Perilous work: nurses' experiences in psychiatric units with high risks of assault

Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2005 Aug;19(4):169-75. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2005.05.002.

Abstract

Psychiatric facilities struggle to maintain therapeutic environments made increasingly difficult by severe nursing shortages. Related safety concerns prompted a phenomenological inquiry about nurses' experiences working in environments with high risks of assault. Ten registered nurses participated in open-ended interviews. Analysis of interview transcripts generated four categories and 13 subcategories subsumed under the primary construct of "perilous work," providing the frame for the exhaustive description and essential structure of participants' lived experiences. Outcomes suggest that serious work-related hazards exist and provide insight into possible remedies and a springboard for follow-up studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Occupational / prevention & control
  • Accidents, Occupational / psychology*
  • Adult
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Crime Victims / psychology
  • Crisis Intervention / organization & administration
  • Employee Discipline
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interprofessional Relations
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / nursing*
  • Middle Aged
  • Nurse-Patient Relations*
  • Physician-Nurse Relations
  • Psychiatric Department, Hospital*
  • Psychiatric Nursing*
  • Risk Assessment / organization & administration
  • Risk Management / organization & administration
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / nursing
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / therapy
  • Violence / prevention & control
  • Violence / psychology*
  • Workforce
  • Wounds and Injuries / nursing*
  • Wounds and Injuries / prevention & control
  • Wounds and Injuries / psychology