title: Workplace violence experienced by nursing students: A UK survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To appreciate the nature and scope of workplace violence amongst a sample of the UK nursing student population during clinical placement and to recommend strategies universities can implement to successfully manage the impact.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Workplace violence is defined as a violent act(s) directed toward workers and can include physical, psychological or verbal behaviour. It is prevalent in nursing and causes victims work-based stress that can affect not only the individual but also the quality of care. Similar negative experiences amongst students can have a direct impact on the development of future professional skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study employed a cross-sectional survey design. Questions were uploaded in the format of a commercial internet survey provider (SurveyMonkey.com) and distributed across a sample of nursing schools in the UK. The survey was voluntary and employed a validated tool to assess workplace violence and was based on a similar study in Australia. The number of respondents was 657. This paper reports on the quantitative results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nearly half of the students (42.18%) indicated they had experienced bullying/harassment in the past year while on clinical placement. One-third (30.4%) had witnessed bullying/harassment of other students and 19.6% of incidents involved a qualified nurse. The unwanted behaviours made some students consider leaving nursing (19.8%). Some respondents said the standard of patient care (12.3%) and their work with others (25.9%) were negatively affected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Workplace violence can influence nursing students' attitude toward the profession and their level of satisfaction with the work. Whilst it was reassuring to note that the majority of the participants knew where/how to report, only one fifth had actively reported an episode of bullying/harassment. Current students are the nurses and leaders of the future and have a key role in shaping the culture of generations to come. Universities and clinical providers need to work together to reduce the incidence and impact of workplace violence in order to improve the culture of practice.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University, Royal London House, Bournemouth, United Kingdom. Electronic address: stee@bournemouth.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tee
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing, Psychiatry Nursing Department, 06100, Sıhhiye, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: sinem_uzar@hacettepe.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Yeter Sinem
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Üzar Özçetin
authors.affiliation: Northumbria University, United Kingdom; Pearson College, London Academic Lead Educational Development, United Kingdom; Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, James Clerk Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8WA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: michele.westhead@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Russell-Westhead
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression; D058445:Bullying; D002321:Career Choice; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D064450:Workplace Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Bullying; Nursing; Nursing students; Violence; Workplace violence