Nearly 654,000 incidents of injury or illness were reported by US healthcare employers in 2010. That’s over half a million incidents. More importantly, that’s 152,000 incidents more than the next most affected industry: manufacturing. Contrary to public expectations, healthcare employees often work in very dangerous environments.
In other verticals, this obvious low level of workplace safety would likely not be tolerated. Yet for the healthcare industry, it is a simple fact of life. For hospitals, some physical violence can be seen as “part of the job.” In the end, safety in nursing and hospitals can end up taking a backseat to getting the job done. Now, many are fighting to change that. The comprehensive Healthcare Workers Unprotected study found that 45% of all workplace violence incidents that result in lost workdays involve healthcare workers. The sheer volume of disturbing hospital statistics are staggering, and some employees are turning to technology to decrease the risk of violence in hospitals, nursing homes, and residential facilities.
Where healthcare violence happens
As one study outlines, there are four specific areas where physical violence often happens in the healthcare sector. This is only focused on violence outside of that caused by coworkers or outside perpetrators. When it comes to strictly work-related workplace violence, nurses and other employees have a lot to look out for.