Citation

Popo S. J. Emerg. Nurs. 2018; 44(4): 322-323.

Affiliation

RN, Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, NY; RN to BSN Student, Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY. Electronic address: sharma.popo@student.mec.cuny.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Emergency Nurses Association, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jen.2018.03.016

PMID

29976309

Abstract

From my experience, violence in the emergency room is a real issue, and after reading the article from January 2018 entitled “Preventing Emergency Department Violence Through Design,” I see why design is very important for the safety of staff, patients, and visitors. As an ED nurse, it was easy for me to visualize every design factor that was mentioned while reading this article. I compared the examples listed to the way my emergency department is designed: from description of the layout of the emergency department to the location of security guards, to the placements of the waiting room, and it all made sense. None of this had ever crossed my mind before.

The doors of the emergency department are always open, and the ED nurses and staff members are always at risk for everything. The environment in the emergency department can become unpredictably volatile. One minute it’s quiet, and in a second everything can take a turn for the worse. We must deal with emotionally disturbed persons, intoxicated persons, and victims of violence. We must deal with confrontation from those who become impatient and release their frustration on nurses. We are assaulted verbally and physically and receive assault threats daily. No nurse should have to walk in to work and be fearful of violent occurrences on his or her shift.

It is reassuring to know that everyone’s safety is considered and that emergency departments have been strategically designed to minimize workplace violence. I think that everyone who works in an emergency department should be made aware of this valuable information. Nurses should feel empowered ...

Language: en