Experts: to crack down on violence in the ED, establish a robust system of reporting, educating staff.
Researchers say that most ED personnel will experience some form of physical or verbal violence at some point in their careers. However, when such incidents are regularly reported, the patients involved can be flagged in a hospital's computer system, making future events involving the same patients much less likely. Further, when ED personnel are alert to the clues that a patient or family member is becoming agitated, early intervention can usually prevent the situation from escalating to violence. About one-half of all ED personnel will experience a physical assault, and 97%-100% will experience verbal abuse during their careers, according to research. A first step in developing a strategy for dealing with violence is to educate ED personnel about what constitutes workplace violence so that all such incidents can be reported. Experts say many ED workers fail to recognize some instances of violence, based on the intent of the person involved. However, intent should not be a factor, they say. In many cases, empathy and good customer service skills can prevent tense situations from escalating to violence, but experts say that it is important to intervene at the first sign of agitation. ED administrators should gather input from frontline staff on how to most effectively derail instances of violence.
D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*