(69) Safety Starts with U: Mastering Workplace Violence Through Interprofessional In-Situ Simulations

Abstract : Workplace violence (WPV) can occur to all workers and ranges from verbal abuse to physical assaults. Between 2021 and 2022, the incidence rate of workplace violence was 2.9 cases per 10,000 full time employees; of which 71.6% of nonfatal cases resulted in at least one day away from work and the rest of the victim’s required a median of 13 days of job transfer or restriction (US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). Workers of any type should be equipped with knowledge and skill to identify disruptive/violent behaviors and use de-escalation strategies to ensure their own safety. However, an annual organizational learning needs assessment revealed that only 43% of staff had the knowledge and skills to deal with WPV. To address the identified gap, adult learning theory and the pathway of change were employed to design a 4-hour class that was implemented over a 3-month period. The class incorporated a didactic portion on evidence-based de-escalation strategies, following by two interprofessional in-situ simulations. Scenarios were built around true-life events and conducted with a standardized patient by adhering to the Healthcare Simulations Standards of Best Practice. Debriefing was facilitated by trained facilitators after each simulation. The Confidence in Coping with patient Aggression tool, administered pre-intervention and 6 months post-intervention, was used to assess staff confidence in coping with patient aggression. The post intervention data showed that staff confidence in coping had an overall increase of 21.2%. The learning needs assessment also indicated 96% agreed they possess the knowledge and skills of de-escalation techniques.

Please include a short summary of your presentation that highlights why an attendee would want to participate in your session.: Discussion of the significance of the problem (national data on WPV), Explanation of implementation strategies (class design using adult learning theory and change theory) and simulation design (INACSL Standards of Best Practices), discussion of evaluation metrics and methods and outcomes, and a discussion of challenges and next steps.