Abstract
[This is an excerpt.] Workplace violence against nurses happens every day. In 2022, the rate of assaults in U.S. hospitals increased by 23%. A recent study of RNs found a significant proportion of nurses who cared for patients with COVID-19 experienced more physical violence and verbal abuse, and had more difficulty in reporting the incidents to management. These statistics attest to the magnitude of this serious problem that nurses face every day. Our Presenter is Lynda Enos RN, MS, COHN-S, CPE. Lynda is an occupational health nurse and certified professional ergonomist with over 30 years of work and consulting experience in industrial and health care ergonomics and safety with over 200 companies nationwide. She holds an undergraduate degree in nursing and a graduate degree in human factors/ergonomics from the University of Idaho. In 2017, she completed a 2-year project for the Oregon Association for Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) that included providing assistance to 5 hospitals in Oregon to evaluate and facilitate development of comprehensive workplace violence prevention (WPV) programs. As a result of this project Lynda developed a comprehensive toolkit for prevention violence in healthcare “Oregon Workplace Safety Initiative Workplace Violence in Healthcare: A Toolkit for Prevention and Management” that was published in December 2017 and extensively updated in March 2020. Lynda has since worked with several state hospital associations to conduct WPV prevention workshops that are based on the Oregon WPV toolkit and are offered to hospitals and other healthcare entities throughout a state either in-person and via webinar. In 2019, Lynda assisted the Oregon State Stabilization and Crisis Unit (SACU) to further develop their WPV prevention program for 23 group homes for adults and children. She is a subject matter expert for several regulatory and research entities including, the American Nurses Association and American National Standards Institute and International Standards Organization, and the Joint Commission. [To view, click View Resource.]
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Professional Associations: Spotlights: Professional Associations Operational Strategies (Ensuring Physical & Mental Health).
