assault is enacted in the jurisdiction of the hospital , it should be referenced along with prescribed maximum penalties . Most importantly , the zero-tolerance policy must be enforced by the hospital . The signs cannot be “ put up for show ” ( Wolf et al ., 2014 , p . 307 )
Educational Programs for Nurses
Hospitals should enhance training programs for nurses who are at a greater risk of workplace violence , including those who work with dementia patients , Alzheimer disease patients , patients impaired by alcohol or drug use , and those with mental health issues ( Speroni et al ., 2014 ). Training should include crisis intervention , mitigating violence through cue recognition to identify highrisk patients ( Wolf et al ., 2014 ), conflict management ( Trossman , 2016 ), looking for signs of violence ( Lantta , Anttila , Kontio , Adams , & Välimäki , 2016 ), and what to do when it occurs ( for example , de-escalation techniques ).
Violence education is sparse in nursing school curricula ( Baby et al ., 2014 ). School programs and hospital orientation or shadowing programs should be provided with more education regarding patient violence , de-escalation strategies , triggers for violence , and training for early identification of potential patient violence ( Kaur & Kaur , 2015 ). This training should be available before nurses or students work with patients . In addition , hospital administrators should be educated to advocate for nurses and empower the reporting of violence .
Winter 2016 Pennsylvania Nurse 8
Enlisting Others to Drive Change
Advocates for organizational change must enlist high-ranking members of the organization , including the hospital ’ s president or CEO . Top-down changes will be easier to implement and more effective in promoting change ( Lantta et al ., 2016 ). Others areas where the help of senior leaders will be vital include risk managers , nurse department leaders , safety committee members , legal officers , and medical directors . In unionized hospitals , the union president and stewards can advocate for the process .
Conclusion
Violence should never be a “ part of the job .” Studies highlight the persistence of a culture that accepts workplace violence for nurses ( Wolf et al ., 2014 ). Social mindsets must be changed to preserve the human rights of nurses who are victims of violence . Education , incident reporting , and support from the judicial system and organizations can assist in changing these attitudes . Stronger legislation and policies that motivate the reporting of workplace violence can help protect nurses and expose this issue . Nurses should receive education on the importance of reporting incidents . Informing the public of the zero-tolerance policy can dissuade bad behavior . Enlisting the help of others – primarily upper leadership – to change policies and practices will benefit the entire healthcare team .
More research is needed in this area to look for ways to halt workplace violence and protect nurses from harm ( Wolf et al ., 2014 ). British Columbia ’ s Health Minister Terry Lake may have said it best , “ We know that violence in the healthcare workplace is a real challenge faced by many dedicated healthcare workers , on a daily basis in many cases , but we can ’ t accept that this violence is inevitable or acceptable ” ( Kines , 2015 ).
References
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