Nurse Critically Injured by a Patient in Rhode Island

Written by Brittany McClain, RN

A male nurse is in critical condition after being attacked by a patient Friday at 7:30 am in a psychiatric unit. Police reported to Providence's WPRI that the violent assault occurred without any weapons involved. The patient is currently in custody and no further information is able to be obtained due to privacy laws.

The hospital is offering support to any employee who witnessed the attack.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and our thoughts are with our employee, the employee's family, and their co-workers at the hospital and throughout Lifespan," Lifespan spokesperson Kathleen Hart said in an interview with WPRI.

A recent study in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Research has revealed some startling facts about work place violence (WPV) and its relation to nurse burnout. According to this study, "74% of WPV reported was in a health care setting in 2017."

The study shows that "workplace violence is directly related to decreasing job satisfaction, burnout, humiliation, guilt, emotional stress, intention to quit a job and increased staff turnover." The study also states that nurses are physically, emotionally, and sexually attacked at alarming rates. This could be one of the reasons for the rise in nurse burnout leading to quitting the profession and higher suicide rates.

Nurses, we need change.