Violence against health care workers is increasing. With fewer mental health services available, health care workers have disproportionate exposure to potentially dangerous patients. This article reviews the experience of one nurse who was severely injured by a patient and the lessons learned by the hospital where the incident occurred regarding minimizing the risk of staff injury when providing care for potentially violent patients. We interview Robert P. Roca, MD, MPH, MBA; Antonio DePaolo, PhD; Ernestine Cosby, RN; and Bolarin Kehinde, RN, to shed light on this serious issue.

Article discussed in this episode: Ensuring Staff Safety When Treating Potentially Violent Patients