Staying safe: re-examining workplace violence in acute psychiatric settings

An educational program for staff in an acute, involuntary inpatient setting has led to positive change by challenging the widely held belief that getting hurt is an expected part of the job in acute psychiatric care settings. The Staying Safe program encouraged staff to think differently about their roles and to explore alternative responses to patient behaviors. Cultural change takes time: Staff have requested that the program be repeated multiple times over the past 5 years, and key concepts have been incorporated into employee orientation and refresher programs. During that same time, staff have learned to call for help more often and to have a plan for such help before physically intervening with patients. The strategies described in this program have resulted in decreased number of assaults on staff, injuries from assaults, and lost work time from those injuries.