Consequences for the Nursing Profession

Results from a survey of registered nurses conducted by the American Nurses Association revealed that health and safety concerns played a major role in nurses' decisions about whether to remain in the profession (ANA, 2001).

Internationally, an estimated 30% of nurses want to leave their positions because of worker-on-worker violence and abuse (McMillan, 1995).

Workplace violence in the healthcare setting may lead not only to nurses leaving the profession, but to negative effects on recruitment into the nursing profession (ANA, 2001).