Prof Nicola Ranger, the Royal College of Nursing's (RCN) director of nursing, said the crisis in the NHS had fuelled bad behaviour in patients frustrated by worsening delays for treatment since the Covid pandemic.
Ranger said the situation was contributing to an exodus of nurses and compounding existing shortages.
This meant there were often not enough nurses on duty to keep colleagues safe, she added.
Calling on the government to make tackling the problem a priority, Ranger said there was a sense of despair in the profession about their deteriorating working conditions.
"I think the public would be totally shocked if they knew how common it is for nursing staff to be on the receiving end of violence and aggression at work," said Ranger. "It's become all too common for them to be threatened by patients on shift.
"We genuinely have got a nursing crisis in the UK that doesn't seem to be being acknowledged by our government at all. Being spat at, being hit, being punched, can for some nurses be the final straw.
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