and other healthcare workers from Covid-19 in the workplace, Triunfo-Cortez said.
Some nurses also reported being thrown into work they weren’t fully equipped to handle. More than 1 in 4, or 26.5%, of nurses reported being “floated” or reassigned to care for patients in a clinical care area that required new skills or which was outside of their competency. That was up from about 18% who reported the same in September. Nearly half, or 46%, reported that they did not receive any education or preparation before being floated to units outside of their expertise.
Photo: Tempura, Getty Images
