Workplace Violence

As health care workers we are under a legal obligation to protect an individual from any kind of abuse, whether it is physical, financial, emotional, sexual or psychological .Legislation, policies and procedures exist to promote a safer working environment and reduce the potential for risks occurring. They are tailored for the needs of each setting, known and understood by employers and employees and reviewed on a regular basis.

Workplace violence includes any incident in which an employee is threatened, intimated, verbally or physically attacked, harassed, injured or killed. Workplace, or occupational violence, as it is sometimes referred to, has and can occur in almost all types of settings, from large to small, private to public and rural to urban. Therefore, there is a demonstrated need for firms of all types, sizes and in all locations to become aware of the seriousness of

Workplace violence is the main issue in the United States expressed influencing a large number of American consistently. Working environment violence is any demonstration or danger of physical savagery, provocation, terrorizing, or other undermining problematic conduct that happens at the work site. It ranges from dangers and verbal mishandle to physical ambushes and even murder. It can influence and include workers, customers, nurses, patient, clients, and guests. Workplace violence can be discovered anywhere in every field we may accept the fact that it can happen in our workplace too, but the fewer people speak which is encouraging these criminals to prepare of making more atrocity. The occupational safety and health organization (OSHA) have created rules and suggestions to decrease laborer presentation to this deplorable scourge but still many people are being victimized their hands are tied up mouths are taped out to face the reality of what they are living through (OSHA 2015). OSHA’s paradigm incorporates the following elements: management commitment and employee involvement, hazard analysis or assessment, hazard controls, employee training, and recordkeeping and evaluation (McPhaul, London, & Lipscomb, 2013). As mentioned, these elements are basic guidelines in constructing a program, but more specific measures are needed to address specific precursors that contribute to the occurrence of violence and bullying. This would assist in forming the best strategies to remedy workplace violence and incivility.

Horizontal violence is a hidden pattern of individual behavior in controlling other individual that risk health and safety (Hinchberger, 2009). According to Roche, Duffield and Catling-Paull, violence can be describe as emotional abuse, threat, or actual violence in any health care setting. Although the definition varies according to situations and practice settings, there is agreement that workplace violence has a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of nurses and the delivery of quality nursing care (Hinchberger, 2009). Violence mostly occur in any health care setting, However, it mostly occur in emergency department, waiting room, psychiatric ward and geriatric unit on which people involved psychological situations.

Health care workers are often hit, kicked, punched, pushed, scratched, bitten, spit on, threatened with a weapon, harassed by patients, family members, or visitors. How often does this happen? In a 2014 survey close to 70% of nurses reported being attacked while on the job within the last year (Jacobson, 2014). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care workers experience the most non fatal workplace violence when compared to other professions. Workplace violence towards health care workers is an international issue. (Waschgler, 2012) Nurses are often required to get uncomfortably close to very stressed out people. Some assaults come from psychotic persons brought into the emergency department, drunks, drug users, demented people, but most of the violence is not explainable. In the 2014 survey, 50% of the assaults came from patients or their family members who were drunk or on drugs. Numerous people attack nurses out of frustration. Rita Anderson, an Arizona-based emergency room nurse, was instrumental in getting the New York State Violence

The purpose of this review was to discover and asses the effects of healthcare worker directed violence on healthcare providers as well as the effect on patient care. There is sufficient evidence to say that workplace violence perpetrated by patients has a negative effect on the healthcare worker as well as the quality of care they are

Workplace violence occurs due to an interpersonal conflict between two or more people that results from differences in their needs, ideas, goals, interests, or values (Marquis and Huston, 2015). Workplace violence is not limited to physical violence; it also includes negative activities such as bulling, verbal abuse, pranking, negative insinuations, gossiping, insubordination, and withholding information (Latham, Ringl, & Hogan, 2013). Research suggests that more than 80 % nurses experience workplace violence at some point in their working careers (Frederick, 2014). New graduate nurses are especially susceptible to workplace violence because they are usually unprepared to deal with it, and they are more likely to leave the profession due to workplace violence (Frederick, 2014). Townsend (2012) reported that 70 % of nurses, who experienced bullying at the workplace, leave their jobs, and 60 % of new graduate nurses quit their jobs within first six months of being bullied (as cited in Marquis & Huston, 2015). Workplace violence is an important leadership issue to address because it affects turnover rates, productivity, patient safety, and overall quality of care (Marquis & Huston, 2015).

Our Health Our Future: Creating Quality Workplace for Canadian Nurses (Maslove and Fooks, 2004). Safe working environment plays a vital role in the ability for providing quality nursing care. So, workplace safety is a main issue for discussion in every occupation particularly in nursing profession in health care setting since nurses are an integral part of public health. Violence against nurses causes hamper in achieving personal, professional as well as organizational goal. According to Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) “workplace violence is any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated or assaulted in his or her employment”. Similarly, Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) defines ‘Workplace

The trade-off is the alternate policy for lateral violence for the nursing staff. This policy alternatives encompass an effective education and training to create awareness of the issues of LV which should not be tolerated or endure by any staff. Holding health care settings accountable and imposing a zero tolerance policy of LV against nursing staff versus previous policy. The OSHA policy on workplace violence failed to specify violence by type. Rather, LV was placed under the blanket of assaults (hazard) at the workplace, which have created a huge loophole for organizations not to take precautionary measures on LV against nurses. In this case, a mandate must be place to give nurses the avenue to reporting LV

Violence in all its forms has increased dramatically worldwide in recent decades (Balamurugan, Jose & Nandakumar, 2012). According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report, nearly two million American workers report having been victims of workplace violence each year (2011). Among those at highest risks for violence in the healthcare setting are nurses, social workers and psychiatric evaluators (OSHA, 2011). In the healthcare setting, physical assault is almost exclusively committed by patients (Balamurugan et al., 2012). Moreover, nurses have the highest rate of violent attacks out of all healthcare workers (Howerton Child & Mentes, 2010); the main reason being that nurses are alongside the patients 24-hours a day, are usually the most available caretakers and are the frontline staff members dealing with patients and their relatives whereas psychiatrists, social workers and other healthcare providers only visit from time to time (Yarovitsky & Tabak, 2009; Rowe, 2012; ALBashtaway, 2013).

The committee will run focus groups with participating nurses, managers, and patients will help collect first-hand information on the culture of safety. These focus groups have proven to improve important safety strategies necessary for proper implementation of the WPVPP (Arnetz et al., 2015). From this information, the safety committee will collaboratively create new policies and procedures for the WPVPP and identify any barriers to implementation. Site specific environmental changes can be carried out during this phase. For example, installation of panic buttons, cameras, better lighting, and barriers are environmental upgrades that will assist in violence prevention (Gillespie et al., 2013). Strategizing how the program will be rolled out is also an important characteristic of the

Stopping Lateral Violence of any type in the workplace, specifically in the field of nursing is essential not only for one’s physical and mental wellbeing but for continued success professionally and socially. Lateral or Horizontal violence or abuse in the workplace is violence occurring between workers; it includes both overt and covert acts of aggression (Donley, 2012). This aggression can be verbal and nonverbal, and comes in many forms. “Lateral violence in any form feels bad and creates fear which prevents one from being at his or her best (Donley 2012). According to Donley, you cannot be productive in a fearful environment because you may experience any range of these emotions including but not limited to feeling violated, anxious, stressed, disrespected or angry (2012).

Located in Chicago, Illinois is a private nonprofit health care system called “Westside Health Systems”. The company consisted of a hospital, a nursing home and 5 minor emergency clinics.

Workplace Violence statics across the United States of America have been on a steady rise each year since the early 1990’s. Reports have consistently shown in recent years that than an average of 500 homicides and 1.5 million assaults occur each year in America, in the workplace. With those types of statics on the rise in America it’s clear that a Workplace Violence Program is essential to the health, welfare, safety, and security of our employees in the workplace. When enacting a Workplace Violence Program it is the goal of the company to help employees become more proactive in the efforts of identifying possible violent situations, as well as minimize the risk of the employees becoming injured or even killed in the workplace. It’s of the utmost importance that we gain the employees commitment to the Workplace Violence Program. In order to gain our employees full commitment to our Workplace Violence Program we must first ensure that a training regiment is developed to help enable the employees to become proactive. This case study will reflect the efforts made in developing a Workplace Violence Program in a corporate setting, from a security point of view and stand point. The objectives of our Workplace Violence Program is to recognize the signs of a potential problem, Understand that Workplace Violence is not random, recognize that Workplace aggression is predictable, comprehend that Workplace Violence is preventable, and understand preventative action to minimize

Workplace violence is not just when someone walks in and start shooting everyone. Although this kind of violence does happen, it is rare. The probability of you getting killed on your way to your job is greater than while on the job. Violence in the workplace does happen, and since one can’t predict when someone is going to go off the deep end and start killing their co-workers, this type of violence is hard to prevent. This type of violence is not the only kind of violence one might