Emergency Nurses Association Designs Program to Keep Emergency Nurses Safe
Professional Association Prepares Emergency Nurses for Workplace Violence at Emergency Nursing 2015
Providing care in our nation’s emergency departments can be risky with more than 70 percent of emergency nurses encountering physical or verbal assault by patients or visitors in the emergency setting.1 The country’s leading organization for emergency nurses, the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), is on its way to changing that. The organization offers workplace violence safety training and education at its annual conference. The "Workplace Violence Prevention: Know Your Way Out" online safety course, created by ENA to keep nurses safe in the ED, has been in existence for just over a year.
“The Emergency Nurses Association is passionate about preparing nurses to manage difficult workplace situations,” said ENA president Matthew F. Powers, MS, BSN, RN, MICP, CEN. “So far more than 1,300 healthcare professionals have taken the free ‘Know Your Way Out’ course in an effort to better prepare themselves against workplace violence.”
Top workplace violence safety experts will offer tips and best practices to nurses at Emergency Nursing 2015, the Emergency Nurses Association’s (ENA’s) annual conference September 28 to October 3 at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center.
Thirty-two states now have legislation stiffening penalties for those who harm healthcare professionals in the emergency department. ENA is advocating to make it a felony in every state to assault an emergency nurse.
“We are dedicated to helping nurses proactively prepare for and de-escalate dangerous situations,” said Lisa Wolf, PhD, RN, CEN, FAEN, Director of the Institute for Emergency Nursing Research at ENA. “We encourage a culture shift that teaches nurses that workplace violence is not a part of their job, and they should not accept it.”
Wolf says that violence can range from verbal harassment to physical assault, adding, “The last time I was assaulted on the job, I was kicked in the head by a gentleman with dementia who was being treated in the emergency department. This is a common scenario for an emergency nurse.”
The Emergency Nurses Association supports:
- Educating nurses that workplace violence is not a part of their job
- Creating a proactive plan to avoid workplace violence
- Restructuring the waiting room process
- Improving staffing options for high-risk times
- Avoiding closed-door situations
For more information on the workplace violence sessions at the conference or the Emergency Nurses Association, visit: https://www.ena.org/education/conferences/2015
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Courtesy: Emergency Nurses Association
For interview requests, access to the conference, assistance in downloading, or other media inquiries, contact Shannon McCormick at shannon@mediasourcetv.com, 614.932.9950 or 614.477.2719.
Source: 1 Journal of Emergency Nursing, January 17, 2014: “Nothing Changes, Nobody Cares: Understanding the Experience of Emergency Nurses Physically or Verbally Assaulted While Providing Care.” http://www.jenonline.org/article/S0099-1767(13)00561-8/abstract
Shannon McCormick
MediaSource
O: 614.932.9950 / M: 614.477.2719
shannon@mediasourcetv.com
About the Emergency Nurses Association
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With more than 40,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines, and guides emergency healthcare public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness, and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.
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