UTM prof helps build network aimed at tackling violence against nurses

When Soo Min Toh was researching inclusive workplaces and immigrant employment experiences, she noticed that medical settings kept coming up in reports of racism and inequality. 

As she dug deeper, the professor of organizational behaviour at the University of Toronto Mississauga found many cases documenting the stressors facing nurses, from bullying and incivility to physical violence.

“It concerns me that there’s a segment of our workforce that goes to their jobs and has a good chance of being physically or emotionally hurt,” says Toh, whose colleagues in healthcare validated her findings with their own experiences. 

It became clear to Toh that more work was needed to fully understand what was going on and what could be done to address it. 

That’s how she and several others came to build the Culture of Care network, a project bringing together nurses, scholars, hospital administrators and community partners to create actionable strategies to address the rising violence faced by nurses.

“For a project like this, you need to understand lived experiences and facilitate genuine co-design,” says Toh, adding that the subject area is complex and deeply interconnected.

Key partners so far include Trillium Health Partners, the Canadian Nurses Association, and the Family Services of Peel. 

Toh is particularly interested in how violence affects a nurse’s professional identity and long-term commitment to the field. 

“If we understand those early experiences, we can prevent the longer-term consequences of burnout and turnover,” she says.

Some of the data that is available is concerning. 

According to the Canadian National Federation of Nurses Unions, 92 percent of nurses have been exposed to workplace violence, and one in four nurses report symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

“There’s this idea of the ‘super nurse’ in the literature, where nurses are expected to have extraordinary abilities and a strong belief in self-sacrifice,” says Toh. “Not being able to cope with whatever the work demands of you is then seen as weakness.” 

The Culture of Care network will examine the very culture of nursing, which, Toh notes, is a profession that is highly gendered and often expected to “power through” harm.

The project is also studying how hospitals can build “functional cultures,” environments that adapt to the specific challenges units face. 

The issue, Toh says, is rarely a lack of solutions, but the difficulty of implementing them. 

“Changing long-standing behaviours is hard without a systematic understanding of people and processes, and cultural baggage can get in the way,” she says. 

France Gagnon, UTM’s Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation — also a registered nurse — delivered the opening remarks at the group’s inaugural meeting in February, highlighting the importance of the network’s work. 

“Nurses play a critical role in our society, and I care deeply about their wellbeing. Ensuring they’re safe and able to build long, rewarding careers is essential for all of us,” she said. 

“Preventing violence is about how organizations listen and respond to people — and this work invites us to centre dignity, safety, and professional identity as foundational conditions of care.”

To develop a clearer picture, the group’s research will draw on surveys, interviews, observations, and existing data from health-care settings. The aim is to understand the challenges people face, as well as opportunities for prevention.

Part of the work will focus on nursing students and how early placement experiences shape their confidence, identity, and decision to stay in the profession. 

Toh is collaborating with Laura Istanboulian, a nurse practitioner and assistant professor in the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, to explore how findings may inform curriculum and training. 

Another line of inquiry involves collaborators at the University of Edinburgh, who are exploring whether AI tools — such as machine learning and large language models — might help detect risk factors for violence. 

Additionally, Toh will be connecting with colleagues in U of T’s Faculty of Information to expand the project’s interdisciplinary reach.

As the far-reaching project progresses, Gagnon wants UTM’s Research and Innovation Office to be a place faculty, community, and industry partners can find support as they work together.

“None of this work can be done in isolation,” she says. “The university is at its best when it serves as a place where diverse partners can learn from one another and co-create solutions.”

Toh agrees. 

“As a university in Mississauga, we’re part of the community,” she says. “We are committed to partnering and contributing.”