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Abstract
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Workplace violence has always existed, and that's certainly true in healthcare. I have worked in healthcare for more than 40 years and have experienced it firsthand.
When I worked as a clerk in an emergency department (ED) years ago, I saw a patient making karate moves. He jumped over the counter, put his fist through the time clock, and then pushed his way deeper into the ED. A highway patrolman drew his weapon, and one of the doctors and I jumped on the patient to get him under control. The doctor gave him a shot of sedative. Later when I was a hospital security officer, a patient I tried to restrain pulled out a piece of broken medical equipment and stabbed me in the arm.
Workplace violence in healthcare is not new, but it is so frequent now that it has reached epidemic proportions. We all heard about the two nurses and a doctor who were stabbed at Encino Hospital Medical Center in California, and the two doctors and two others who were fatally shot at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both incidents happened in the same week in June, and both are examples of a trend. Nationwide, 70% of those who experience trauma from workplace violence are employed in healthcare or related fields...
Language: en |