Creating Quality Workplace For Canadian Nurses - 1920 Words

Our Health Our Future: Creating Quality Workplace for Canadian Nurses (Maslove and Fooks, 2004). Safe working environment plays a vital role in the ability for providing quality nursing care. So, workplace safety is a main issue for discussion in every occupation particularly in nursing profession in health care setting since nurses are an integral part of public health. Violence against nurses causes hamper in achieving personal, professional as well as organizational goal. According to Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) â€Å"workplace violence is any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated or assaulted in his or her employment†. Similarly, Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) defines ‘Workplace†¦show more content†¦Sustained exposure to violence in the workplace including aggression, abuse, and bullying can have serious physical and psychological consequences, causing some nurses to consider leaving the profession . Workplace violence, including disruptive physician behaviour, also results in decreased patient safety. Clearly, violence against nurses is an important issue among nurses, their patients and the nursing profession at large ( RNAO, iaBPGR, 2009 p.30). Likewise, the ICN report revealed that 75 per cent of nurses do not feel safe from assault in their workplace and up to 95 per cent reported having been bullied at work ( ICN,2001.p. 3). Similarly, nurses are more likely to be violated in the emergency department. â€Å"Patients are the most frequent perpetrators of verbal abuse in the past year for emergency department nurses (nearly 86 percent) (May Grubbs, 2002, p.13). As per a survey in 2012 by Campaign Psychological Questionnaire of ONA health and safety activities revealed that 80 percent of participants reported recent exposure to offensive workplace behavior ranging from bullying to actual physical violence. Survey results show that the evidence of workplace violence with in members of the ONA is also similar. â€Å"54 percent of ONA members say they have experienced physical violence or abuse in the workplace; 85 percent of members say they have experienced verbal abuse in the