Our staff is increasingly subjected to real and potential violence from our patients. Security has become an integral part of our ED, and I'm frightened. I love emergency nursing, but I find myself becoming scared when I walk into work. At what point do I put my personal safety first?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics received 2,780 reports of violence against hospital employees in 2005. Many more may go unreported. Before leaving a job you love, try becoming part of the solution. Join your hospital's safety committee. Search the literature and access your professional organizations (i.e., Emergency Nurses Association) for information in your area of practice. Ask for violence-prevention training. Evaluate departmental processes, layout, and staffing levels for safety. Stand up against a culture that permits violence and develop a zero-tolerance environment to protect your staff.

DONNA OJANEN THOMAS, RN, MSN, a member of the RN editorial board, is director of the emergency department and rapid treatment unit at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

VALERIE G. A. GROSSMAN, RN, BSN, is Clinician III in diagnostic imaging at Rochester General Hospital in NY.