The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a violence coping program (VCP) based on Polk's middle-range theory of resilience on nursing competency, resilience, burnout, and the ability to cope with violence in nurses working in emergency rooms.

A quasi-experimental study, with a nonequivalent control group and a pretest-posttest design, was conducted. Participants were 36 nurses who worked in emergency rooms and had experienced violence; 18 nurses from D hospital and 18 nurses from C hospital were assigned to the experimental and control groups, respectively. The experimental group received the VCP twice per week for 8 weeks.

Levels of resilience, F=59.41, p<.001, active coping behavior, c²=33.09, p<.001, and nursing competency, F=59.41 p<.001, increased significantly and levels of passive coping behavior, c²=22.92, p<.001, and burnout, F=52.74, p<.001, decreased significantly in the experimental group.

The results suggest that the VCP could be an effective strategy for reducing burnout and improving resilience, active coping behavior, and nursing competency. Therefore, it would be a useful intervention for improving the quality of nursing care provided in emergency rooms.