National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_NN FNL 2/26/10 3:05 PM Page 9 Massachusetts Nurses Take On Workplace Violence MASSACHUSETTS J ennifer fitzgerald, rn, was coming out of a supply closet at her job in a Massachusetts psychiatric hospital one day when a patient charged around the corner, grabbed her hair, pulled her under a desk and started kicking her. "My reaction was just to hold my head. I couldn't believe she was so strong," Fitzgerald recounted at a recent hearing of the state legislature on workplace violence against nurses. "That is how fast someone can turn violent on you—for no reason, I was just in the way." The hearing was called to address one of three bills filed by the Massachusetts Nurses Association as part of their campaign to address the epidemic of workplace violence against nurses across the country. How severe is the problem? According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of all nonfatal workplace injuries resulting from assaults occur in healthcare and social service JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2010 settings. Nurses are assaulted at work more frequently than police officers or prison guards, in incidents that often go overlooked or bring few consequences for their attackers. The violence against nurses can be perpetrated by patients, families, friends or visitors. In a 2008 national study, nearly 80 percent of surveyed nurse leaders had experienced some form of violence at work, most commonly from patients. More than half of emergency nurses report experiencing physical violence on the job, including being "spit on," "hit," "pushed or shoved," "scratched," and "kicked," with  one in four experiencing such violence more than 20 times in the past three years. In Massachusetts, a 2004 survey found that 50 percent of nurses had been punched on the job at least once in the last two years. "Workplace violence is an issue that is becoming a growing concern among an increasing number of healthcare professionals," says Christine Pontus, RN, associate director of health and safety for the MNA. "It used to be considered a part of the job. But that is no longer the case." The MNA established a special task force on workplace violence ten years ago, after hearing reports from members that they were attacked on the job and received little or no support from their employers. The task force was charged with assisting nurses injured by violence, researching the extent of the problem, and developing contract language and a position statement for nurses to use when confronting their employers about violence prevention. It developed a comprehensive package of bills designed to address violence prevention in healthcare settings. SB 988 would require health care employers to perform an annual risk assessment and implement violence prevention programs based on those findings. HB 1696/SB 1753 would enhance penalties for patients who assault nurses and healthcare professionals. Finally, HB 1931 would create a "Difficult to Manage" unit for potentially dangerous patients within the Department of Mental Health. All three bills have been heard by the W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G legislative committee to which they were assigned, and the assault bill has been released by its committee and is awaiting a vote to be scheduled. "It takes management commitment and follow-up to have good policies and procedures in place and that's what we hope to achieve through these bills," said Pontus. The MNA is holding a Workplace Violence Lobby Day at the Massachusetts State House on March 31, where hundreds of nurses will flood the building and lobby for passage of the measures. The theme: "A nurse is not a punching bag." Task force members have also worked with the judicial system to educate court officers and prosecutors that violence is not part of a nurse's job. Numerous MNA bargaining units have negotiated language requiring employers to work with nurses to prevent workplace violence, and the MNA has generated extensive state, local and national media attention to the issue. As a result of MNA's advocacy, Massachusetts Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett supported an MNA member who had been viciously assaulted on the job and helped put the perpetrator behind bars. Blodgett also testified at the legislative hearing, saying, "I had a mother who was a nurse for 35 years. To be spit at, punched, kicked and treated with that kind of disrespect in a healthcare setting is just not something we should tolerate." Kathy Gill, RN, would agree. The emergency room nurse at Boston's Faulkner Hospital was punched by a patient two years ago. After his blood splashed into her wound, she feared being exposed to HIV or other contagious diseases. "I go to work, I give 150 percent to all my patients, and I got nothing in return," Gill testified at the hearing. "I received absolutely no support from hospital administration. Under no circumstances does a patient ever, ever have the right to put a hand on a nurse." For more information about MNA's activities related to workplace violence, visit http:// www.massnurses.org/health-and-safety/ workplace-violence. —David Schildmeier N AT I O N A L N U R S E 9

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