RNAO announces recommendations for violence-free work environments
Recommendations to empower providers to stand up and speak out against violence
Friday December 5, 2008 -- Jason Thompson
The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) is putting forth a number of recommendations in an effort to promote violence-free work environments.

Announced Dec. 4 at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, the recommendations are included as part of a best practice guideline produced by the RNAO titled Preventing and Managing Violence in the Workplace.

The guideline is the result of the efforts of a team of nurses and other health-care experts who spent two years identifying research evidence and developing recommendations to address acts of verbal, emotional or physical acts of violence perpetrated by health-care professionals, patients or their family members.

"We're in a profession where there's a greater risk of violence. Having said that, when people say 'it's part of the job,' that assumes it okay and that it's going to happen," said registered nurse Margaret Keatings in a news release.

With the exception of a few well-publicized cases, the RNAO says the issue of violence against health-care workers is rarely discussed.

According to Statistics Canada, 28 per cent of Ontario nurses who responded to a 2006 survey said they had been physically assaulted by a patient in the past year. The survey found that 19 per cent of nurses experienced emotional abuse at the hands of a physician or co-worker.

Doris Grinspun, executive director of the RNAO, says as more and more employers begin to implement policies to address workplace violence and use the recommendations included in the RNAO’s guideline, there is one fundamental principle to keep in mind — it’s got to be enforced throughout the entire organization.

“It's got to be clear to everyone associated with the organization — from the chair of the board of directors and the CEO, to the chief of medical staff and the chief of nursing right down to patients and their families — that the policy applies to everyone and there are no exceptions," Grinspun said, noting that if implemented, the guideline’s recommendations will empower people to stand up and speak out against workplace violence.

Aimed at governments, employers, educators, professional bodies, regulators and unions, as well as individuals working in the health-care sector, some of the recommendations in the guideline include:

• Governments should enact and enforce legislation that promotes a violence-free workplace including mandatory reporting and whistle-blower protection for those who report violence in the workplace

• Organizations should ensure that the safety of patients, staff, physicians, volunteers and students is a strategic priority and consequently develop and implement a violence prevention policy and program that addresses all forms of violence in the workplace

• Individual members of the health-care team should collaborate with team members in a manner that fosters respect and trust and prevents violence. This includes refraining from actions such as gossiping, bullying, harassment, socially isolating others, pushing, throwing things, or any other aggressive behaviours

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