Safe Health Care Workplaces and Mutual Professional Respect

Patient Safety Comes with Safe Health Care Workplaces and Mutual Professional Respect

The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and its more than 13,000 members represent nurses who have advanced organizational, prioritization, assessment and communication skills and are leaders in coordinating care among the interprofessional health care team.  Medical-surgical nursing is practiced in several settings across the health care industry, including hospitals, outpatient settings, in homes, via telemedicine and other non-traditional settings. provide the care you and your loved ones receive in the hospital. As the only national professional organization representing the voice of medical-surgical nursing, our strategic mission for patients and their access to high-quality, affordable health care includes promoting safe workplaces and mutual professional respect.

Professional culture and training advances patient safety, professional respect, safe work

Medical-Surgical nurses say training and supporting professional culture builds safe workplaces, better care, and mutual professional respect. 

Working in health care comes with professional and personal risks. Nurses are prone to workplace injury from the physical and technical nature of the work. They are also prone to substance abuse disorder made more challenging by nursing’s professional responsibility and access to controlled substances.

•    Building and training professional culture promotes better care, improves workplace retention, reduces preventable workplace injury, and improves patient satisfaction.
•    Mutual professional respect builds trust among nurses, physicians and other health care professionals to deliver the highest quality care to patients.
•    Medical-surgical nurses should not tolerate violent actions, behaviors, or language in the workplace from any patient, co-worker, physician, visitor, or vendors. The nurse has the right to report workplace violence without fear of reprimand. Health care employers should institute practices to reduce the risk of workplace violence, and establish appropriate reporting mechanisms for any infractions.

Research and collaboration are needed to ensure quality through safe nurse staffing

•    More evidence-based approaches to meeting patient needs are needed to better inform professional nurse staffing decision-making in hospitals.

AMSN Request
Support policy that advances patient and nurse safety through appropriate intervention and treatment protocols and services for substance use disorders. Recognize best practices that promote workplace safety and reduce workplace violence.