Notably, the nursing profession relates to the well-being and life of the patients and the public at large though it expects a large amount of commitment. Undoubtedly, nurses are challenged with significant occupational threats while performing their duties (Denge & Rakhudu, 2022). They are exposed to diverse workplace health risks like ergonomic, biological, psychological, and chemical (Abd El-Fattah Mohamed Aly et al., 2021). Workplace safety indicates the attempts of an organization to stop fatalities, accidents, and injuries among its workforce.It is mainly concerned with numerous areas of an individual's health and entails establishing policies, processes, and protocols to save individuals from significant hazards at work (Serquiña & Benig, 2023). Amongst the prime healthcare workforces, nurses are most negatively impacted due to issues of workplace safety, adding to the reduction of willing nurses to carry on practicing nursing (Adebayo et al., 2022). This essay aims to analytically discuss the contemporary professional issue of workplace safety impacting the discipline of nursing.
The workplace environment of nurses is expressed as organizational attributes that boost or restrain nursing practice (Boudreau & Rhéaume, 2024). It has been found by Hwang et al. (2021) that the work environments of nurses impact their safety-linked performance and procedures. A conducive workplace environment for healthcare delivery is considered a vital and influential force impacting nurses in clinical practice. Another scholar Jarrar et al. (2021) asserted that improving workplace environments contributes to refined outcomes for nurses and patients like work satisfaction; less burnout, greater quality of care; and job engagement reduces delayed nursing care and patient safety. Nevertheless, a study by Hegazy et al. (2021) found that many nurses confronted dissatisfaction and disengagement with their jobs for causes linked with workplace settings. It is stated that unfavorable work environment forces like uneven shift times and having to do physically and subjectively intense nursing activities, nurses are found to have a toxic lifestyle that can adversely impact their capability to work. Therefore, it can be said that negative workplace attributes might act as stressors to nurses practicing self-care and restrain them from having a healthy lifestyle.
It is noted that digital technologies are considered valuable for the nursing profession rather than a threat to the practice as they equip nurses to address modern challenges and forced workloads (Knop et al., 2024). A study by Seibert et al. (2021) found that digital technology can refine the working situations of clinical nurses by enabling the collection and interpretation of data to lessen clinical intricacy and advocate the decisions of nurses. In this vein, a scholar Christoforou et al. (2020) found that nursing robots possess the capability to lessen the burden from nurses enabling them to focus on activities related to their primary responsibilities. Concerning workplace safety, it is asserted that robot nurses might assist lessen the occupational exposure of human nurses to harmful chemicals or infections. Another study by Cruz et al. (2024) found that specially designed robotic systems that assist with ambulation, patient transfer, and lifting might enormously lessen physical stress on nurses. Such technological solutions are found to lessen the chances for nurses to suffer from back pain and job-linked illnesses. It is further found by Bidgoli, H. (2023) that robots might be combined with other technologies like cloud-linked EHR (Electronic Health Record) systems, enabling access to a full medical history of patients to the nurses and hence certifying continuity of care. As per the NSW Government (2024), the use of robots in Australian workplaces provides workforces and organizations the chance to fulfill repetitive actions more effectively. Nevertheless, a scholar Christoforou et al. (2020) argued that user acceptance is the major challenge for the effective implementation of nursing robots. It is stated that robots possess the capability to learn and process individual data which is in effect a violation of privacy. It is also found by the NSW Government (2024), that this technology can pose new threats to the health and safety of workforces. Therefore, it can be said that the use of robotics technology is probable to threaten the job security of nurses and it might be a hurdle to the adoption of nursing robotic technology.
Climate change as an environmental factor presents occupational health and safety threats to workers in Australia (Wuersch et al., 2023). It has been stated by Maibach et al. (2020) that nursing being the most truthful profession in the globe, nurses might be proactively engaged in climate action. They can assist communities in adapting to the impacts of climate change and threats linked with it. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Framework states that nurses in the nursing practice are impacted both in their workplace and personal lives by the climate change effects. As per this regulatory framework, nursing professionals are in a position to converse with the public and at their workplaces about climate change (Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation, 2022). As per Salvador Costa et al. (2023), nurses can play a role in associating patients and families with their hospitals to not just lessen GHG (greenhouse gas) releases but also to inspire the adoption of superior approaches for climate efficiency in healthcare systems and for climate readiness in the communities. Another scholar Duran & Kaynak (2024) found that healthcare experts in the nursing profession might proactively lead to deterrent mental healthcare, increasing awareness, and supporting processes addressing health issues linked with climate change. Therefore, it can be said that the nurses can set an ideal instance on how to deal with climate change, by assisting to make the healthcare system more ecologically sustainable. Nevertheless, a study by Kotcher et al. (2021) found certain barriers for nurses to address climate change in their practice. These entail a lack of knowledge of nurses on climate change; a shortage of time in routine practice; resistance to incorporating it into nursing curriculum; and a dearth of strategies endorsing ecologically responsible nursing practices.
Notably, cultural safety is deemed a vital commitment for nurses in their specific codes of conduct by the NMBA regulatory body. This regulatory body requires nurses to critically reflect on their individual cultural biases and to involve positively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds (Correa‐Betancour et al., 2024). As per Schenk et al. (2022), cultural competence is deemed a corporate attribute that enables the professional practice of nurses in multicultural workplace settings and leads to refining patient care. It has been found by Antón-Solanas et al. (2022) that when nurses admit and appreciate cultural differences at work, patients are more likely to feel valued which stimulates a favorable therapeutic relationship. It is further stated that by understanding the cultural contexts of their patients, nurses get the chance to refine obedience to treatment plans, and hence improve health consequences for diverse people. Nevertheless, a study by Chu (2024) arguably said that a major challenge for nurses in offering cultural care can be the absence of sufficient cultural knowledge and training among healthcare providers. It can be said that various nurses might not get adequate education on cultural competence in their training, resulting in gaps in understanding and potentially biased care. Another scholar Teixeira et al. (2024) also argued that shifting to a multicultural nursing workplace setting brings challenges that can contribute to suffering among nurses because of language and cultural divergences, leading to dissatisfaction and poor retention at the workplace. Hence, it is suggested that all-inclusive education and training sessions on cultural competence must be incorporated into the nursing profession and curriculum to ensure better workplace safety.
Australia faces an issue of nursing workforce shortage and demand heightened by the aging population and greater events of chronic diseases (Mannix, 2021). As per the study by Havaei et al. (2021), it is asserted that the insufficient supply of nurses causes an augmented workload on nurses and leads to reducing the quality of nursing care, augmenting the worker's mental health problems, and threatening the patients' safety.Another study by Tamata & Mohammadnezhad (2023) found that a frequent shortage of nurses to offer services might contribute to stress which can impact the performance of nurses and surge the likelihood of clinical errors, mainly in the treatment of patients, and laboratory tests. It would mean that a shortage of nurses as an economic factor can negatively impact workplace safety. However, a study by Alshahrani (2022) suggested retaining aging nurses to solve the issue of workforce shortage. It is stated that experienced nurses are deemed the future of nursing practice and their valued objective know-how is essential for the offering of optimal healthcare services. Therefore, workplace safety can be ensured by retaining aging nursing staff in the healthcare system.
The above discussion concludes that nurses being vital professionals in the healthcare system are exposed to various health hazards at the workplace. It is further concluded that there are social, cultural, environmental, economic, and technological factors affecting the nursing profession concerning workplace safety. It is inferred that NMDA is the regulatory framework that impacts the nursing profession in Australia. Nurses are found to face issues such as stress, workload, cultural incompetency, and so on in the area of workplace safety.