How did we get to the point where suffering abuse is part of a health-care worker's job description?

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One nurse was punched so violently by a patient’s husband that she suffered a brain injury. Another was struck in the face with a dumbbell, breaking her upper jaw and cheekbone. Unfortunately, these are not stories from a sensationalized crime show; both incidents occurred in a Canadian hospital, as reported on by National Post health writer Sharon Kirkey.

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Kirkey’s report, headlined “Inside Canada’s shockingly violent hospitals,” was jarring, not because the stories were news to me, but sadly because they are far too common.

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As a nursing student preparing to enter the field, I have already been warned: expect to be yelled at, threatened, maybe even hit. We are told to de-escalate, stay calm, and understand that patients are stressed out. Very few institutions reinforce the idea that nurses have a right to feel........

© National Post