Workplace violence is a common issue for nurses. We have protocols in place to prevent workplace violence, but sometimes patients and family members still become violent. Tell me how you would handle such a situation.

Unfortunately, nurses and other clinicians are often subjected to violent acts, committed by patients and/or family members. Many times, when patients become violent, it is unintentional and a result of confusion, pain, mental health issues, or other ailments. However, whether the violence is intentional or a result of a medical issue, these situations put nurses in stressful and dangerous situations. In such situations, it is important for nurses to stay calm and follow protocols, such as alerting colleagues and security of the situation. Primarily, it is important that the nurse not attempt to mitigate the situation themselves and/or become defensive and retaliate against the aggressor. To successfully answer this question, you should ensure the interviewer that you would stay calm, follow protocol, and not retaliate against the patient or family member. A more successful answer to this question would include an example of how you followed protocol and effectively dealt with a violent or threatening situation.