Safety Zone for All Nurses & Healthcare WorkplacesSeptember 2, 2017 We have seen the video of Nurse Alexandra Wubbels being pushed out of her workplace against her will while trying to do her job, caring for a severely injured patient in a hospital setting. A detective for the Salt Lake City police, Jeff Payne, accused the nurse of “obstruction of justice”. As nurses we are riveted as we watch him interfere with the quality of care she and others were attempting to give those under their care. Nurse Wubbels was handcuffed and allegedly sat in a parked police car for 20 minutes, before she was released. Nurses and other healthcare workers must be able to work unfettered and without fear in their efforts to promote the health and healing for their patients. It takes courage and dedication to manage the care of those who need it, and that courage and dedication extends to providing a safety zone for that health and healing. No healthcare agency or hospital is immune to workplace violence. Most of us work in safe places, yet our workplace safety zones depend on the degree of management commitment and staff participation. All of us need to participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating the violence reduction plans where we work. That detective was heard to say: “We’re done” just before he grabbed Nurse Wubbels and began to aggressively shove her out the door of her workplace. We as nurses are not done. We will continue to focus on the needs of our patients, their families and concerned friends, and we will insist on their safety as well as our own. Thank you. Vicki Carroll RN, MSN DNA 9 |