Self-Defense for Nurses? How Hospitals, Universities Help Staff Feel Safe

• A Maryland hospital is teaching self-defense for nurses in partnership with a local trainer to prepare them for potentially violent situations. 
• Colleges and universities are also holding similar sessions for students planning to enter the nursing field. 
• More than 80% reported experiencing workplace violence in the past year, according to National Nurses United. 

One hospital has turned to self-defense classes to help nurses protect themselves if a situation turns violent. 

Maryland’s LifeBridge Health (Northwest Hospital) brings in Masada Tactical to teach its staff about de-escalation, how to protect themselves, and — if it comes to it — fight back. 

“The nurses are going to learn the varying levels of force,” BK Blankchtein, Masada Tactical’s owner, told WBAL TV. “Skills they can use that are easy to learn, easy to recall under stress and ultimately can be done by anybody.” 

The training comes as attacks against healthcare workers continue to garner headlines. Last month alone, nurses were attacked at locations across Ohio and Florida.  

Self-Defense for Nurses

Sharonda Williams, RN, told WBAL TV that in her work as an emergency room nurse, she has been kicked, spat on and pushed trying to deescalate. But the training from Blankchtein has helped. 

“It shows us how to verbally deescalate situations, and keeping personal space,” Williams said. “It’s very important because you don’t know what a patient can do.” 

Self-defense is also being taught before nurses even have their degrees. A couple years ago, Indiana University and the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Nursing both held seminars for students. 

“I was very pleased to be able to teach this class, it holds a special and personal interest for me,” Darren Gilbert, a University of Tennessee Knoxville karate club instructor, said in a university news release. “After high school, my mother was accepted into the nursing program at the Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York. She was also pregnant with me. During her clinical time in the program, she was assigned to the psychiatric ward in the medical center where a patient assaulted her, and she could not get the patient off. The orderlies eventually got the patient pulled off just short of too late, and I came just that close to not ever being born. So, being asked to teach this class was very meaningful to me.” 

Putting the Data into Context

The most current data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the healthcare and social assistance industries had the “highest counts and annualized incidence rates” for workplace violence between 2021 and 2022. This doesn’t include fatalities.  

When it comes to nurses specifically, more than 80% reported experiencing workplace violence in the past year, according to National Nurses United. That violence has ranged from verbal threats to physical harm. 

In February, a police officer was killed and five hospital workers were wounded in a shooting at a Pennsylvania hospital. This incident prompted the American Nurses Association to double down on its public condemnation of violence and its efforts to create a national standard for violence prevention.  

The Bottom Line

As reports of nurses and other healthcare workers being the victims of attacks, one hospital has taken to offering self-defense classes for its practitioners. The goal is to equip workers with the tools to defend themselves if a situation cannot be deescalated.  

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