Dealing With Stress and Violence in Healthcare Industry

Dealing With Stress and Violence in the Workplace
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Dealing With Stress and Violence in the Workplace
Healthcare professionals are often exposed to dangers while working in the health care industry. The dangers can come from many sources, including the ill, stressed families, and overburdened health care facilities. The Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CIS) Management Tool is an essential tool that is intended to reduce the stress levels of health care workers who have gone through or witnessed violence or trauma. Mitigating the high risks incurred in the workplace is the best approach of improving the workplace experience of the healthcare professionals. Various physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms of stress are recorded as workers cope with workplace stress and violence. Teamwork and supportive workplace are critical steps towards mitigating workplace violence and, hence, reducing workplace stress levels.
Health care professionals are victims of high risk posed by dangers in their workplace. The healthcare sector tops the list of industries experiencing the highest violence in the workplace with the emergency department having the highest risk levels (Pich, Hazelton, Sundin, & Kable, 2010). Violence in the workplace can either be physical or verbal assult perpetrated mostly by patients or their relatives (Hegney, Tuckett, Parker, & Eley, 2010). Hegney et al. (2010) also note that other health care professionals significantly contribute to violence in the workplace. Mitigating and eliminating violence in the workplace is vital in the working life of health care workers. Violence in the workplace can cause physical injury and and affect physical health, and psychological consequences, including (post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, fear, and helplessness (Hegney et al., 2010). It is the duty of every employer, both in the public and private sector, to provide safe working place for their healthcare professional.
Medical professionals who have experienced or witnessed trauma or violence within their workplace are likely to suffer from from stress and other psychological disorders. The National Institute for Occupational Satety and Health (NIOSH) define workplace as various acts of violence, such as physical assaults and threats, that are directed toward people in their workplace (NIOSH, 2014). Medical workers can experience varying physical, cognitive, emotional, or behavioral stress symptoms and reactions. As noted by Hegney et al. (2010), violence in the workplace and its consequences can reduce the quality of care given to ill patients and their families. There are various reactions and symptoms of stress that different people express.
Health care professionals should seek immediate medical attention should they experience any symptoms associated with stress. Some of the physical symptoms associated with stress include: severe pain, chest pain, difficulty breathing and symptoms of shock, including mental confusion, shivering, and dilated pupils ((NIOSH, 2013). Additional physical symptoms of stress include nausea, dizziness, fatigue, thirst, headaches, visual difficulties, clenching of jaw, and profuse sweating (NIOSH, 2013). In addi...