Workplace Violence in Health Care Remains Top Priority for Nation’s Registered Nurses
ANA President Delivers Address at the Association’s Annual Membership Assembly
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SILVER SPRING, MD – Today the American Nurses Association (ANA) officially convened its annual Membership Assembly, bringing nearly 500 registered nurses to Washington, DC to address vital issues that affect the health, safety and well-being of nurses and the patients they serve. Ending workplace violence in health care remains a top concern for nurses. ANA continues to lead strong and consistent efforts to address this critical issue, which has only worsened. As part of these efforts, ANA recently announced earlier this month that the revised official position statement on workplace violence is available for the public to provide comments.
The intent of the updated workplace violence position statement is to support the creation and sustainment of a culture of respect, free of incivility, bullying and violence regardless of the practice setting. Official position statements provide ethical guidance for nurses as well as recommendations regarding roles and responsibilities.
Snapshot of ANA’s 2024 Workplace Violence Actions To Date
ANA ramped up its advocacy at the start of the year to continue momentum of public support for two workplace violence bills pending in Congress – The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act and the Senate’s Safety From Violence for Healthcare Employees Act. ANA held a joint congressional briefing in March to express the urgency for passage of this legislation.
Additionally, ANA is renewing calls to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to release its promised workplace violence prevention standard. ANA delivered a sign-on letter to OSHA in April with the support of nearly 60 nursing organizations as well as a special post on the “Capitol Beat Blog” calling out OSHA’s inaction and celebrating progress at the state policy level. OSHA’s inaction is especially frustrating considering the agency announced over a year ago that a standard was necessary based on its own alarming data showing a dramatic increase in workplace violence rates. Moreover, ANA continues to engage the newly formed National Workplace Violence Prevention Committee which was created to put practice into action by developing evidence-based solutions that can help individual nurses and be implemented within all organizations and health systems.
ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, in her remarks to the Membership Assembly on June 28, said:
“We are aggressively pushing both Congress and the Department of Labor for stronger standards and accountability for actions on workplace violence. Simply put, Congress and OSHA need to do their jobs. But making workplace violence a felony is not sufficient. We need to prevent violence from happening.”
The revised workplace violence position statement is available here; the deadline for public comments on this statement is July 8, 2024, at 5 pm ET. ANA encourages all nurses and nurse supporters to urge federal legislators to support the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Services Workers Act through ANA’s RN Action Center.
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About the American Nurses Association
The American Nurses Association (ANA) is the premier organization representing the interests of the nation's more than 5 million registered nurses. ANA advances the profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting a safe and ethical work environment, bolstering the health and wellness of nurses, and advocating on health care issues that affect nurses and the public. ANA is at the forefront of improving the quality of health care for all. For more information, visit www.nursingworld.org.