Page 20 - 2016 Nursing Annual Report | Summa Health

Exemplary Professional
Practice

New training program
provides crisis coping
skills

A physician gives a patient some bad news about their diagnosis. The
patient calls a family member, who comes to the room upset, asks to
see the doctor and then starts yelling. A Unit Director comes into the
room and is unable to de-escalate the situation when suddenly the family
member pulls out a gun. It’s just one of the scenarios presented during the
violence training course called “Violence: enABLE Yourself to Respond”
developed by a team of Summa Health nurses and Summa Health
Protective Services.

EnABLE was established in September 2016 in response Registration, pre-testing, screening and the post-test are
to the growing concerns about workplace violence. Robin all done through HealthStream.
Brown, BSN, RN, NE-BC, CHEP, Manager, EOC Safety and
Emergency Preparedness, pulled together a committee Participants do a baseline simulation evaluating group
with Shauna Anderson, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Unit Director, 6 performance to a violent situation and their ability to
West, Summa Health System-Akron Campus, Trish Enos, react. Those measurements are reevaluated after the final
BA, BSN, RN, CPHQ, Director, Performance Improvement simulation to evaluate the training effectiveness. The team
and Quality Assurance, and Keith Blough, MBA, Chief, also looks at how well prepared participants felt before
Summa Health Protective Services and Police, to see how and after completing the program. During simulations,
our current training programs could adapt. The team participants take on various roles from clinician, to visitor
decided to consolidate two separate safety programs— and patient. Protective Services officers are also involved
A.L.i.C.E. and Code Silver simulations—to create enABLE. to simulate their actual responses.

“We needed to come up with an acronym,” said Anderson. “That baseline demonstration is very eye opening. Then
“We came up with ABLE, but we don’t want people to just we train them, educate them, let them practice a few
be able, we need them to enable themselves to respond. things and run the same simulation at the end to see what
We want them to accept what is happening, and then they they’ve learned,” said Brown.
have the option to barricade, leave or engage if necessary.
At any time you can do any of those actions in any order After that initial scenario, participants head to a classroom
necessary.” portion where they learn the response options. They go
through two more simulations before repeating the first
The four hour program is presented January through one to see how they respond differently with training.
May and September through December in the Simulation
Lab at the Summa Health Corporate Services Center. “It’s amazing to watch how most of them do get it by
Nurses and medical staff receive continuing education the repeat of the first scenario. They are in safe places or
credits for completing the course. While the initial focus barricaded,” said Anderson.
was on training inpatient unit staff at the highest risk
for encountering violence, the course is open to all
employees.

20 Summa Health