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Abstract: 

Workplace violence and incivility directed at nurses—ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault—are widespread, underreported, and a significant driver of workforce attrition in an already strained health care system. This article explains how patient and family frustration, combined with systemic pressures such as understaffing and high-acuity environments, fuels these behaviors. It argues that current responses, including resilience training, misplace responsibility on nurses rather than institutions. The author calls for organizational reforms—greater transparency, clearer expectations, and proactive interventions—to reduce conflict, improve working conditions, and stem the growing nursing shortage.

Keywords: Workplace Violence; Nursing Shortage; Patient Incivility; Health Care Burnout; Organizational Reform

Affiliations:  1: University of Illinois Chicago.