Workplace Violence Prevention

Introduction-
Workplace violence is one of the most complex and dangerous occupational hazards facing nurses working in today’s health care environment. The complexities arise, in part; from a health care culture resistant to the notion that health care providers are at risk for patient-related violence combined with complacency that violence (if it exists) "is part of the job." The dangers arise from the exposure to violent individuals combined with the absence of strong violence prevention programs and protective regulations. These factors together with organizational realities such as staff shortages and increased patient acuity create substantial barriers to eliminating violence in today’s health care workplace. Agitated clients in the
emergency department, demented elderly patients in medical and geriatric wards, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers, and any patient with a history of assault in mental health, hospital care, and community health are common sources of verbal and physical violence against nurses and other health care providers.
Discussion of the topic There is an increase in violence toward Registered Nurses in the emergency rooms. What can be done in order to further protect medical staff from violent behavior from individuals who demonstrate aggressive behavior and what added measures can be implemented in securing their personal safety? The Council of Community Health Nurses and the Congress of Nursing Practices says that , ““The American Nurses Association (ANA , 2000 )supports educating nurses and health care providers in skills necessary for the prevention of violence against women , assessment of women in health care institutions , community settings and research on violence against women ‘ This education can be crucial for nurses .They need to learn the skills that may be necessary in preventing violent behavior toward them , in order to protect themselves . The articles goes on to explain that, ““The American Nurses Association believes there is a critical need for attention to be given for an increased awareness of the problems of violence against women by all health care providers, in order to reduce immediate and long term physical and psychological injuries that are associated with this crime ‘There must be increased awareness concerning this critical situation in order to satisfy that nurses are protected both physically and mentally.
Importance to health and nursing The long-term physical and mental damage, inflicted on the Registered Nurse can be severe and should not be overlooked.
Through education and clinical skills, nurses are allowed to partake in the learning assessment where prevention and intervention of sexual assault and domestic violence can be avoided. Surveillance can be a huge factor in damage control and it should be mandatory that all areas of the emergency room are constantly monitored by paid security forces that are well trained and can immediately determine if a treat is likely to happen within the emergency room. Not only should specially trained individuals carefully monitor all areas in the emergency rooms where nurses work, but they should be fully prepared to intercede where a situation may turn violent. Johanna Duncan Poitier (Poitier, 2003) issued the results of a September, 2002 Survey of Professional Nurses which explained that, ““the State Education Department (SED) presented the Board of Regents with the first of a two-part presentation, providing analysis of a comprehensive survey of New York State Nurses (In the results, there was a clear indication that Nurses are under a great deal of stress on the job. The stressful duties of a Registered nurse are continuous and at times, it is unclear to the nurse when a violent situation may be impending. Poitier says that, ““not only is there concern for safety while working in the emergency room, but there is also the work-load induced stress that is substantial ‘Poitier reveals that according to survey respondents. ““Eight of every ten nurses report they have to work very hard in their jobs. Close to two-thirds also say that they
have.

To Conclude
To conclude, federal and state laws to protect emergency room nurses from violence are needed to address this issue. Whereas some states have made assault of a nurse a felony, other states do not have such stringent laws in place to adequately protect nurses. Unfortunately, legislation such as this is often passed only after a tragic incident against a nurse takes place. To make this a legislative priority, leaders of nursing organizations need to use their government affairs departments to heighten legislators' awareness. Without legislative action at the state and federal level and innovative strategies at the hospital and department level, there can be no realistic hope of significantly decreasing emergency room violence.

Reference Page http://www.ispub.com/journal/the_internet_journal_of_advanced_nursing_practice/volume_2_number_1_6/article/domestic_violence_are_nurses_hiding_the_facts.html http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3148/osha3148.html http://healthnewsdigest.com/news/Research_270/Rates_of_Violence_against_Emergency_Department_Nurses_Are_Hi gh.shtml