Workplace Violence - Self Defense Training For Nurses

Statistical evaluations show that workplace violation is a growing problem particularly in the health care sector. On average, every nurse is assaulted one to three times a year. And, the sad part is that the nurses are not targeted by their colleagues but by the patients whom they take care of.

If you are also concerned about the safety of your staff in a hospital setting, there is some good news for you. The health care industry has finally awakened, to address this problem and prevent violence affecting nurses and other hospital staff.

In the past few years, hospital administrators have realized that the existing policies of workplace violence prevention fail to deter the numerous incidents faced by nurses and other medical professionals. Thus, in order to reduce the risk of fatal injuries during a violent situation, providing self-defense training to the nurses and other caregivers is the best option to avail.

However, some administrators are still reluctant to provide such training. They confuse self-defense with fighting and thus, think that if their nurses and staff members are trained in combat, there will be even more violence. Before rejecting the idea of providing self-defense training to the nurses, they should first consider how self-defense tactics work to determine their difference from fighting.  

Self-defense training given to prevent oneself from being hurt in a violent attack is different from fighting in many ways. Here are four such tactics which clear this difference.

1. Positioning the body strategically: Nurses can be trained to maintain a reasonable distance and adjust their standing position so that they can move away as quickly as possible if a patient becomes violent. It is similar to the tactic police officers use when they knock at the door or interact with car drivers.

2. Body Language: In health care settings, people are often frustrated and upset. Body language cues of nurses and other caregivers can work as a stimulator to trigger an unpleasant situation. Nurses can be trained to choose the right cues that do not only avoid a violent incident but also defuse it at the initial level.

3. Verbal skills: A deliberately controlled used of our voice has the same effect as the body language. Nurses can defend themselves in a violent encounter by controlled vocal intonations and verbal responses.

4. Strategic Training: Often the layout of the hospitals settings become a trap for nurses and other caregivers. They do not find a way to escape. The staff of your hospital or clinic must be trained to use escape tactics to prevent a violent situation from hurting them. You also need to provide them with a work environment that supports the avoidance and escape tactics.

If you really want to protect your nursing staff from workplace violence, there are many ways besides teaching them to fight. Proper self-defense training however, can help reduce the consequences that may arise due to a violent attack within a health care facility.

In addition, workplace violation incidents may put your hospital into financial crises and other complications; like loss of time, bad reputation and legal-liabilities. Employing defensive tactics will not only keep your staff safe but will also allow you to maintain a high level of professionalism.