Assaults by patients on psychiatric residents: a survey and training recommendations.
OBJECTIVE
A survey was conducted to determine the frequency and severity of assaults on psychiatric residents and the level of training they receive in the management of violent patients.


METHODS
In early 1997 a survey was randomly distributed to 2,553 psychiatric residents, who represented half of all psychiatric residents in the United States. The survey asked about experiences of assaults and training received in management of violent patients.


RESULTS
Completed surveys were received from 517 residents, for a 20 percent response rate. Seventy-three percent reported being threatened, and 36 percent had been physically assaulted. A third received no training in managing violent patients, and a third described their training as inadequate.


CONCLUSIONS
Two-thirds of psychiatric residents are either undertrained or feel undertrained in dealing with violent patients. The authors propose a training curriculum based on recommendations of an American Psychiatric Association task force report on clinician safety.
Schwartz
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State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse, 13210, USA. schwartt@vax.cs.hscyr.edu
Park
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D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*