Citation

Joseph B, Joseph M. Indian J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2023; 27(2): 109-111.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Indian Association of Occupational Health, Publisher Medknow Publications)

DOI

10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_159_23

PMID

37600649

PMCID

PMC10434802

Abstract

The recent untoward incident involving the death of a junior doctor at the hands of a felon brought for routine examination in Kerala, India, had made the entire medical fraternity rise in arms. There were nationwide protests held by junior doctors for a while, debates on popular television channels regarding the vulnerability of the medical staff at the hands of patients and their relatives, condolence messages, and support posts on social media with hashtags galore--#doctormurdered, #savelives, #justicefordoctors, and so forth. Now once all the hue and cry has died down, what has really changed? How are we protecting our doctors and nurses from such attacks in the future? Who is responsible for the safety of those who have vowed to dedicate their lives to saving fellow human beings?

This incident is certainly not an isolated case in India. While there have been sporadic cases of violence across the country, the trend has steadily been rising.[1,2]

What constitutes workplace violence? According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Guideline set in 2002--"Workplace violence is defined as the situations where staffs are ill-treated, intimidated or attacked in conditions linked to their workplace, including commuting to and from the workplace, involving an explicit or implicit challenge to their safety, well-being or health."[3] While this definition captures the physical and verbal abuse meted out to healthcare staff at the workplace, it does not talk about the newer forms of psychological attacks that one can unleash by just the click of a button. A bad rating or an unsavory comment about the services of a doctor on social media can tarnish the image and question the competence of any established doctor, even affecting his sanity. In the present times, workplace violence should therefore be simply defined as "A situation where staff are attacked, abused or ill-treated either physically, virtually, verbally, psychologically or financially resulting in an immediate threat to their safety, well-being or health."...

Language: en