Types of Workplace Violence in Healthcare and How to Handle It

The Four Types of Workplace Violence

Type I — Criminal Intent

You may encounter several types of workplace violence in healthcare. One of them involves someone who is not connected to the victim or the location. It typically means having someone entering the healthcare environment to commit a crime, like robbery. The focus could also be to cause disruption. 

Active shooter incidents sometimes fit into this category, too. Some shooters may have no connections with the healthcare location but entered it by chance. 

How to Handle Criminal Intent Violence

Prevention should be the first step. Addressing any vulnerable areas that people could use to enter the building and ensuring that medications and equipment are kept secure, for example, can prevent issues from arising in the first place. 

If they do arise, however, having an emergency action plan in place and knowing how to de-escalate the situation can be invaluable. Active assailant response training teaches you effective strategies for evading the criminal. It also shows you how to create barricades to keep yourself and your coworkers safe. 

Learning basic self-defense techniques can help protect you and others if there’s an actual confrontation. You can also learn how to communicate with law enforcement during and after the attack. 

Type II — Patient/Visitor Violence

Another type of workplace violence in healthcare involves aggression from patients or visitors. These people are there receiving care or visiting loved ones. Emotions are often high in healthcare settings, which can trigger trauma responses and frustration. The violence usually targets employees.

How to Handle Patient/Visitor Violence

In these situations, the goal is to de-escalate. This can be done in a number of ways, beginning with communication. Try to engage the person so that you can understand why they’re upset. 

You need to remain calm and focus on active listening. Paraphrase what the person says to let them know you understand why they’re upset. 

Validate their emotions and don’t use accusatory language. Be respectful and give them space. Keep your statements simple and to the point to avoid confusing them, which only makes the situation more volatile. 

It’s also helpful to use non-threatening body language. Don’t cross your arms over your chest, and don’t get into a posture that looks like you’re about to tackle the person or run out of the room. 

If there is a lot of noise and movement in the room, offer to go to a calmer environment to talk through what they’re feeling. Try to steer the conversation toward problem-solving. 

Type III — Worker-to-Worker

Worker-to-worker aggression is another of the most common types of workplace violence in healthcare settings. Working in healthcare means facing stressful situations day after day. It can lead to high emotions that put everyone on edge. The smallest trigger can start a problem between coworkers that could quickly escalate. 

With this type of workplace violence, those involved know each other. They have likely worked together for weeks or months. The tensions can arise from personal conflicts and clashing personalities, or they can be a result of work-related issues. Everything from lack of recognition to unfair treatment can cause these problems. 

This type of violence can be physical, verbal, or psychological. The most difficult to spot is the last one, which can include conduct like intimidation or bullying. 

How to Handle Worker-to-Worker Violence

Many of the techniques that are helpful in patient/visitor violence are also useful in worker-to-worker violence. Finding ways of relating to the person and letting them know that you understand they’re upset can help significantly. 

Recognizing agitation as early as possible assists in preventing problems from getting worse. Someone who’s struggling can display signs like faster breathing, clenched fists, pacing, fidgeting, and uncooperative language. 

As soon as you spot these, engage with the person by actively listening and encourage them to help you understand why they’re upset. These actions can prevent violence. 

Type IV — Personal Relationship Violence

This type of violence occurs when the person has a personal connection with someone who works in the healthcare facility. It could involve a spouse, ex-spouse, intimate partner, or any type of family member. The aggressor’s motives will be personal and will likely not have anything to do with the workplace itself. 

The aggressor could come to the person’s workplace to harass or threaten the victim, while also putting other employees in danger. 

How to Handle Personal Relationship Violence

To address personal relationship violence, one of the steps is to ensure everyone in the workplace knows how to recognize signs that some form of personal issue is occurring. Making certain the workplace environment offers support to those struggling with intimate partner violence or abuse can help prevent the escalation of these problems. 

Using verbal de-escalation techniques like active listening as well as non-verbal cues can lower the tension in the room. If this is not possible and the problem gets worse, knowing how to address a crisis is essential. The entire staff must know what steps to take to prevent injuries, including having clear exits and emergency protocols in place. 

Building a Safer Culture With Iron Temple Training Center

The healthcare environment is already a complex one, but the threat of workplace violence can impede providers from offering the support patients need. At Iron Temple Training Center, we tackle this problem by providing training programs that can address all types of workplace violence in healthcare settings. 

We provide de-escalate to safe state courses that make it easier to identify agitated people, offering the tools everyone in the workplace needs to bring the tension down. Because we believe that prevention is essential, we also provide healthcare workplace violence prevention programs to empower everyone in the team.

Are you ready to make the workplace a safer space? Contact us at Iron Temple Training Center to begin.