Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/739311
A man pulls a knife out of his bag and proclaims he really feels like killing somebody today. A violent ex-boyfriend repeatedly shows up at his ex-girl- friend's place of work, openly threatens her and her colleagues, then eventually stabs her to death while she's on the job. A deluded man chases down and beats several women with a long, metal bar, breaking one's wrist and puncturing another's lung. These anecdotes all sound like crazy scenes from a Hollywood action movie, but these stories are all true and, in every case, the vic- tims were registered nurses. Moreover, these incidents were culled from around the world—Ireland, Canada, United States—and all occurred while the nurses were at work, on shift in the hospital. As a nurse, we'll bet you are not surprised. RNs in every country across the globe are all too familiar with the violence that could erupt at any time during their shifts, whether the violence is physical or psychological, and whether it stems from patients, visitors, or management. It's an endemic problem that many nurses unions are actively struggling to correct, and that member leaders of National Nurses United (NNU) and Global Nurses United (GNU), have iden- tified as a priority issue and discussed at their recent September summit in Dublin, Ireland. It's also a problem that must be properly viewed through a lens of advocacy for the best patient care, says Bonnie Castillo, RN and director of the Health and Safety Division of NNU. Making health- care settings safe for registered nurses and all other healthcare pro- fessionals means that these workplaces are, in turn, safe for providing high-quality, therapeutic patient care. "A high standard of care for patients is dependent on the ability of nurses to be able to 14 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 M AY | J U N E 2 0 1 6 UNNECESSARY RISK RNs around the world suffer alarming rates of workplace violence, but did you know it's all mostly preventable? Learn what employers should be doing to provide safe workplaces, and how nurses are taking action to hold them accountable. By Lucia Hwang