Managing nurses through disciplinary power: a Foucauldian analysis of workplace violence ISABELLE ST-PIERRE MScN, RN 1 and DAVE HOLMES PhD, RN 2 1 PhD student, Faculty of Medicine, School of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, Canada and 2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa, Canada Introduction Instances of workplace violence in the healthcare sector are well documented in the literature. Healthcare workers are 16 times more likely to experience violence at work than any other worker (Kingma 2001; Gates & Kroeger 2002/2003). Moreover, nurses are in the highest risk categories for workplace violence even compared with police officers and prison guards (Carter 1999/2000; Kingma 2001, Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee 2002). Despite these alarming statistics, the incidence of workplace violence is still under-reported by nurses for several reasons including violence being perceived as Ôpart of the jobÕ, reporting not seen as worthwhile as, most likely, nothing will be done about it, and the fear that they will be accused of negligence or inadequate performance (Gates & Kroeger 2002/2003, Ferns & Chojnacka 2005). Perpetrators of workplace violence include clients and/or their relatives, physi- cians, nursing peers, clinical nurse specialists and nurse managers (OÕConnell et al. 2000, Baumann et al. 2001, Shields & Wilkins 2006). Actual research in nursing, and particularly in nursing administration, concentrates on the issue of patient safety in hospital settings. However, a closer look at institutional functioning reveals that patients are not the only group Ôat riskÕ in hospital milieus. Workplace violence remains a taboo theme, especially when that Correspondence Dr Dave Holmes University of Ottawa 451 Smyth Rd Ottawa ON Canada K1H 8M5 E-mail: dholmes@uottawa.ca ST-PIERRE I. & HOLMES D. (2008) Journal of Nursing Management 16, 352–359 Managing nurses through disciplinary power: a Foucauldian analysis of workplace violence Aims This paper describes discipline as a specific technique of power which constitutes, in our view, a form of institutional violence. Background The need to create and maintain safe and healthy work environments for healthcare professionals is well documented. Evaluation FoucaultÕs concept of disciplinary power was used to explore institu- tional violence from a critical perspective. Key issue Violence is identified as an important factor in the recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals. Given the shortage of such professionals, there is an urgent need to take a fresh look at their working environments and working conditions. Conclusion Power, surveillance and disciplinary techniques are used at all levels of hospital management to control and contain both human resources and costs. Implications for nursing management By associating common workplace practices with institutional violence, employers who have a policy of zero tolerance toward workplace violence will need to re-examine their current ways of operating. Keywords: discipline, Foucault, power, workplace violence Accepted for publication: 12 July 2007 Journal of Nursing Management, 2008, 16, 352–359 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2007.00812.x 352 ª 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd