Organizational Position Statements
ENA Position Statement: Violence and Its Impact on the Emergency Nurse
Additional Resources and White Papers
Safe Work Environments: Reducing Violence in Emergency Nursing – A new course (free CE to ENA members) that emphasizes practical approaches to fostering a culture of safety in emergency nursing settings coring types of workplace violence, recognizing early warning signs, and implementing de-escalation techniques.
ACEP Workplace Violence Prevention Checklist – A sample checklist to understand what safety and violence prevention measures are in place.
ENA Workplace Violence Reporting Guide – Tips on filing reports and understanding victim’s rights produced in collaboration with emergency nurses and law enforcement officials.
Preventing Workplace Violence in Health Care – Proceedings from the AONL Foundation’s 2024 Leadership Symposium.
Joint Commission Workplace Violence Prevention Compendium of Resources – Suggested resources for accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals to assist in compliance with requirements established in 2022.
Toolkit for Mitigating Violence in the Workplace – Jointly released by ENA and American Organization for Nursing Leadership, the guide includes information on assessing risk factors, sample workplace violence prevention toolkits and more. Also see the accompanying Guiding Principles document.
Emergency Department Violence Fact Sheet – ACEP research into the increase in violence against emergency physicians.
Hospitals Against Violence| AHA – The American Hospital Association’s Hospitals Against Violence Initiative shares examples of best practices in the field, including emphasis on workplace violence prevention.
Design Considerations for a Safer Emergency Department – Study by Jon Huddy, author of ACEP’s design book, Emergency Department Design: A Practical Guide to Planning for the Future.
ED Violence is Dangerous, Rising and Unacceptable – Findings from ACEP’s January 2024 survey.
Emergency Department Violence: An Overview and Compilation of Resources – A collection of references regarding related legal topics, de-escalation, active shooter incidents and more.
Healthy Work Environment in the Emergency Care Setting – ENA’s evidence-based position statement regarding creating a healthy ED work environment, revised 2019.
Hostile Workplace: Emergency Management of the Agitated Patient – Excerpt from Critical Decisions in Emergency Medicine, February 2019.
Risk Assessment and Tools for Identifying Patients at High Risk for Violence and Self-Harm in the Emergency Department – Created by members of ACEP’s Public Health and Injury Prevention Committee.
Articles
Safe Haven: EmPath Units Provide Mental Health Patients a Soothing, Calming Alternative to the Frenzy of the ED (ENA Connection, June 2024)
Journal of Emergency Nursing, Vol. 49, Issue 3 – This issue of ENA’s peer-reviewed academic publication was almost entirely dedicated to workplace violence. (Journal of Emergency Nursing, May 2023)
“A Safe Space: Violence Toward Emergency Department Providers Isn’t Just Part of the Job” (ACEP Now, June 2016)
“Nothing Changes, Nobody Cares: Understanding the Experience of Emergency Nurses Physically or Verbally Assaulted While Providing Care” (Journal of Emergency Nursing, January 2014)
“Run, Hide, Fight: How to React When There’s Gunfire in the Emergency Department” (ACEP Now, June 2016)
“Workplace Violence Remains a Part of the Emergency Department” (ACEP Now, June 2012)
“Workplace Aggression as Cause and Effect: Emergency Nurses’ Experiences of Working Fatigued” (International Emergency Nursing, July 2017)
Podcasts
A Holistic Approach to Prioritizing Workplace Violence Solutions (ENA Podcast, November 2024) – Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s workplace violence committee chair, Lisa Triantos, shares what is working to find solutions and reduce incidents.
FBI Violence Prevention Strategies to Assess and Manage Threats Against Health Care (American Hospital Association Podcast, October 2024) – AHA talks with a unit chief from one of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Units about how behavioral threat assessments apply to the threat of violence against hospitals and health care professionals.
Journal of Emergency Nursing Takes In-Depth Look at Workplace Violence (ENA Podcast, May 2023) – ENA Podcast talks with Gordon Gillespie, PhD, DNP, RN, CEN, CNE, CPEN, PHCNS-BC, FAEN, FAAN, special editor of the JEN May 2023 issue, which was devoted to workplace violence.
From the Ground Up: Starting a Workplace Violence Prevention Program (ENA Podcast, October 2021) – Wendy Mickelson, the workplace violence prevention program manager for the Multicare system in Washington state talks about successes and challenges of building such a program from the ground up over the last year.
That Escalated Quickly (ACEP Frontline, May 2024) – A conversation with Randy Sorge, MD, on tips to deescalate agitated patients in the emergency department.
Dealing with the Agitated Patient (ACEP Frontline, August 2016) – Ryan Stanton, MD, FACEP talks to Reuben Strayer, MD on dealing with agitated patients in the ED and strategies to implement best practice for patient care in these difficult situations.
No Silence on ED Violence (ENA Podcast, November 2019) – ENA President Patricia Kunz Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN and ACEP President William Jaquis, MD, FACEP talk about the launch of the No Silence on ED Violence campaign.
Videos
Understanding Agitation: De-escalation (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance) – Ten-minute video simulates a de-escalating response to an agitated patient.
No Silence on ED Violence 
