Iranian nursing students' experiences of workplace violence: a qualitative study

Workplace violence against nursing students is a common phenomenon. This study aimed to investigate Iranian nursing students' experiences of workplace violence, including their reaction to violence and the consequences and the effects of such violence on the students.

The study participants were undergraduate nursing students. The data were collected using semi-structured, in-depth face-to-face interviews. Data analysis was carried out with qualitative approach using conventional content analysis.

Four categories were extracted from the analysis of the interview transcriptions: vertical violence, horizontal violence, reaction to violence and consequences of violence. Nurses were the major imposers of violence against students and psychological and verbal violations were the most of used forms of violence. The students reacted to violence in the forms of counteracting, reporting, disregarding and considering as commonplace.

Workplace violence is a common phenomenon experienced by nursing students in this study, which causes devastating individual, educational, and professional impacts. Action plans including providing safe environment and appropriate support from nurses and educators should be developed in clinical settings to intervene and to prevent workplace violence.