Preventing violence in healthcare Have you ever seen a nurse who is afraid to go back to work? What about a nurse who goes home on crutches, has bruises, or even just goes home with an emotional breakdown? These are all outcomes of workplace violence in a healthcare setting. It's a very real problem that is currently on the rise. This type of violence can arise from the anger of a patient, a visitor, or even another nurse on different units. Unfortunately, because the healthcare environment can become very hostile, nurses will always be at risk of violence. The only way to combat violence is to try to prevent it by recognizing the behavioral patterns that lead to a violent episode, redirecting the person on the brink of violent action, and ensuring that every facility has a prevention program. models to prevent violence, you need to understand the definition of workplace violence. According to the American Nurses Association, the definition of workplace violence is any type of verbal abuse, threatening behavior, or physical aggression that occurs in the workplace (“Workplace Violence” 2013). Some of the behaviors that may be observed indicating that an act of violence is about to occur are: intimidation, harassment, bullying, inappropriate or aggressive behavior, increased agitation (e.g. blunt comments), inability to sit still, failure to comply with simple requests, statements of desperation, references to suicide, direct or indirect threats. If these signs are noticed in a patient or family member, the nurse should intervene immediately. It is important to remember that other nurses are also capable of violence and that look for their behavioral warning signs are the same... middle of paper ......ment and ensure that each facility has a prevention program. References Ellis, J.R., Hartley, C.L. (2012). Nursing in today's world: trends, issues and management. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Williams.King, C. (2012). Managing agitated behavior in older adults. Nursing for older adults.24(7), 33-36.Rosen, J. (2013). Overview and summary: Patient and visitor violence: what do we know? What can we do? OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(1).Trossman, S. (2010). It's not part of the job Nurses are trying to end workplace violence. The American nurse. 42(6), 1-6.New York State Nurses Association. (2011, July). Violence: a pervasive problem for nurses. Retrieved from NYSNA website www.nysna.org/images/pdfs/health_safety/violenceHealthcareBklt.pdf (2013). Violence in the workplace. ANA: American Nurses Association, 1-2.