Challenges to managing violent patients in the emergency room by a team of providers

What is it about?

Healthcare workplace violence is a growing problem, and the emergency department (ED) is one of the most common and dangerous places for those events to occur. We found three main themes after conducting focus groups and interviews with healthcare workers: 1) ED healthcare workers face a "patient care paradox" when trying to care for someone that can hurt/assault them; 2) teamwork is critical to safely managing this population, but hierarchy and professional silos inhibit this; and 3) environmental challenges and systems issues both in and outside the ED exacerbate safety threats.

Featured Image