Defusing Angry Patients at the Hospitals or Medical Office Front Desk

This webinar will frame the current situation relative to workplace violence in the healthcare environment followed by a review of proven strategies and tactics that can be employed by front line staff to solve issues and reduce the likelihood of disruptive behavior and violence.

The initial portion will trace the growth of violence in the healthcare setting including many contributing factors to the high level of occurrence of these episodes. Included in this section will be a review of the growth of the problem over the years and factors that have contributed to the problem. Specific data relative to the growth of the experience of violence in healthcare over the past two decades will be introduced and discussed. A number of actors which contribute to the dynamics, both specific to healthcare such as wait times, stress of healthcare issues, financial issues and societal factors such as stresses caused by COVID and general financial challenges being faced by many.

The majority of the program will discuss the broad strategies and tactics that staff can use to reduce the likelihood of violence including:

• Learning how to recognize the warning signs of (behaviors) that often precede episodes of violence.
• The importance of understanding proxemics as it relates to personal safety and tactics to use when approaching an upset and potentially violent person. Examples include key distances, use of barriers, verbal commands and planning escape routes.
• The importance of constructive conversations including rate, tone and volume of your voice, language that shows respect and dignity and speech that demonstrates that you are listening.
• Understanding the needs of “the other” in order to negotiate a win/ win outcome, but still identifying non-negotiables and setting reasonable boundaries. This also includes a discussion of understanding and employing empathy.
• Important elements of preparation and follow-up and how they can aid in maintain preparedness for use of the above tactics, how to effectively debrief real situations in a timely manner for improvement and the importance of as many staff as possible being trained in the same approaches to establish consistency and reduce confusion during a real situation.

Additionally, there will be a review of the additional components that should be considered for a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the contributing factors to why workplace violence in the healthcare center is so high
• Learning the importance of “understanding the other”
• Understanding proxemics and tactics to use to maintain personal safety during encounters with angry persons
• The importance of effective verbal tactics
• How to negotiate for a “win/ win” while setting parameters around non-negotiables
• Understanding and utilizing tactics for passing the angry person to other team members
• Learning other key components necessary for a successful comprehensive workplace violence prevention program

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Introduction
  • Depth of the problem
  • Contributing factors in healthcare
• Understanding The Other
  • Agitation
  • Raised Voice
  • Profanity
  • Pacing
  • Glare and Stare
  • Threats
  • The dynamic of unmet expectations
  • Assessing the person – warning signs
  • Warning signs
• Proxemics
  • Space between people that allows for a feeling of comfort
  • Its about messaging and safety
  • Space and distance
  • Key distances: 6’ 4’ 3’ 18”
  • Defenses (verbal, move, barriers, flee)
• Beginning The Encounter
  • Approach (not just physical)
  • Remain calm
  • Think and portray dignity and respect
  • Acknowledge by name, if possible
  • Introduce yourself, your role, your purpose
  • Assess the location for excessive distractions – move the discussion
  • Match your non-verbal clues to your verbal technique
  • Barriers include: spacing, looking down, arms crossed
• Importance Of Voice Control
  • Voluntary compliance
  • Cooperation
  • Collaboration
  • Rate, tone, and volume
  • Listening empathetically
  • Use questions – ask, don’t presume
  • Consider if “creature comforts” are needed
  • Think about what you want
  • Key phrases that show support
  • Use “name”, “please” and “thank you”
  • Build on small successes
• Seeking The Real Issue
  • Ask what they want now and later
  • Provide options – based on what they want
  • Don’t give up, it can take time
  • State the non-negotiable and why
  • Impasse or disconnect – pass the person
• Planning, Practicing And Debriefing
  • Planning: what could happen and what would I do?
  • Practicing: role play or running scenarios and responses through your head
  • Debriefing: provides objective insights and may lead to improvement and shared learning

Recommended participants:

• Healthcare Executives
• Front-Desk Office Staff
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Non- Physician Practitioners
• Safety and Security Officers
• Medical Officers
• Practice Managers
• Safety Manager
• Compliance Officers
• Hospital Staff
• Front line healthcare workers who interact with potentially angry patients

Presenter Biography: