There is a crisis of violence in emergency departments, from large urban trauma centers to small rural EDs. The Emergency Nurses Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians are working to raise awareness of the dangers all ED staff members face and share meaningful resources to address and prevent incidents.
The statistics illustrate this crisis.
According to surveys by ACEP and ENA, almost half of emergency physicians report being physically assaulted at work, while about 70 percent of emergency nurses report being hit and kicked while on the job.
The impact of this crisis goes far beyond the individual physical and emotional injuries. In the United States, where nearly half of all medical care is delivered in emergency departments, ED violence impacts health care professionals’ ability to provide care to all their patients, and it’s driving good doctors and nurses out of the ED.
Emergency department professionals must feel safe at work. ED violence can no longer be treated as just “part of their job.”
“No Silence on ED Violence” launched in 2019, inspired by the Raise Your Hand movement of 2018 that encouraged emergency nurses to share their workplace violence experiences. ACEP and ENA have collaborated to meaningfully reduce the frequency of these attacks and raise awareness to engage others in our efforts.
This campaign supports the associations’ respective members and everyone on ED care teams by providing resources to effect safety improvements at their workplaces, engage state and federal policymakers, stakeholder organizations and the public at large.
Please join the movement to end the silence on ED violence. Explore this website for information to help you support and protect health care workers and inform the policymakers and legislators who can enact rules and laws, channel funds and create pathways to solutions.
ACEP and ENA encourage you to be part of the conversation on social media, using #StopEDViolence on Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Emergency health care providers work each day to deliver care to patients when it’s needed most, and they deserve to do so in safe workplaces.
No Silence on ED Violence 