A growing nursing shortage is made worse by nurses’ daily challenges of patients and their families rolling their eyes, yelling and striking

Nurses are leaving the profession faster than they’re being replaced – in part due to the emotional and physical toll they endure from disrespectful patients or their loved ones.

By: Carolyn Dickens, University of Illinois Chicago, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: January 29, 2026

Words: 1,150

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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By Carolyn Dickens, University of Illinois Chicago

Imagine being a dentist, and your clients roll their eyes at you, comment that you don’t know what you’re doing – or even spit at you.

Unimaginable, right? But that’s what nurses experience when patients or their families do the eye roll or hit, bite or spit at them. What’s more, a bedside nurse may repeatedly endure bad behavior from a patient or their loved ones for a shift …

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