A woman enters the emergency department with facial bruises and severe abdominal
pain. She is asked how her injuries occurred, and she mumbles that she fell down a flight
of stairs. Her male companion glowers in the doorway of the cubicle. The nurse firmly
asks him to wait outside and gently proceeds with obtaining a detailed history from the
woman including assessment for family violence.
In another part of the hospital, a newly postpartum battered mother in the obstetrical
unit fears going home and does not know where to go. Her nurse-midwife helps arrange
her discharge directly to an abused woman shelter.
A 14-year-old daughter of a woman who has five