Nearly half of emergency department physicians have been assaulted on the job, according to a new report from The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).
The report surveyed more than 3,500 emergency doctors and 47 percent said they had been physically assaulted while working. Seventy-one percent said they had witnessed the assault of a colleague, according to an article on the Fierce Healthcare website.
Only 10% of the respondents said they were not assaulted or had not witnessed an assault
Leigh Vinocur, M.D., former chair of ACEP’s Emergency Department Violence Committee, said that while the results are troubling, they’re not a surprise to anyone who’s worked in the ED.