Preventing Violence Against Nurses

Ivonne Espinosa, D.N.P., APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

$25,000 Grant Awarded to Hunt School of Nursing for Training to Address Violence Against Health Care Professionals

While on the job, abuse from patients has reached alarming proportions, causing significant concern among health care workers, particularly nurses.

The aftermath of these attacks often results in serious injuries, leaving enduring scars on the nurses' bodies and minds alike.

According to health care survey company Press Ganey, in the second quarter of 2022, more than 5,200 nursing personnel in the U.S. experienced assaults. This translates to an average of two nurses attacked every hour, resulting in approximately 57 assaults per day. The analysis revealed that the majority of aggressors were patients.

This heightened risk to nurses underscores the need for comprehensive training programs to safeguard health care professionals' well-being and provide future nurses with strategies to prevent and mitigate violence.

Recognizing the urgency of this issue, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation has taken a noteworthy step toward mitigating workplace violence by awarding a $25,000 President's Grant to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. The funds will support the training of Hunt School of Nursing students in the prevention of workplace violence.

The Macy Foundation, founded in 1930, is dedicated solely to improving the education of health professionals.

The initiative includes teaching students to recognize the cycle of violence, employ verbal de-escalation techniques, and conduct post-incident interventions.

The training program will be conducted in TTUHSC El Paso’ Training and Educational Center for Healthcare Simulation (TECHS), offering students a psychologically safe learning environment. Backed by experienced clinical nursing faculty, some of whom specialize in psychiatric nursing, the training will ensure that future health care professionals are well-prepared to tackle the challenging scenario of workplace violence. Foster School of Medicine students will be included in the training as well.

Workplace violence, in the context of health care, encompasses a wide range of behaviors, from verbal abuse and threats to physical assault. This deeply concerning trend has prompted organizations to take a stand and develop strategies to address it effectively, which is why it’s vital these techniques are practiced at the Hunt School of Nursing, said Ivonne Espinosa, D.N.P., APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC.

“Health care workers who have experienced workplace violence often show symptoms of burnout,” said Dr. Espinosa, assistant professor in Hunt School of Nursing’s Accelerated B.S.N. Program. “Training students to identify escalating behavior, be confident in therapeutic communication, collaborate with physician colleagues, and implement post-incident interventions may reduce dangerous incidents that lead to nurse burnout.”

The training will bring nursing and medical students together in an important form of interprofessional education. The training bridges the gap between these two essential professions while fostering a collaborative approach to tackling the issue of workplace violence.

Beyond the immediate impact on health care professionals, this new initiative also sends a powerful message to students that workplace violence is not an inherent risk of the job, but a challenge that can be met with proactive measures and comprehensive training. By creating a psychologically safe learning environment, nursing and medical students can engage in realistic simulations that prepare them for their chosen profession.

About Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso

TTUHSC El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation students.

Established as an independent university in the Texas Tech University System in 2013, TTUHSC El Paso is celebrating 10 years as a proudly diverse and uniquely innovative destination for education and research. According to a 2022 analysis, TTUHSC El Paso contributes $634.4 million annually to our Borderplex region’s economy.

With a mission of eliminating health care barriers and creating life-changing educational opportunities for Borderplex residents, TTUHSC El Paso has graduated over 2,000 doctors, nurses and researchers over the past decade, and will add dentists to its alumni beginning in 2025. For more information, visit ttuhscepimpact.org