Journal of emergency nursing : JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association
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Workplace violence is not a unique problem to organizations. Evidence-based toolkits and strategies are available to help provide a guiding framework for the reduction of workplace violence events. As times and stressors (both personal and environmental) change, hospitals must keep constant attention on how to address and implement initiatives to keep staff safe. This manuscript addresses steps taken at 1 hospital to meet this challenge. ⋯ Workplace violence is not part of the job. Ongoing work is needed to continue to move the needle and make hospitals a safer place to work. Engagement from all levels of the organization is necessary to have a successful program.
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Patient violence in health care facilities occurs daily. Structured risk assessments, when regularly completed, have been effective in prompting interventions to reduce aggression in Behavioral Health (BH) settings. ⋯ Using an evidence-based screening tool helped identify BH patients with behaviors associated with aggressive ED events. Proactive use of interventions, including use of Comfort Cart items, de-escalation, and prescribed medications, can positively influence reduction of risk from aggressive behaviors within BH patient populations in EDs.
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Violence against nurses working in the emergency department is a serious problem worldwide. ⋯ Most emergency nurses had experienced workplace violence. Hospital administration should take more effective security measures, hospitals should provide education and training programs for dealing with workplace violence, and programs to support staff members on encountering workplace violence should be implemented.
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Nurses in the emergency department often encounter patients exhibiting signs of aggressive behavior. Nurses need to know the pharmacologic treatment appropriate for the patient scenario to ensure safety for the patient and the emergency department team. ⋯ After each case review is a discussion about the appropriate pharmacologic therapy for that patient. The cases portrayed are fictional but based on experience and previous observations.