Evaluation of OSHA Regulations and the ANA Position Statement on Workplace Violence to Organization Policies

Evaluation of OSHA Regulations and the ANA Position Statement on Workplace Violence to Organization Policies

The Occupation Safety and Health Association (OSHA) is committed to eradicating workplace violence. According to Papa and Venella, the OSHA regulations on workplace violence presuppose management commitment, employee participation, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, safety and health training, recordkeeping, and program evaluation. Thus, management commitment and employee participation regulations direct the organization’s managers and frontline employees to work together to promote the safety of health workers and their patients. The worksite analysis regulation prompts organization policies to assess a workplace for potential hazards that could cause violence by conducting a screening survey and analyzing the hospital’s security. Hazard prevention and control imply an organization’s policies that aim to design mitigation and control measures for hazards identified through the worksite analysis. The safety and health training regulation guides organizations to raise awareness among the staff about the workplace hazards present and teach them how to protect themselves. Lastly, recordkeeping and program evaluation enable an organization to evaluate the success and effectiveness of the programs established for sustainable, safe working conditions. The American Nurses Association (ANA) is similarly committed to ending workplace violence in healthcare. The organization affirms that nurses are committed to helping others; however, they should also be treated with respect and dignity in the workplace. As Saltzberg and Clark claim, the ANA’s position statement on workplace violence in organizations’ policies includes zero tolerance towards this phenomenon among healthcare providers. Hence, physical and emotional abuse are no longer accepted as a part of nurses’ jobs. The statement also delineates that nurses and the management should work together to create a culture of respect and safety. Lastly, the position statement supports the development of evidence-based strategies to mitigate workplace violence. Therefore, both organizations encourage healthcare providers to combat workplace violence through proper regulations.

Safety Policies and Protocols for Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Healthcare Workers

Safety policies and protocols are necessary to prevent and respond to workplace violence against healthcare providers. Therefore, collaboration and commitment of healthcare workers and managers in eradicating workplace violence ensure that the problem is resolved across different settings, from the emergency department to patient discharge procedures. Working together also makes worksite analysis efficient, as all risk factors that foster workplace violence, including free hospital movement and the possession of weapons in the healthcare setting, will be addressed. Such safety policies and protocols make it easy for managers to develop preventive strategies, including intensifying security staff and training them to identify violence and take appropriate action. Safety and health training of caregivers is also essential since it raises awareness of the appropriate actions to take when facing workplace violence.

Conclusion

Workplace violence between patients and caregivers has been outlined as a serious problem in society since it inflicts physical and psychological harm to the latter, thereby deterring their quality of care and performance. The political and legal factors that facilitate workplace violence in healthcare settings are the understaffing of nurses, inadequate healthcare resources, the poor allocation of funds, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, lack of warning legislation signs in hospitals against workplace violence, and the absence of clear legislation for violence prevention and incident reporting. Nonetheless, OSHA regulations and the ANA position statement have been developed to address the problem of workplace violence in healthcare. They encourage healthcare providers to work together with the management to address and prevent the discussed issue from happening. ? References 1. Blando, J., Ridenour, M., Hartley, D., & Casteel, C. (2015). Barriers to effective implementation of programs to prevent workplace violence in hospitals. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No01PPT01 2. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016, April 25). Hospital workers suffered 294,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2014. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/hospital-workers-suffered-294000-nonfatal-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses-in-2014.htm

Order Now