Almost a third of nurses are physically assaulted by patients over the course of a year, according to a Statistics Canada survey that found nurses face high levels of abuse, overwork and stress.

The survey, which questioned nearly 19,000 Canadian nurses from October 2005 to January 2006, found the working conditions take a toll on nurses' health.

The survey found:

• 29 per cent of nurses providing direct care said they had been physically attacked by a patient in the previous year.
• More than 40 per cent had been emotionally abused by a patient.
• 48 per cent reported injury from a contaminated needle or a sharp object over the course of their careers. About 11 per cent had this type of injury in the previous year.
• 46 per cent were expected to work overtime. Half were not paid for their overtime hours, an average of four hours a week. Thirty per cent were paid and did five hours a week.
• 40 per cent of nurses don't have full-time jobs. As a result, 19 per cent work more than one job.
• 51 per cent of male nurses (45 per cent of female nurses) don't feel supported by their co-workers. But 90 per cent report good working relationships with doctors.
• Nursing is more physically demanding than the average job in Canada.

Gail Beatty, a spokeswoman for the Toronto-based Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, said she has faced abuse personally.

During the 20 years she worked as an emergency room nurse, she was struck by patients, had syringes and instruments thrown at her, and was yelled at by patients and their families, she told CBC News.

She said the poor conditions nurses face stem from the fact there are too few nurses and too many patients.

"It's very difficult for nurses to deliver the kind of care they want to deliver," she said. "This impacts on their emotional feelings, for one thing, and their satisfaction with their work."

Strain at work leads to absenteeism

The survey found 31 per cent of the nurses experience a high level of psychological strain, more than most Canadian workers report.

The strain leads to mental and physical illnesses, the survey said, finding that 17 per cent of nurses who reported high job strain had been sick at least 20 days in the past year, compared with 12 per cent for nurses who reported less job stress.

More than half of the nurses said they took time off during the previous year for physical illness, while 10 per cent of nurses took time for mental health reasons.

One-third of nurses said their physical health made it difficult to handle their workload in the previous year. 

Depression was reported by about 9 per cent of both female and male nurses in the previous year, compared with 7 per cent for women and 4 per cent for men in the overall employed population.

Nursing shortage blamed

Nursing unions across the country say they are not surprised by these findings.

"We hear this from the members on a daily basis, and I think what's more disturbing is, we've been hearing it for the last number of years," said Marilyn Quinn of the New Brunswick Nurses Union.

To fix the problem, she said, the nursing shortage needs to be addressed. New Brunswick has taken steps to improve nurses' salaries, but she said the government needs to do more to recruit and keep younger nurses.

In the next 10 years, half of New Brunswick nurses will be eligible to retire. 

Bev Dick, vice-president of Alberta's nurses union, said if working conditions don't improve, it could get even tougher to hire nurses.

She said similar surveys in the past have reached similar conclusions and now it's time for governments and regional health authorities to listen to the findings.

The president of the British Columbia union says the key is to offer nurses more full-time jobs.

"We've had one of the highest casual and part-time worker rates in the country for nurses because they were saving money quote unquote by not hiring people full time," said Debra MacPherson.

There are 314,900 regulated nurses in Canada, the largest occupational group in the health care sector. About 95 per cent of nurses are women.

The National Survey of Work and Health of Nurses was the first of its kind, conducted by Statistics Canada, Health Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.