Not Part of the Job: How to Take a Stand Against Violence in the Work Setting

Despite decades of attention to the issue of violence in the workplace by individuals and organizations across the health care spectrum, it is still a widespread problem that nurses face every day in their work environment. Designed to spark a conversation and provide actionable tactics to reduce workplace violence, this book offers guidance to practising nurses on how they can better protect themselves against a wide range of unacceptable behaviours. This thought-provoking, action-oriented publication:: Outlines the factors that create barriers to efforts to reduce violence toward health care workers across a range of health care and social service settings. Offers strategies and tools that we have found effective in addressing and reducing these barriers. Provides steps that individual workers can take to make themselves safer while at work. Illustrates best practices and case studies from field experience in public sector agency settings such as psychiatric hospitals, institutional and community settings for the developmentally disabled, residential addiction treatment centers, juvenile and adult justice facilities, and community mental health settings. Not Part of the Job also focuses on the critical importance of collective action and building partnerships among workers, patient advocates, administrators, security personnel and others in order to effect change at the organizational level. Nurses and other health care workers will find this book to be an invaluable resource in the move toward a safer workplace and improved patient care.