By Lynda McRae
Australian Nurses Federation (Victorian branch) secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick told The Express yesterday local nurses had reported being injured in struggles with patients which sometimes required treatment in LRH’s own emergency department and “there is overwhelming concern about how often nurses are spat at” while carrying out their duties.
“We are very concerned that there is a culture where this has become an accepted part of their job so we have asked nurses to report these incidents to us and we will keep them confidential,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.
Permanent link to this article: http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2013/05/23/violence-in-hospitals-grows/
The Texas Senate today took an important step to protect nurses and address nursing shortages by passing legislation to increase safety for health care workers in Texas hospitals’ emergency rooms. The bill will be sent to Gov. Rick Perry for approval.
House Bill 705, authored by Rep. Donna Howard (D – Austin) and sponsored by Sen. Charles Schwertner (R – Georgetown), passed unanimously and extends protection to nurses and other health care workers who provide care in emergency departments by enhancing penalties for assaults committed during the delivery of care.
Permanent link to this article: http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2013/05/22/nurse-assault-bill-passes-texas-senate/
“Chronic” workplace bullies are dangerous and almost impossible to change, but you can learn how to spot one, according to Hadyn Olsen, a workplace bullying expert.
The situational workplace bully
Hadyn Olsen says ‘situational bullies” are people who at times use bullying patterns of behaviour such as shouting, verbal abuse, intimidation and aggression. However, most of the time they may be well behaved and only act this way in relation to certain situations or events (like high stress, change or conflict).
Permanent link to this article: http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2013/05/21/how-to-spot-chronic-workplace-bullies/
By Ben Axelson
A new study from the University at Buffalo School of Management shows that workplace bullies may have high social skills that they use to strategically abuse their co-workers while still receiving positive evaluations from their supervisors.
According to the authors of the study, this is the first attempt to measure a relationship between being a bully and job performance, and the correlation was strongly positive.
Read the entire article on: Syracuse.com
Permanent link to this article: http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2013/05/20/what-can-be-done-about-workplace-bullying/
By Kevin Manne
Despite resistance to bullying from both employers and employees, many workplace bullies achieve high levels of career success, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo School of Management.
Published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology, the study found that some workplace bullies have high social skill that they use to strategically abuse their coworkers, yet still receive positive evaluations from their supervisors.
Permanent link to this article: http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2013/05/17/why-bullies-thrive-at-work/
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)is suing an employer for an employee’s claims that she was subjected to workplace violence concerns in violation of Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Section 11(c) of the Act, often referred to as the whistleblower or anti-retaliation provision of the Act, prohibits an employer from discriminating against employees who file complaints alleging safety or health issues at their places of employment. A couple of things makes this case unique: 1) there is no standard that regulates the issue of workplace violence and 2) the allegations contained in the complaint filed by the Secretary of Labor in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida seem strikingly similar to a complaint that would be filed after an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge rather than after a whistleblower complaint to OSHA for safety violations.
Permanent link to this article: http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2013/05/16/osha-tags-in-on-workplace-violence-issue-takes-it-to-the-court/
By Paul Rothman
Sifting through the reams of data available on workplace violence, it becomes clear that the issue has been on the radar of healthcare executives for more than a decade.
Back in 1998, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported that “more assaults occur in the healthcare and social services industries than in any other.” And while the statistics say healthcare workers are no longer the top target for workplace violence, it is clear they remain on the front lines. “It’s prevalent and it’s escalating,” says Anthony Potter, senior director of public safety administration for Novant Health, which operates 13 hospitals in Virginia and the Carolinas.
Permanent link to this article: http://workplaceviolencenews.com/2013/05/16/healthcare-trained-and-ready/