Every Shift, Every Day: The Ignored Truth of Nurse Workplace Violence
“She started her shift expecting another busy but routine night, but ended it permanently blind, her life forever altered by violence.”
Workplace violence against nurses has become an undeniable crisis, escalating significantly in recent years. Nurses face risks daily, yet clear guidelines and consistent prevention strategies remain elusive. It’s crucial to understand what workplace violence is, why it’s happening, and how nurses can stay safe and advocate effectively in 2025 and beyond.
Defining Workplace Violence Clearly (or not clearly enough)
OSHA defines workplace violence broadly as "any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or disruptive behavior at work." Yet, nurses know that workplace violence can look very different depending on the context—adding confusion and complexity to prevention efforts.
Nurses frequently experience:
Physical Assault: pushing, punching, kicking, spitting, and being attacked with objects or bodily fluids.
Verbal Threats: being screamed at, threatened, bullied, demeaned, or subjected to racial slurs.
Psychological Harm: intimidation, manipulation, stalking, and relentless stress inflicted intentionally or unintentionally by patients, families, or even colleagues.
The lack of standardized definitions complicates incident reporting, leaving nurses unsure of when or how to seek support.
An Escalating Crisis: The Brutal Reality Nurses Face Every Day
Every single day, on every shift, nurses endure threats, abuse, and assaults—often hidden behind closed hospital doors, rarely acknowledged publicly. Nurses across the country are regularly threatened, punched, kicked, spat on, stalked, and subjected to verbal and racial abuse. These abuses rarely make headlines, but when they do, they are devastating:
October 2023 – Connecticut: A home healthcare nurse’s routine patient visit turned deadly, as she was violently murdered, exposing the overlooked and life-threatening risks nurses face beyond hospital walls.
January 2024 – New York: A nurse was punched in the face by a patient while taking vital signs. She suffered a corneal hematoma and severe emotional trauma resulting in PTSD, highlighting ongoing threats within everyday hospital interactions and raising serious concerns about healthcare worker safety as the patient had a history of assaulting healthcare workers.
November 2024 – Vermont: A nurse was physically assaulted by a patient, sustaining facial injuries, while the assailant also caused significant property damage before fleeing the scene. The incident led to a temporary lockdown of local schools, underscoring how quickly hospital environments can turn violent and unpredictable.
January 2025 – North Carolina: In a savage attack, a nurse was thrown violently to the ground by a patient, leaving her with a broken leg, head trauma, and a lifetime of trauma and anxiety.
February 2025 – California: A nurse was assaulted while protecting a patient during an attempted kidnapping at Novato Healthcare Center, highlighting the risks nurses face even when directly intervening for patient safety.
February 2025 – Florida: A nurse's life changed forever as a patient viciously attacked her, shattering nearly every bone in her face, robbing her of her sight, and leaving permanent scars physically and emotionally.
February 2025 – Pennsylvania: Terror unfolded in a hospital ICU as a gunman stormed the unit, zip-tying terrified staff, leading to an officer’s tragic death and leaving survivors forever traumatized.
March 2025 – Mississippi: A nurse leaving her shift was viciously attacked in a hospital parking lot, repeatedly punched and choked, barely surviving a horrifying assault in a place that should have been safe.
These disturbing events are only fragments of the full story, highlighting a daily reality that's often underreported and misunderstood.
Statistics that scream urgency:
Healthcare workers represent just 10% of the workforce, yet suffer 48% of nonfatal workplace violence injuries (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023).
1 in 4 nurses report physical assaults at work (American Nurses Association).
Why is Workplace Violence Surging?
The healthcare crisis—marked by overwhelming patient volumes, understaffing, resource shortages, and burnout—creates environments ripe for conflict. Patients and families facing delays, limited access to mental health services, and heightened stress levels increasingly lash out at the closest frontline workers—often nurses.
Practical Takeaways for Nurses
1. Recognize Early Warning Signs:
Sudden agitation, pacing, yelling, or erratic behavior from patients or visitors.
Expressions of anger or frustration directed specifically toward staff.
2. Prioritize Your Safety Above All:
Trust your instincts—if a situation feels unsafe, seek immediate support.
Identify and maintain awareness of safe exits and escape routes.
3. Advocate and Document Clearly:
Report every incident—even seemingly minor ones—to establish clear patterns and justify necessary resources. Detailed incident reports not only help in identifying problem areas but are essential evidence that hospital administrators and legislators need to secure funding, staffing, and stronger protective policies. Accurate reporting can significantly reduce turnover, minimize costly litigation, and decrease workers' compensation claims—saving hospitals millions annually. Without accurate documentation, workplace violence remains invisible, underreported, and unaddressed.
Use accurate, detailed descriptions when documenting events, as these reports are critical to driving change and securing resources.
How Code Violet Supports Nurses
Code Violet is a solution born out of necessity—by nurses, for nurses. The app empowers you to discreetly signal for immediate assistance, automatically sending your exact location and alert message to trusted contacts. It simplifies incident reporting and encourages a culture of safety and solidarity.
You can help end this crisis—before another nurse becomes a victim. Join the Code Violet movement today. Share this post, download the app, and demand safer workplaces for every nurse. Nurse safety can't wait.
Written by Cassandra Esposito, MSN, APRN, FNP-C — founder of Code Violet and practicing nurse practitioner.
