Deck 24: Prevention of Workplace Violence

Question 1

Employee assistance programs can be especially useful when mitigating which source of violence?

A) Patients
B) Current or former workers
C) Criminals with no connection to the employer
D) Someone who has a personal relationship with an employee

Answer 1

Someone who has a personal relationship with an employee

Question 2

The human resources department has distributed posters with information about workplace violence such as typical profiles of workplace killers, characteristics of disgruntled employees, motivations for violent actions, and factors that contribute to the problem. This course of action is called:

A) risk control.
B) threat management.
C) violence assessment.
D) total quality management.

Answer 2

threat management.

Question 3

The only regulatory agency that directly oversees the safety and health of health care workers is:

A) The Joint Commission (TJC).
B) the Department of Public Health (DPH).
C) OSHA.
D) NIOSH.

Answer 3

OSHA.

Question 4

A common-sense look at the workplace to find existing or potential hazards for workplace violence is:

A) worksite analysis.
B) risk management.
C) administrative rounds.
D) hazard prevention and control.

Question 5

One of the several legal issues surrounding workplace violence is:

A) an employer may be subject to claims of negligence regarding supervision.
B) maintaining mandatory security ratios.
C) Department of Labor laws requiring employers to report each incidence of workplace violence.
D) the patient's right to unrestricted visitation.

Question 6

Jeff, the manager of security at Methodist Hospital, has required that all of his security guards attend de-escalation training. The workplace violence prevention strategy Jeff is promoting is:

A) hazard prevention.
B) environmental designs.
C) behavior modification.
D) administrative control.

Question 7

Jenna, a registered nurse (RN) has been accused of gossiping and bullying a new graduate RN on her unit. This type of workplace violence is called _____ violence.

A) horizontal
B) co-worker
C) threatening
D) nurse to nurse

Question 8

An external factor that affects violence in hospitals is the:

A) availability of handguns.
B) growing acceptance of drug use by health professionals.
C) inability of facilities to screen employees properly.
D) increasing number of patients with mental illness.

Question 9

The estimated percentage of nurses who experience bullying at some time in their career is:

A) 25%.
B) 40%.
C) 60%.
D) 80%.

Question 10

The most prevalent source of violence against nurses is from:

A) a current or former employee.
B) customers, clients, or patients.
C) criminals with no other connection to the workplace but who simply intend to commit a crime.
D) someone who is not employed at the workplace but has a personal relationship with an employee.

Question 11

County Hospital has purchased a computerized reporting system for reporting incidents, including acts of violence. Violence reports are aggregated, trended, and used to mitigate future incidences of workplace violence. This type of management framework is _____ management.

A) risk
B) threat
C) total quality
D) human resources

Question 12

Which of the following ratios most accurately reflects the rate of violence against nurses to the rate of violence against non-nurses in the health care industry?

A) 2:1
B) 4:1
C) 8:1
D) 12:1

Question 13

Internal factors that may affect workplace violence include (select all that apply):

A) inadequate staffing levels.
B) a large number of dangerous patients.
C) an inadequate number of security guards.
D) the methamphetamine abuse epidemic.
E) the hospital being located in a high-crime neighborhood.

Question 14

When staff nurses ignore a patient's verbal threats or acts of intimidation:

A) a greater number of patients return to the facility for care.
B) staff nurses report increased job satisfaction.
C) the patient receives exposure to a positive role model.
D) violence escalates.

Question 15

Employee assistance programs:

A) allow employers to place staff into anger management programs designed to help control potentially violent behavior.
B) encourage employees to provide assistance to co-workers experiencing workplace violence.
C) provide services to help employees cope with stressors that occur at home or work.
D) train employees to de-escalate violent situations.

Question 16

The chief operations officer of a local hospital has issued a memorandum indicating that the modular waiting room furnishings will be replaced with stationary units. This is an example of which type of strategy for preventing workplace violence?

A) Administrative controls
B) Behavior modification
C) Environmental design
D) Fixture adaptation

Question 17

An important role of the human resources department in limiting workplace violence is:

A) allowing the local police force to control violence within the facility.
B) delegating the control of workplace violence to individual unit managers.
C) developing comprehensive violence prevention policies and procedures.
D) empowering each nurse to assess each situation and react accordingly.

Question 18

A nurse executive is a member of a collaborative committee assigned to revise the violence prevention program. After reviewing the program, the committee has determined that the following components already were included in the existing program: a written plan available to all employees, a system for tracking work-related assaults, and specific strategies for reducing the severity of violent injuries. A primary revision recommended by the committee should be the inclusion of a:

A) detailed description of last year's injuries.
B) list of preferred work injury health care providers.
C) method for evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
D) way to determine whether an employee is at fault.

Question 19

Researchers concluded that _____ may facilitate a nurse victim's psychological recovery after an episode of workplace violence (Chapman et al., 2010).

A) critical incident debriefing
B) stress leave for up to 6 weeks
C) termination of the perpetrator
D) arrest and conviction of the perpetrator

Question 20

An integrated effort across all disciplines and functional areas to protect the financial assets of an organization from loss by focusing on the prevention of problems that can lead to untoward events and lawsuits is called _____ management.

A) risk
B) threat
C) total quality
D) human resources

Question 21

Examples of a primary level of violence prevention include (select all that apply):

A) well-lit parking lots.
B) critical incident debriefing.
C) de-escalation training for all staff.
D) metal detectors at hospital entrances.
E) posting security guards in the main lobby.

Question 22

The main components in a violence prevention program are (select all that apply):

A) a written plan.
B) worksite analysis.
C) criminal control.
D) security staff training.
E) record keeping and evaluation of the program.

Question 23

An evaluation of a specific threat of violence and an evaluation of the person making the threat is called ______.