For this Assignment, focus on the attached Zelnick et al. article on workplace violence and consider what plan to have in place if you were an administrator having to address a similar workplace violence situation.
Assignment (2–3 pages in APA 7 format):
- Draft a plan for a human services organization explaining how to address traumatic emergency situations.
- Include both how to respond to the emergency and how to address any long-term effects.
- Finally, based on the article or a personal experience, explain your greatest concern about the safety of mental health professionals working in a human services organization.
Emergency Plan
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
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Instructor’s Name
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Emergency Plan
Introduction
Workplace violence is a serious concern anywhere across the world. Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behaviors that happen at the workplace. Acts of violence and other injuries are currently considered the third-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United States. Physical assault and the verbal threat of assault are major problems faced by healthcare workers. According to Zelnick et al. (2013), the literature suggests that deteriorating working conditions and service quality results from underfunding and program cuts have often led to high rates of physical assault. Physical assaults happen when the employee is physically attacked in an act of violence (Zelnick et al., 2013). In that regard, this paper provides a plan to address such incidences and other concerns to complete the assignment.
Administrators often face difficulty addressing issues related to physical assault, which normally lead to traumatic situations. In cases of such traumatic emergencies, then the employee should be thoroughly examined to identify broken bones, fractures, wounds, or other physical injuries (OSHA, n.d.). It is important to investigate the contributing factors or causes of physical assault and rectify any mistake that was done that made the client physically assault the healthcare provider. The victim should receive immediate and proper treatment if he/she was physically assaulted. The leader should stay firmly in charge and make the employee feel that they are valued. The information should be shared with relevant departments and authorities immediately to avoid uncertainties (Holbrook et al., 2019). Particularly in the first few hours after a tragedy, information will be scarce and much in demand. This plan might help address situations of traumatic emergency.
The proper response to the situation and addressing any long-term effects in cases of traumatic situations is very necessary. If the employee is hospitalized, it is important to visit him/her, send cars, and show another expression of concern (Holbrook et al., 2019). As an administrator, it is very crucial to encourage co-workers to show support. At some point, the employee will need to tell the story of the assault, probably more than once, and may find it easier to discuss this with co-workers who are familiar with the work setting and may have had similar experiences. The family of the employee may suffer when the worker is hospitalized or sustains severe injuries (Zelnick et al., 2013). The family may need support; it is important to offer them. Counseling and other medical support are critical. Counseling services should be offered through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Human service organizations deal with people from various backgrounds. Health care professionals working in these human service organizations are vulnerable to mental health problems due to both physical and verbal assaults (Zelnick et al., 2013). Victims of physical assault may experience various mental health problems including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and others. Unfortunately, most victims will experience these effects in some capacity (OSHA, n.d.). While many common psychological effects of physical assault include feelings of shame, guilt, or fear, these emotions may be more fleeting and get better as time goes on. Such individuals should receive proper counseling to help them.
Conclusion
Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behaviors that happen at the workplace. This paper focuses on physical assaults and verbal threats to physical assault. Healthcare professionals in a human service organization are prone to mental illnesses due to assault. Counseling might help the victims of assault recover from mental trauma.
References
Holbrook, C., Bixler, D. E., & Rugala, E. A. (2019). Workplace violence: Issues in threat management. Taylor and Francis Group.
OSHA. (n.d.). Workplace Violence. https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence#:~:text=Workplace%20violence%20is%20any%20act,%2C%20clients%2C%20customers%20and%20visitors.
Zelnick, J. R., Slayter, E., Flanzbaum, B., Butler, N. G., Domingo, B., Perlstein, J., & Trust, C. (2013). Part of the job? Workplace violence in Massachusetts social service agencies. Health & social work, 38(2), 75-85. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlt007