House Bill 710 dictates that each health care facility in Maryland should select appropriate individuals to form a committee aimed at conducting annual assessments to identify risk factors of workplace violence, and subsequently, make the necessary relevant recommendations to help mitigate the occurrence of this violence. The committee consults the employees in a certain health care facility to get information on emerging problems in relation to violence, and on feedback with regard to the prevailing workplace violence program (if any) in place (Maryland House Bill 710, 2014).
Stakeholders Pro
Employees are given the chance to give their opinions and ideas regarding workplace violence prevention (House Bill 710, 2014). This way, they feel appreciated, and they are able to effectively handle patients to avoid the occurrence of workplace violence. The commission mandated with the task of developing the workplace violence prevention program is representative of members in both management and non-management levels. This helps to promote equality; hence, members are able to fully participate because there is no feeling of deprivation.
Stakeholders Con
Studies by Peek-Asa et al. (2007) and Gacki-Smith, Juarez & Boyett (2009) do not indicate successful implementation of workplace violence prevention programs by hospital administrators. The study by Peek-Asa et al. (2007) indicated that the employees were insufficiently trained, and using the study location as an example, one hour used to train employees was deemed inadequate. Poor implementation of the HB 710 workplace violence prevention program does not impart the necessary information and skills to employees, who are the actual victims of violence.
Pros/Advantages
The Bill aims at reducing workplace assaults in Maryland’s health care and social assistance industry, which make up 72% of all workplace assaults (House Bill 710, 2014). The Bill is a guarantee to nurses and other health professionals that their interests are protected; hence, they are able to work without feeling threatened. In so doing, they are able to provide optimal care to the patients.
Cons/Disadvantages
The Bill may be applied to larger hospitals only. A study by Peek-Asa et al. (2007, p. 759) indicated that training on workplace violence among employees was not inclusive of everyone. Physicians and clerical staff were some of the employees that were excluded from the training. In addition, all the topics that should be covered during the training were not discussed, for example, a topic on policies and procedures (p. 760). However, there are few studies that have investigated workplace violence programs at different hospitals, the effect of these programs on the running of the health care facilities. The bill does not indicate how awareness should be created on the patients, their families, and visitors to prevent violence.
Implications for Health Care
There is a high turnover of staff as most of the nurses resign due to disillusionment. Health care is affected because the money which could have been spent on improving health care services is spent on recruitment due to difficulties of retaining staff who are disenchanted with the nursing profession (Gacki-Smith, Juarez & Boyett, 2009). As a result, the provision of quality health care is jeopardized due to a high shortage of staff (new and replacement).
Implications for Nursing
The House Bill 710 on workplace violence prevention is meant to give nurses confidence in the execution of their duties as it assures protection. The development of a workplace violence prevention program is meant to reduce nurses’ exposure to violence since it is believed that most risk factors resulting to violence are redressed. An environment free of violence enables the nurses to work in peace and gives them job satisfaction. Unfortunately, this is not the case, according to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (2007, p. 3), which gives projections of accelerated shortage of nurses in the United States due to workplace violence. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics had indicated that at least one million replacements would be required by the year 2012.
References
Gacki-Smith, J., Juarez, A. M., & Boyett, L. (2009). Violence against nurses working in US emergency departments. The Journal of Nursing and Administration, 39(7/8), 340-349.
House Bill 710. (2014). Web.
Maryland House Bill 710. (2014). Web.
National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice. (2007). Violence against Nurses: An assessment of the causes and impacts of violence in nursing education and practice. Web.
Peek-Asa, C., Casteel, C., Allareddy, V., Nocera, M., Goldmacher, S., OHagan, E., … Harrison, R. (2007). Workplace violence prevention programs in Hospital Emergency Departments. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 49(7), 756-763.