While many nurses find their careers professionally and personally satisfying, there are physical dangers that require constant attention. According to the Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Requiring Days Away from Work 2010 report by the U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics, for every 10,000 healthcare workers, including nurses, nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, there were 489.4 physical harm reports filed. Those incidents created approximately 53,030 days away from work for these professionals.
Many of these accident report incidents were caused by overexertion, which can be a common occurrence in the nursing field. However, there were still numerous injury cases reported due to physical harm befalling the worker.
A nonprofit Emergency Nurses Association study with 3,500 participating registered nurses found that approximately 25 percent of the study's respondents reported experiencing physical violence more than 20 times in a three-year period, according to Healthcare Traveler. Another 20 percent stated that they had experienced verbal abuse more than 200 times during the same period of time.
Experienced travel nurse Debbi Bacurin shared her experience of imminent danger with the news source about being boxed in by an aggravated patient and how it frightened her and made her reconsider necessary safety procedures.
"Be aware of your surroundings and know what you need to do to protect yourself," Bacurin told Healthcare Traveler. "Never do what I did and allow yourself to be cornered in a room by a patient who is threatening you. Be prepared for the unexpected."
A travel nurse should try to remain within hearing or eye-sight distance from other workers while dealing with a patient. It will allow her to more easily reach out for help if an incident occurs. If a patient has given indication of violent or unstable behavior, a nurse may wish to have another member of the team within the room for added safety.
According to the Massachusetts Nurse Association, healthcare workers are 16 times more likely to experience on-the-job violence than any other type of professional, and because of this, employees should be educated on proper safety measures and preventative procedures. A travel nurse may want to check out the worker incident report rate before signing herself up for a job and question a facility on its safety practices. Personal safety is vital, and a travel nurse should not be put in unnecessary danger on the job.