Greetings VHMA,
According to the groundhog, we are due for an early spring this year. I know for many of you it couldn’t be more welcome. We are already enjoying temperatures here in Florida and I don’t envy those dealing with the polar vortex and insanely cold temperatures. While we were enjoying our warm weather here in the Sunshine State, we experienced an unenviable situation at our practice.
It was about 10 p.m. when a young woman and her mother came our 24-hour emergency service. They were quite upset as their pet had been vomiting for some time. Unfortunately, our team was attending to two other critical patients and there was a wait. Needless to they were less than excited about that. Their frustration escalated over the next 30 minutes and after offering our best client service, we failed to calm them. The young woman became very angry, to the point of walking directly back to our treatment area to “see these critical patients.” Even her mother could not calm her and get her back to the room!
Defcon 3! The team was immediately on heightened alert. This client was now completely irrational and everyone felt threatened. They know if at any time they are concerned about their safety, call the police. This does not happen very often, this was one of those times. Sadly a Sheriff Deputy had to escort her out of the building and make sure she left.
I used to think that this was an emergency practice thing. Something that happened at night because we were open after dark. I was surprised to learn from the
results of this month’s Insiders’ Insight survey that 35% of VHMA respondents report that they been exposed to violence in the workplace. This is astounding considering that we work in hospitals!
We all know that we do not expect our jobs to be a walk in the park. Working in our industry can be stressful, demanding and, at times heartbreaking, but I think very few of us anticipated that we will be threatened with violence while on the job.
The fact is that in the veterinary world, as in any industry, all workers are at risk of being victims of acts perpetrated by clients, coworkers or strangers. Although the risk may not be high, the threat is pervasive. As practice owners, administrators, supervisors and managers we must be aware of the potential for violence and identify ways to mitigate threats and not be lulled into complacency by thinking that “it won’t happen to us.”
Regardless of the size of the practice, all employers have a responsibility to ensure the workplace is free of violence and threats. Failing to do so can result in loss of productivity, staff turnover or something worse to someone we care about. Practices that have not addressed this issue are putting their team at risk. I encourage each of you to determine whether your policies adequately address workplace violence. If not, the next step is to speak with owners and administrators about taking the following steps:
• Identify a workplace violence prevention policy or program
• Introduce efforts to raise awareness of the many forms of workplace violence
• Request that regular training programs are held to ensure that staff members are well versed in effective procedures and actions to respond to violent incidents
• Promote trust, respect acceptance in the office
• Encourage employees to follow procedures and not to treat policies to prevent violence lightly
In the United States, more than two million cases of workplace violence occur annually. Some experts suggest that the number is much higher because many of these aggressive acts go unreported. Violence in the workplace may be infrequent, but the potential for it should not be discounted. It is imperative that we assess their current policies and revise and/or enhance them to protect their employees.
Stay Warm – ‘Phil’ says, “Spring is on the way!”Jim Nash, MHA, CVPM
VHMA President