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 addition to physical reactions of stress, healthcare professionals are also exposed to other satefy concerns that can be expressed using congnitive reactions. Some of the cognitive symtoms include confusion, poor concentration, memory problems, high or low levels of alertness, nightmares, and poor problem solving skills (NIOSH, 2013). Experiencing such stress symtoms can adversely impact the quality of care given by health care professionals and proper solution should be implemented to improve safety in the workplace.
In addition to physical and cognitive reactions to stress, medical professionals exibit strong emotions in response to traumatic and violent situations in the workplace. Some of the emotional symptoms include fear, anxiety, a sense of failure, irritability, guilt, grief, and loss of emotional control. Medical workforce exhibiting such emotional reactions should seek urgent mental health support to prevent such reactions from curtailing their medical activities in their workplace (NIOSH, 2013).Behavioral reactions are also evident among healthcare workers who have experienced various traumatic incidents. Examples of behavioral symptoms include emotional outburst, aggrevate anger, momentary reducti...