Monday, August 12, 2013

Online Course Teaches Nurses How to Prevent Workplace Violence

NIOSH has released a free online course to train nurses to recognize and prevent workplace violence. The multimedia program incorporates lesson text, videos, testimonials and quizzes. According to the agency, nurses who complete the course can receive continuing education credits.

On average, over the last decade, U.S. healthcare workers have accounted for two-thirds of the nonfatal workplace violence injuries involving days away from work across all industries. NIOSH and partners found that nurses and other healthcare workers receive little workplace violence prevention training. “No worker should be afraid of violence in their workplace, especially those who commit their lives to the care and treatment of patients,” says NIOSH Director John Howard. “This course shows how innovative ideas for developing trainings and strong partnerships can help to address this preventable workplace hazard.”

The course is separated in to 13 units, each of which takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. It is also designed so that participants can restart the course where they last left it, allowing them the ability to manage their time when taking the course.

Read more on NIOSH’s research and recommendations on workplace violence here.