Running head: DIFFUSING ANGRY PATIENTS AND VIOLENCE 2

Assessing and Diffusing the Angry Patient to Prevent Workplace Violence

The decline of manners is well noted in society with bullying rampant in the schools and a new breed of language such as “road rage”, going “postal” and “whacked” becoming accepted mainstream lingo. In service transactions, which do include nursing, rudeness is widespread where the customer (i.e., the patient) has the mentality that s/he is always right. Moreover, the healthcare setting, a place where one usually goes for necessities, not optional visits, is often scenes of chaos fraught with intense anxiety and nerves. Those moods and environment coupled together is a powder keg for violence; unfortunately, workplace violence for healthcare workers. Workplace violence (WPV) can take many forms, including verbal and emotional abuse; physical assault; threats of physical violence; bullying, unwanted sexual advances; and various forms of harassment (Chapman, Perry, Styles & Combs, 2009). According to the CDC, healthcare workers are four times more likely to be assaulted in the workplace than people who work in the private sector (Moz, 2009). Nurses are vulnerable to WPV given their occupation requirements and need to interact with patients. Of the various specialties of nursing, nurses who work in the emergency departments (ED), psychiatric units, and nursing homes, often encountered the greatest risk. Flores (2008) noted that in a national survey, 100% of ED nurses reported to have been verbally assaulted and 83% have been physically assaulted.
The high incidence of WPV leads to an unsafe working environment and hinders the nurses’ ability to provide safe, quality care. The threat of physical assault can lead to injuries from bruises and lacerations to fractures, long lasting emotional