NURSING NEWS BLAKE'S TAKE
By Nurse Blake
Nurses Under Attack! Caregiving Comes With a Dose of Assault PUNCHED, STABBED, SHOT — WAIT! IS THIS NURSING OR A COMBAT ZONE? THIS IS SERIOUS SHIT — our safety on the job. It’s not enough that we’re dealing with nursing shortage, staffing ratios, and PT not putting patients back in bed. We’re also dealing with assaults on the frontlines! Over the past years, nurses have been victims of horrific violence while on the job. They’ve been shot, stabbed, strangled, and worse. The stories keep pouring in from everywhere, and they’re heartbreaking.
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In September 2023, a psychiatric nurse was in critical condition after being brutally attacked by a patient. Tragedy struck Dallas Methodist Medical Center in October 2022 when a gunman killed a nurse and a social worker. These are just recent incidents, and they’re not isolated. And for each assault reported, many more cases of violence and intimidation go unmentioned. What the hell is going on? How did we get here? And, more importantly, how
do we stop this from happening over and over? We’re nurses, damn it, not targets! And, once again, it’s up to us to take a stand — for ourselves and our patients.
STATS THAT MAKE YOU GO ‘WTF?!’ The statistics are crazy! Check this out: Nurses and other healthcare professionals are WAY more likely to be injured from violence at work than other professions. I’m talking 5 times more likely,
