Workplace violence: a qualitative study drawing on the perspectives of UK nursing students.

Abstract

Background: Workplace violence (WV) remains problematic and highly prevalent in healthcare with student nurses being especially vulnerable. Aim: To investigate the impact of WV from the perspectives of nursing students Methods: A qualitative design was employed. 444 nursing students in the UK participated in the study. Findings: The qualitative data was analysed, coded and three main themes have emerged; (1) violence culture in nursing, (2) tolerating violence and (3) the impact of the violence. Discussion: The undesirable truth is each year nearly more than half of the students face WV in environments where such behaviour becomes culturally embedded and passed between generations of nurses. This process of normalization requires intervention that will break this cycle to enable more appropriate workplace behaviours to flourish. Conclusion: The impact of WV can be extremely destructive for the individual, the profession and ultimately patient care with large numbers choosing to leave at a time when there is a national shortage of qualified staff. Key Words: Nursing, nursing students, violence, workplace, workplace violence