Written by Kathryn Sulkowski and Rebecca DiFabio
Spoon Feed
ED violence has become so common that it’s easy to shrug it off as “just part of the job,” but this study shows just how widespread the problem is, with nearly all participants reporting verbal abuse and most experiencing physical violence.
Nothing to see here: when ED violence becomes business as usual
Workplace violence in emergency departments is a well-known problem worldwide, and it has become a growing threat to staff well-being, retention, and burnout rates. However, it still goes ignored and unreported much of the time. Although it is generally regarded as expected in emergency department work, it does not have to stay that way. These authors aimed to understand staff experiences and identify obstacles to reporting workplace violence.
This was a cross-sectional survey of 320 healthcare workers across four Calgary emergency departments that found that workplace violence was common, with 97% reporting verbal abuse, 82% experiencing physical violence, and 75% reporting at least one physical assault in the preceding year. Although 64% reported violent incidents, barriers included perceived lack of follow-up, inconvenient reporting processes, and normalization of violence. Most participants (92%) felt violence negatively affected patient care, highlighting the need for clear and consistently enforced policies, streamlined reporting, reliable security responses, and stronger institutional support.
Because participation was voluntary, there may have been selection bias. The study authors could not calculate a response rate since they did not know how many staff were eligible. Some survey terms were not clearly defined, which may have led to different interpretations. Not including interviews or focus groups limited the depth of the qualitative findings. Also, since the analysis was mainly descriptive, they could not identify independent predictors of workplace violence.
How will this change my practice?
Workplace violence in emergency departments is sadly common, and this problem isn’t unique to Canada. I agree that verbal abuse happens most often and is often dismissed as just part of working in the ED. If workplace violence isn’t addressed, it puts both staff and patients in danger. Emergency medicine already has high burnout rates, and violence only adds to the stress. When reports of violence are ignored or not acted on, it makes people less likely to report incidents again or seek help. Hospital administration needs to do more, and more resources should be dedicated to dealing with this growing issue in everyday emergency medicine.
Source
Assessing the experiences of violence among healthcare workers in Calgary emergency departments. CJEM. 2026 Aug 24. doi: 10.1007/s43678-026-01266-4. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42635955.
