Overview

A new initiative has been introduced to educate nurses, health care workers, and social services workers on how to prevent workplace violence where you work. Write a 750-1,000-word article on workplace violence and prevention measures for the hospital employee newsletter.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

•Competency 1: Explain the effect of health care policies, legislation, and legal issues on health care delivery and patient outcomes.

?Identify the political, legal, and/or legislative factors that may contribute to violence in health care settings.

•Competency 2: Explain the effect of regulatory environments and controls on health care delivery and patient outcomes.

?Identify the main components of OSHA's workplace violence prevention guidelines.

?Explain the American Nursing Association's position on violence in the workplace.

?Explain safety policies and protocols for preventing and responding to violence against health care workers.

•Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is consistent with expectations of nursing professionals.

?Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

?Correctly format citations and references using APA style.

Context

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (2002) defines workplace violence as any physical assault, threatening behavior, or verbal abuse occurring in the workplace. Violence includes overt and covert behaviors ranging in aggressiveness from verbal harassment to murder.

Specific to hospital workers, studies by the Institute for Occupational safety and Health (NIOSH) show that:

Violence often takes place during times of high activity and interaction with patients, such as at meal times and during visiting hours and patient transportation. Assaults may occur when service is denied, when a patient is involuntarily admitted, or when a health care worker attempts to set limits on eating, drinking, or tobacco or alcohol use. (2002, para. 4)

Reference

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2002). Violence: Occupational hazards in hospitals. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2002-101

Questions to Consider

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.

•What are the more common reasons for workplace violence?

•What clinical risk factors can lead to workplace violence?

•What obligation does a health care facility have to protect workers from violence?

•What personal safety strategies do you have to protect yourself from violence at work?

Suggested Resources

The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Library Resources

The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:

•Doby, V. (2015). Leadership's role in eliminating workplace violence and changing perceptions in the emergency department. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 41(1), 7.

•Blando, J., Ridenour, M., Hartley, D., & Casteel, C. (2015). Barriers to effective implementation of programs for the prevention of workplace violence in hospitals. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(1), 1-11.

•Bruce, M. D., &Nowlin, W. A. (2011). Workplace violence: Awareness, prevention, and response. Public Personnel Management, 40(4), 293-308.

•Saltzberg, C. W., & Clark, C. M. (2015). A bold call to action: Mobilizing nurses and employers to prevent and address incivility, bullying, and workplace violence. (2015). American Nurse Today, 10(8), 1.

•Gillespie, G. L., Gates, D. M., Miller, M., & Howard, P. K. (2010). Workplace violence in healthcare settings: Risk factors and protective strategies. Rehabilitation Nursing, 35(5), 177-184.

•Magnavita, N. (2014). Workplace violence and occupational stress in healthcare workers: A chicken-and-egg situation-results of a 6-year follow-up study. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 46(5), 366-376.

•Speegle-Clark, K. (2013). Violence in the workplace: A prevention program for healthcare workers. (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 1539707).

•Papa, A., &Venella, J. (2013). Workplace violence in healthcare: Strategies for advocacy. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(1), 1.

Internet Resources

Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.

•United States Department of Labor, Occupational Health & Safety Administration. (n.d.). Workplace violence. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthcarefacilities/violence.html

•United States Department of Labor, Occupational Health and Safety Administration. (n.d.). Workplace violence prevention - Health care and social service workers. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/dte/library/wp-violence/healthcare/

•AACN. (n.d.). Position statement: Workplace violence prevention. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.org/WD/Practice/Docs/Workplace_Violence.pdf

•Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (n.d.). Occupational violence. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/violence/training_nurses.html

•Liss, G. M. (2000). Violence in the health care workplace. CMAJ, 162(4). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1231158/

Assessment Instructions

Your workplace has experienced some serious problems with workplace violence that occurred between patients and caregivers. A new initiative has been introduced to educate nurses, health care workers, and social services workers on how to prevent workplace violence.

You have been asked to write an article on workplace violence and prevention measures for the hospital employee newsletter.

Preparation

Search the library and the Internet for scholarly and professional peer-reviewed articles on workplace violence. You will need at least five articles to use as support for your work on this assessment.

Directions

Write a 750-1,000-word article (3-4 pages) on workplace violence and prevention measures for the hospital employee newsletter. Address the following in your article:

•Identify the political, legal, and/or legislative factors that may contribute to violence in health care settings. Consider the types of patients that may be treated within a clinical or hospital setting.

•Compare OSHA regulations and the ANA position statement on workplace violence to organizational policies.

•Explain safety policies and protocols for preventing and responding to violence against health care workers.

Additional Requirements

Your presentation should meet the following requirements:

•Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.

•References: Cite a minimum of five resources, with the majority being peer-reviewed sources. Your reference list should be appropriate to the body of literature available on this topic that has been published in the past 5 years.

•APA format: Resources and citations should be formatted according to current APA style and formatting.

•Length: 750- 1,000 words or 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages, excluding title page and reference page. Use Microsoft Word to complete the assessment.

•Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.