From Rage to Relief: Master the Art of De-escalating Angry Patients at Hospital Front Desk

Course Description:

The healthcare industry is experiencing a growing and alarming trend in workplace violence. 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.

This webinar will discuss strategies and tactics for defusing a situation without harm. Participants will learn about proxemics in the workplace and how to use space and distance to safely communicate. Participants will hone their verbal skills – including rate, volume and tone – and will learn options for resolution while setting non-negotiable boundaries. The importance of planning, practice and debrief to improve outcomes will be stressed. The webinar will end with a discussion of the major components of an effective workplace violence prevention program. These elements include senior leader support; sound policies, procedures and practices; implementing a multidisciplinary threat assessment team; communicating with staff regularly; and the role of data collection and analysis in program improvement.

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. A number of factors 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 Objectives:

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”
- The dynamic of unmet expectations
- Assessing the person - warning signs
- Warning signs
  - Agitation
  - Raised Voice
  - Profanity
  - Pacing
  - Glare and Stare
  - Threats
What is proxemics?
- Space between people that allows for a feeling of comfort
- It’s 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
- Rate, tone, and volume
- Listening empathetically
- Use questions – ask, don’t presume
- Consider if “creature comforts” are needed
- Think about what you want:
  - Voluntary Compliance
  - Cooperation
  - Collaboration
- Consider if “creature comforts” are needed
- 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
Live Q&A session

Suggested Attendees:

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

About the Presenter:

Mike Cummings, CPP, is a 50-year veteran of private security with the last 37 in the healthcare sector. He led the security program for the largest healthcare provider in Wisconsin for over 30 years and opened and leads his healthcare security consulting company since January 2018.

Mike is a Certified Security Professional (Board Certified in Security Management) since 1987. He obtained his BA from Marquette University and a MA in Business and Organizational Security Management from Webster University.

He has been a member of ASIS International since 1976 and The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) since 1985. He has served in numerous volunteer roles for both organizations.

Additional Information:

System Requirement:

Internet Speed: Preferably above 1 MBPS
Headset: Any decent headset and microphone which can be used to hear clearly

For more information, you can reach out to the below contact:
Toll-Free No: 1-302-444-0162
Email: care@skillacquire.com

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