Theoretical Abuse In Nursing

Because nothing in this world is ever perfect, there will always be flaws with everything. The practice of nursing is one of the things on the planet that will never be flawless. Abuse towards patients is a very familiar concept within nursing that the majority of the general population constantly hears about. Whenever someone hears that a patient is abused, the idea becomes very alarming: a patient who was receiving care was mistreated. Any violence towards patients becomes immediately reported and will often be included in news articles on television, internet, and newspapers. Although this is very tragic for the patients and family members, what about nurses? If imperfections are indeed within everything on earth, what negativity happens …show more content…
Nonphysical abuse can cause more damage than physical because of the lengthy effects such as anxiety and guilt. The nonphysical has been studied and is classified into two main internal types: horizontal (lateral) and vertical. Bullying, something even small children are aware of, is the main feature that defines the popular horizontal violence. Weinand explains that horizontal violence focuses on bullying between coworkers that may include acts such as gossiping, undermining, passive aggression, and criticism. Horizontal violence has impressively increased until major agents had to become involved. For example, the “Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Joint Commission (JC) have added standards requiring employers to establish ‘a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards’ and which addresses conflict management between employees and disruptive employee behavior” (Weinand, 2010, p. 23). While vertical violence is studied and evaluated much less than lateral violence, vertical is just as important when attempting to improve the welfare of the healthcare community. Differing from coworker to coworker nonphysical violence, Magnavita and Heponiemi (2011) label vertical violence as “the way a senior colleague behaves toward a subordinate” (p.203). This type of nursing violence occurs vastly within the relationship between new nurses and doctors or teachers. New and unexperienced nurses, whether they be trainee nurses or graduate nurses, can end up feeling “embarrassed, intimidated, and humiliated” (Magnavita & Heponiemi, 2011, p. 203). Although not featured in a large category alone, sexual harassment is another type of violence that takes place in the health care setting that not many people consider. Jackson et al. (2002) explain sexual harassment may range from “unwanted sexual contact, offensive sexual comments, and sexual