Violence Against Health Care Workers: How The Trend Is Impacting Nurses

By Mackenzie Thomas

UNC Media Hub

For Mel, a North Carolina nurse, getting fresh for activity was for illustration getting fresh for war. 

That’s what she told co-workers erstwhile she worked successful nan emergency room. Headed into a shift, she wondered, “Who’s gonna conflict today?” 

In North Carolina, much than 48 percent of nurses said they witnessed unit astatine work, while much than 27 percent of respondents to a 2022 study from nan North Carolina Nurses Association reported they were victims of it themselves — and “the problem is getting worse,” according to a news release from nan association. 

As portion of a bill successful 2023, North Carolina passed nan Hospital Violence Protection Act to require improved information measures to protect wellness attraction workers successful infirmary settings and to summation criminal penalties for assaulting aesculapian and emergency personnel. 

In January, ER caregiver Crystal Thompson says, a diligent astatine FirstHealth put her successful a choke clasp and collapsed her leg. The patient, Karla Hardy, was charged pinch felony battle causing beingness wounded to emergency unit and for resisting a nationalist officer, according to court records. Hardy’s adjacent proceeding is scheduled for Nov. 17.

The infirmary had already established its ain constabulary section pinch afloat sworn officers who person jurisdiction crossed nan full strategy to amended information for its staff, said Emily Sloan, head of nationalist relations for FirstHealth.

“Prior to this incident, FirstHealth implemented a institution constabulary section successful 2024 to further prioritize nan information and information of our staff, patients and visitors crossed our infirmary campuses and facilities,” Sloan said. “While we person agelong employed information officers, nan determination to create a FirstHealth Police Department reflects our committedness to continually heighten information measures successful consequence to nan request for rule enforcement assistance.”

Sloan said workplace unit against wellness attraction workers is simply a “critical issue” and that nan incident successful January “highlights a increasing interest seen crossed nan country.”

Mel, who requested her past sanction beryllium withheld because she feared retaliation astatine work, worked successful a North Carolina ER for 5 of nan astir 12 years she’s been a nurse, and she has witnessed and knowledgeable her adjacent stock of convulsive incidents. 

She was spat connected by a diligent brought successful by EMS, forcing her and different co-workers to put connected protective gear. 

She knowledgeable a infirmary lockdown aft a patient’s upset family personnel threatened to sprout her and her co-workers. 

She had a pregnant co-worker spell into pre-term labour aft she was punched successful nan tummy by an angry patient.

The infirmary she was moving astatine did thing successful response, Mel said.

“Nothing happened astatine nan infirmary that I was moving at,” Mel said. “The patients were fixed nan excuse of, ‘Oh they person psych issues.’” 

But nan “nail successful nan coffin” for Mel was a convulsive psychiatric diligent who came into nan ER 1 night. When a antheral co-worker tried explaining to nan diligent that they were going to beryllium restrained and sedated, nan diligent punched 1 of Mel’s female co-workers successful nan face, Mel said.

“We each benignant of, like, backed up, and past nan diligent really ended up moving retired of nan emergency room,” Mel said. “The constabulary had to beryllium called. They recovered her successful nan parking lot, and past they sewage her.”

The incident made her recognize she couldn’t activity successful nan ER anymore, Mel said.

“From past I was, like, ‘You know, I don’t consciousness comfortable moving for illustration this,’” Mel said. “I don’t want to travel to activity and perchance beryllium punched and kicked and whatnot. So that was it for me.” 

When nan incident occurred, location were nary rule enforcement unit on-site. 

“I deliberation if we had had rule enforcement, nan business would’ve been handled overmuch better,” Mel said. “We had to telephone nan constabulary to thief find her successful nan parking lot. Luckily, location was 1 adjacent who was operating who came quickly.”

Self-policing not effective

Before nan measure passed, hospitals were near to find their level of information themselves, said Bonnie Meadows, president of nan North Carolina Nurses Association, who besides is simply a caregiver pinch much than 20 years of acquisition connected nan job.

“Everybody beautiful overmuch did immoderate they wanted to do. They did their ain consequence appraisal arsenic acold as, ‘What do we really need?’” Meadows said. “That measure said, we request nan police. And I cognize conscionable successful my 21 years of wellness attraction that they whitethorn person had their ain security, but having constabulary beingness is wholly different.”

Security officers were reported by wellness attraction workers arsenic often having constricted capabilities erstwhile it comes to handling convulsive patients, according to a 2022 study from nan National Institutes of Health. Some study respondents reported that information officers were “not physically able” to negociate nan patients, and 1 paramedic was quoted saying information “has nary jurisdiction arsenic acold arsenic arresting powers.”

Bonnie Meadows, president of nan North Carolina Nurses Association, talks astir workplace unit against wellness attraction workers successful a Zoom interview, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 Credit: Mackenzie Thomas / UNC Media Hub

Along pinch round-the-clock constabulary presence, nan measure besides calls for hospitals to behaviour information consequence assessments and unit prevention training, arsenic good arsenic to study assaults against wellness attraction workers to nan state.

Because of nan chaotic quality of nan ER, Mel said, it tin beryllium difficult to record complaints erstwhile incidents occur. 

“Sometimes it’s truthful engaged that if you do want to make a complaint, past you’ll get down aliases your different patients will not get attraction connected clip because location isn’t capable help,” Mel said.

Violence not constricted to ER

Only 1 successful 3 nurses said their employer provides a clear measurement to study incidents, according to a 2023 survey from National Nurses United, a nursing statement that performs nationalist defense and labour organizing.

But convulsive experiences aren’t constricted to nan ER; they tin hap anyplace successful nan hospital, pinch immoderate patient. For Carolyn Paschall, a location wellness hospice caregiver who utilized to activity astatine a North Carolina hospital, it was successful medical-surgical care. One minute, she was helping a diligent get dressed; nan next, he was grabbing her limb and telling her to extremity what she was doing earlier he punched her.

Startled, she said she near nan room and instantly notified her complaint nurse. While nan acquisition shook her, Paschall said she was pleased pinch nan hospital’s response. They offered her nan action to property charges, which she declined. Her only petition was to beryllium reassigned, Paschall said.

“It did benignant of shingle me, because he seemed for illustration immoderate different personification you know, for you to conscionable move and move for illustration that. It was benignant of scary,” Paschall said. “I’d beryllium lying if it didn’t make maine much cautious. But for illustration I said, I would ne'er activity successful nan ER. So I was conscionable like, that was a bad patient. I benignant of shook it off, and I benignant of moved on.”

Workplace unit tin besides return nan shape of verbal abuse. 

Roughly 8 successful 10 nurses reported experiencing astatine slightest 1 type of workplace unit successful nan NNU survey. Verbal threats were nan astir communal type of unit experienced, reported by almost 68 percent of respondents. 

“You decidedly don’t want to woody pinch verbal abuse, but nan beingness maltreatment is decidedly what’s going to make you measurement much anxious,” Meadows said.

‘If they knew really nursing was…’

Violence not only has an effect connected those involved, but besides connected nan adjacent procreation of nurses.

Lexi Rumbaugh, a inferior astatine UNC Chapel Hill who is successful her first semester of nan nursing program, said it worries her to spot cases of nurses and different wellness attraction workers getting wounded astatine work.

“I deliberation it is simply a small spot worrisome. I’m not really judge what I would do successful that situation. I’d beryllium scared, definitely, if it happened to me,” Rumbaugh said.

Workplace unit is simply a contributing facet successful nurses’ desire to time off their spot of work, and moreover nan occupation itself, according to an NIH study from 2022. 

It’s difficult erstwhile you spell into nursing pinch a desire to thief people, only to consciousness taken advantage of, Mel said. 

“I person a batch of friends who, and I dislike to opportunity this, a batch of group person said that if they knew really nursing was, they wouldn’t person gone into it,” Mel said.

While she hasn’t faced immoderate convulsive patients herself, Rumbaugh said she believes nan astir important point successful that business would beryllium to support seeing nan diligent arsenic a person.

“I would decidedly deliberation that that’s thing that’s really difficult to effort and juggle,” Rumbaugh said. “Like, ‘this is simply a scary situation,’ versus ‘I request to return attraction of this person.’”

As nan caller president of nan North Carolina Nurses Association, Meadows said her extremity is to “help each caregiver to understand their voice.”

“To me, that is simply a immense portion of workplace unit and knowing that you’re not conscionable a nurse, but you are a cardinal piece,” Meadows said. “You are nan cardinal portion to nan wellness attraction team, and what you person to opportunity is valuable. What you person to connection is valuable.”

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