Page 21 - 2016 Nursing Annual Report | Summa Health
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Violence: enABLE Yourself to Respond
Accept that it’s really happening, you cannot react until you accept the circumstance.
Barricade yourself and others in, so that the aggressor stays out.
Leave the area, get as far away as possible.
Engage the aggressor if you must, fight back.
“The goal is not to scare people but to get their heart rate “People are actually using the training on the nursing
and body to react as close as to when they’re in an actual units. Class participants are telling me, ‘I step out of
scenario. The failures to react are just learning lessons, the room when someone gets angry.’ That’s the whole
so by the fourth scenario people are having the proper purpose of the training. People are walking the hallways
reactions,” said Blough. feeling more confident in their abilities to respond to
violence. It makes me feel more secure knowing many of
Safety of the participants involved is also of utmost our employees have taken the training,” said Blough.
concern. In the pre-testing, participants are asked
about their backgrounds and anything that could trigger According to Brown, they base their simulations on what
a negative response. Any participant who is feeling staff has seen in the hospital and real incidents that have
uncomfortable can leave the simulation and watch the actually happened. “We give real, practical, easy guidance.
event from the simulation control room. It’s not rocket science, its basic stuff that you just need to
be thinking of and knowing it’s a possibility.”
Anderson said many of the techniques used by Protective
Services come as a surprise. “Protective Services knows The course has gotten attention nationally. The group has
if someone is down, they’re going to step over them, presented to staff at Aultman Hospital and at the following
focusing on neutralizing the threat. Staff don’t realize what conferences: the Ohio Organization of Nurse Executives,
happens in a real life and death situation.” the American Nurses Association and the American
Nurses Credentialing Center Pathways to Excellence®.
One of the challenges is to get the participants to forget They also submitted n article for the American Journal
their healthcare training. “You protect people. I have to tell of Nursing and receive regular requests for their training
people you’re being too nice,” said Enos. videos and instructions on how to create a similar
program.
“Nurses will come right out and tell us that’s
abandonment, I can’t do that and we have to explain this Enos said support from senior leadership has been vital to
is different,” said Anderson. their success as well as the partnership between nursing,
Protective Services and the Simulation Center team. “This
“We need them to stay alive to help people once a threat is an interprofessional thing—this is not just nursing. It’s a
is neutralized,” said Brown. collaboration between nursing and Protective Services.
You can’t have one without the other.”
One example at Summa Health System – Akron Campus
demonstrated the value of the training. According to “Our goal is to keep as many nurses and healthcare team
Anderson, a distraught family member showed a nurse he members as possible safe, to give them the tools they
was carrying a gun. need and to help them think of what will work in their
facilities and how they need to adapt,” said Anderson. “We
“The nurse who saw the gun followed step by step what want to give them a foundation. Violence is increasing in
needed to be done, called Protective Services and gave healthcare right now. This is our way to try and provide
them a great description of the man,” said Anderson. the tools to help.”
“They also did a mini lockdown on the unit where the staff
closed all the doors to the patient rooms and explained
we are having quiet time. Protective Services found the
man after he returned from his car and he was admitted to
the hospital for treatment. It was a great example of using
the fundamentals of the course in a real life situation.”
2016 Nursing Annual Report 21
