This Wasn't in the Job Description

Many factors contribute to the occupational risks facing nurses today, but a fundamental problem is a health care culture that focuses more on patient safety than on worker safety. Health care is not considered a particularly dangerous profession, yet when violence does occur it is often labeled as "part of the job" (McPhaul & Lipscomb, 2004).

This cultural bias comes from many sources both inside and outside the industry including law enforcement officials, managers, and sometimes even co-workers. Many injured nurses have encountered those who comment that nurses should have expected the violence, or that they should accept the reality and move on.