Copyright a.drian, Flickr.com
According to the International Council of Nurses, nurses are more likely assaulted at work than prison guards or police officers. In Texas, assaults on healthcare personnel and first responders have two levels of criminal punishment. Assault a police officer or fire fighter and you’ll go to jail; assault an ER nurse and you won’t. Many organizations are working to change this during the next legislative session, which begins January 2013. Mental health advocates claim a law granting equal assault protections for nurses as other first responders will further harm the very people nurses are working to serve and protect, those suffering from mental health illnesses which may exhibit violent behaviors.
What do you think? What laws against assaulting nurses and other healthcare professionals exist within your state or country?
