Workplace Violence in the Health Sector - Coursework Example

of Paper of Your Full of Table of Content Introduction In the United s, records from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety shows that on the average, 20 workers are killed and 18,000 others are assaulted in the work place each year1. This implies that workplace violence is a major issue and all organizations have an obligation to integrate it in their activities and processes in order to avoid causing major issues and problems. The purpose of this paper is to examine the workplace violence in the healthcare sector. It will critically review and analyze workplace violence in the normal sense and how it affects the efforts and activities of workers. This will continue to critically evaluate and analyze important features relating to workplace violence in the healthcare sector. The final parts of the essay will include a review and analysis of how workplace violence can be curbed in the healthcare setting Workplace Violence There are numerous definitions of workplace violence. However, the most widely-accepted definition is the one put forward by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which states that: Workplace violence is violence or the threat of violence against workers. It can occur at or outside the workplace and can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide, one of the leading causes of job-related deaths2. Workplace violence implies a work-related situation which culminates in some kind of verbal or physical assaults or deaths. This implies the utilization of some kind of force or the exhibition of a high level of anger which culminates in various forms of stress and emotional panic. This includes violence that is connected to the workplace and could spill over to other parts of the society. The issue of workplace violence is so common and it has been identified in a study that 70% of organizations experience workplace violence in one way or the other3. However the same researchers identify that in spite of all this there is only half of these entities have a program meant to deal with workplace violence and control it. Work place violence is often carried out through various emotional imbalances and shortfalls that are induced by disagreements and other circumstantial conditions. Workplace violence is such that it could occur anywhere and in any situation and it is only the specific local condition that defines the possibility and severity of workplace violence at a given point in time4. Some workers do not really get the right kind of attention and connection relating to their disagreements with people and this tends to inflame passions and cause some workers to go overboard and get upset and go beyond the norms in dealing with issues5. This can be manifested in the form of various stages of emotional outbursts that can culminate in actions and processes that will cause people to carry out violent actions and processes6. This can best be handled and predicted through the examination and review of the behaviors and detection of early signs of activities and processes that leads to these forms of violence in the workplace setting7. It is identified that there four main types of workplace violence: 1. Employer directed 2. Domestic directed 3. Property directed 4. Commercial directed8 Employer directed workplace violence involves violence meted out by a person against a worker, supervisor or manager. There is also a domestic oriented violence which involves a relation, partner or spouse visiting the premises to mete out some kind of violence against a person. This is often out of the scope of the organization but they will have to take reasonable action to cooperate in handling the issue. Property directed workplace violence is about violence directed at the property or objects of a company or firm. Commercially oriented violence involves violence which involves money and finances of the company as a means of gaining some kind of ends. Violence in Healthcare Settings & Health and Safety Rules Violence occurs in the healthcare setting on a regular basis. The problem of violence in healthcare facilities is a global problem and ranges from customer dissatisfaction to all other members of the community who get violent from time to time on the premises of healthcare service providers9. There is a wide array of issues and matters that leads to violence in the healthcare industry including mental health disorders, drug or alcohol use, inability to deal with situational crises, possession of weapons, and being a victim of violence10. This includes the actions of patients in particular as well as nurses or staff members and managers which culminate in various forms of actions and violence. Patient violence is often very high as more and more patients tend to use force to push their cases, and this threatens doctors and other professionals in facilities11. This creates a unique risk for healthcare professionals. Studies have also identified that some medical practices are exposed to higher risks than others. For instance, workers in mental healthcare institutions and organizations tend to face higher risks of physical assault and sexual harassment than those in other fields and areas of specialization12. Out of over five hundred nurses studied in the research of Pai and Lee, it was identified that 51.4% have experienced physical assault whilst 29.8% have experienced physical verbal abuse that was detrimental to their lives in a mental institution13. The same study indicates that nurses on night duty are more prone to negative reactions and consequences in the area of experiencing violence than those who work during the day shifts. Anger and violence by nurses against other members of staff in the healthcare facilities also constitutes a major class of violence against health workers in healthcare facilities. This is obviously due to the fact that nurses constitute the highest number of workers in most healthcare facilities. The main reasons for nurse violence include nurses’ personal features and their personal feelings of depression which culminates in violence in these healthcare facilities14. This has to do with different features and processes including the kind of stress nurses are going through at any given point in time. This culminates in a situation whereby nurses sometimes vent out in a way and manner that is not appropriate. The same process also applies to other technical staff members including doctors and other specialists who have the propensity of venting out due to circumstances in the workplace. Nurse to nurse violence is often due to disrespect and violence in different arguments and discussions and a culture of no respect15. This often happens when the informal environment created in a given healthcare facility is one that does not have controls and proper ethics to guide the conduct of workers. Hence, there is a strive and a general trend towards violence and conflicts. Verbal violence is associated with high job strain, low social support, and low organizational justice16. This is because most workers who are not really protected nor get social support tend to face this kind of stress because they are not often treated fairly nor do they get any kind of guidance that protects them from the hostility of stakeholders in healthcare facilities. There is stress induced by patients and it affects the nurses who tend to become violent sometimes17. This includes scenarios and situations where patients come with extreme behavioral issues that cause nurses to become agitated and then resort to violence. Emergency room is an exceptional place and there are numerous situations of aggression and violence, need for restraint and calm18. The work process is marked by overload, individualization of responsibilities, time pressures and deadlines for making decision, little space for exchange and sharing, lack of support or guidance. This therefore makes it difficult and complicated for workers to cooperate easily. Sometimes provocations get out of hand and health workers have to resort to violence with each other. In other cases, patients or people connected to patients tend to get angry and this leads to violence and other processes that might have undesirable ends. The strong pressure to provide care quickly causes conflict and aggression among users and the different professional teams. These situations arise from problems in work organization and users in excess of the ER service capacity19. Legal Implications The legal requirement for the control of workplace violence is that there must be responsibility and early reaction to these issues in order to get solutions to them and avoid problems and issues. Legally, violence in the workplace is viewed in the context of conflict and disagreement. This is meant to have various features and aspects that puts one person in the position of the aggressor whilst the other is viewed as the victim. Conflict is about the differences in views and this means there is a difference in the way and manner people think, it has legal implications and this is placed on the directors and board for safety and compliance20. This is because the directors are the people who have the right and power to use the resources of an organization. Hence, they are primarily responsible for activities and processes that occur on their premises. In the healthcare sector which has an authoritative structure which is often different from the traditional system used by other entities, the council or ultimate authority are responsible either directly or indirectly for preventing and controlling violence, which constitutes a trespass on a person and personal integrity of an individual. The relevant laws, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), has requirements that places obligations on healthcare authorities to take time to draw plans on how to prevent violence on their premises. This includes plan that span from delegating responsibility to relevant management units of the healthcare facility to develop procedures and activities that are meant to prevent violence in companies and other relevant entities. The OSHA of 2004 developed the Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Services21. This culminated in a series of guidelines that all healthcare facilities are required to uphold and observe as a de minimis to ensure that they achieve compliance. This includes federal standards, however, some states have developed several additional rules and requirements that are necessary to ensure that healthcare facilities live up to the necessary expectations. Some laws have states that criminalize certain forms of assault against healthcare professionals. These are all necessary and must be applied in the right context and situation under the supervision of the authorities in a healthcare facility. The entire process involves the proactive risk analysis and risk evaluation in the healthcare facility on a regular basis. This also includes the proactive checklist of workplace violence programs. The risk factors include amongst other things: 1. Work in understaffed situations; 2. Overcrowded sections and periods; 3. Inexperienced staff members; 4. Prevalence of criminal and violent patients in a facility; 5. Availability and movement of drugs and money in the facility; 6. Adequacy of security The OSHA system makes it mandatory for a healthcare facility to draw a plan for handling all of these activities and processes. This will culminate in various strategies and processes for dealing with situations and matters that will lead to positive and good results in all aspects of the activities and processes. On the other hand, there are numerous checklists and obligations that are placed upon the directors and management of each healthcare facility and this must be handled through proactive measures and activities which include amongst other things: 1. Organizational assessment of maters and issues relating to management committee and employee involvement; 2. Regular analysis of workplace violence records; 3. Identification of environmental risk factors for violence; 4. Assessing the influence of day-to-day work practices and the occurrence of violence; 5. Post Incidence response; 6. Assessing employee supervisor training; 7. Record-keeping and Evaluation22 This includes proactive obligations and responsibilities that people will need to carry out and undergo in all situations and contexts in order to get better results and attain a high and appreciable level of compliance in running a healthcare facility. This can help to provide a framework for identifying and discussing hazards in order to achieve the best and most appropriate solutions to maters and issues. Constitutes aggression – violent and non-violent aggression23 Legal suits can be initiated through litigation and other processes24 Healthcare worker initiatives are taking a shape before they get legal acceptance in special forms; Administrative stress also causes major problems between staff and workers and this leads to conflicts25 Need to take data and evidence that can be presented for legal purposes26 Legal requirement might not be strong and this leads to staff turnover27 Ethical Protection and Prevention Heed threat and signals and be proactive to prevent tragedy and to check unhappy situations as well as dangers and matters, being proactive is better than just staying around without issues; mental illnesses and proactive monitoring for anxiety and emotional changes28 Recommendations for Improvement According to a study on violence in the healthcare environment, there is a correlation between violence prevention climate dimensions of policies, practices and pressure for unsafe practices were found to have a positive significant relationship with job satisfaction.29 ED WPV needs to be addressed urgently by stakeholders through continued research on effective interventions specific to Emergency Medicine. Coordination, cooperation, and active commitment to the development of such interventions are critical30. There is a strong requirement for workers, supervisors and managers to learn how to detect early signs of workplace violence and how to deal with it before it gets out of hand31 Training must be about learning about the typical profile of a potentially violent employee and refer them to counseling32 Strong observation to observe behavior trends and changes in tone and body language33 During the counseling and training process: Long conversations and long chats, respond calmly, request for assistance from others to help him to improve, notify security personnel whenever employee is of a negative act34 Hiring is the main pointer through which the right workers can be identified and handled35. Check history, background and observe in order to deduce the problematic workers and try to find solutions to their actions Healthcare institutions need safeguards and special actions and processes36 Reward good behavior and also encourage dialog 37 Aytac, S., & Dursun, S. (2012). The effect on employees of violence climate in the workplace. Work, (41) 3026-3031. Benton, D., & Williamson, L. (2014). Safeguarding Health Care Workers. American Journal Of Nursing, 114(12), 61-63 Blanchard, Y. (2011). Violence in the Health Care Sector -- A Global Issue. World Medical Journal, 57 (3), 87-89 Ceravolo, D.J., Schwartz, D.G., Foltz-Ramos, K., & Castner, J. (2012). Strengthening communication to overcome lateral violence. Journal Of Nursing Management, 20 (5), 599-606 Clinical digest. Stresses That Trigger Violence Against Hospital Staff Revealed. (2014). Nursing Standard, 29 (1), 16. 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