Nurses are exposed to violence in the workplace thrice as much as other professions, WHO
Close to 65 per cent of nurses in the Kingdom have suffered some form of abuse, be it verbal, physical or sexual at workplace, a study has revealed. The study conducted by a team of medical students at the Arabian Gulf University also showed that a majority of nurses have never reported the abuses they suffered to higher authorities. “Although 80 per cent of the surveyed nurses indicated awareness of existing laws to hold perpetrators accountable, 46pc reported that the deterrent systems are ineffective,” the study said.
The research team attributed the spread of violence against nurses in the workplace to the pressure faced by hospitals due to staff shortage, which forces them to exceed capacity and may lead to delays in the preparation of patients or their transfer to specialised treatment departments.
Speaking to Tribune, a woman nurse who doesn’t want to be identified, said, “Compared to male nurses, we suffer the most. The sufferings could be physical or psychological.” She said many patients and bystanders even think we are their servants, which often would lead to rude behaviour. “A lot of people mistakenly believe that nurses are there to follow whatever orders the doctors provide us. While we also do that, nurses must also thoroughly assess a patient or medical situation, critically think and then implement the plan of care. To be frank, many patients refuse to cooperate with us and at times behave very badly.”
Sharifa, a Bahraini nurse, said verbal abuses have become part of the profession. Asian nurses suffer the most due to language barriers in the Kingdom. “Bahraini and Arab nurses to a large extent handle the situation. But Asian nurses suffer very badly as they fail to properly communicate with patients and their relatives.” Sharifa said there should be a legal mechanism to hold the aggressors accountable if they crosses the limit. “Nurses are also humans. We have rights and self-respect. I wish each and every nurse report all kinds of abuses to higher authorities to bring down bad experiences.”
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