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Dear Colleagues,
The APNA community mourns the tragic loss of June Onkundi, North Carolina PMH-NP and APNA member. My deepest condolences go out to June’s family, friends, co-workers, and her APNA colleagues for this devastating loss.
An event like this may hit close to home for many of us. Considerations of safety are often at the forefront for psychiatric-mental health nurses - cultivating safe environments, keeping patients safe, keeping ourselves and our colleagues safe.
Workplace violence is still a significant issue in health care, one of great concern to us as psychiatric-mental health nurses.
In the APNA Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Workforce Report, less than two-thirds of RN respondents reported feeling safe in their hospital settings. This issue extends to all care settings and levels of practice. National reports from organizations including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and The Joint Commission demonstrate that violence and aggression towards nurses is prevalent. In fact, Press Ganey recently released data that an average of two nurses are assaulted every hour, with the highest number of assaults occurring in psychiatric units, emergency departments, and pediatric units.
From national and state policies to organizational culture to staff resources, there are many facets to how nurse safety and workplace violence must be addressed by policymakers, organizations, and leaders. The APNA position on violence prevention, which observes that it “relies on a set of interrelated processes” in health care settings, makes recommendations, including:
- Leaders must implement and support collaborative, team-based, relationship-based, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented models of care that may reduce violence and are grounded in civility and cultural humility.
- Workplaces should assure wide-spread adoption of the CDC’s Preventing Multiple Forms of Violence: A Strategic Vision for Connecting the Dots (2016).
- Nurse leaders can create and support nursing education and workplace policies that do not tolerate aggression or violence in any form.
Currently, OSHA only has voluntary national guidelines for workplace violence prevention programs. Further, state-level workplace violence prevention requirements in health care settings vary greatly. As a member of the Nursing Community Coalition, APNA supports efforts toward improving safety in healthcare settings, such as the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, which would require the OSHA to issue enforceable safety standards for workplaces. Further advocacy on this issue is in process from the 63 nursing organizations that make up this coalition.
During times like this, many of us look for something to do as part of a shared community - to help, or to share our thoughts. If you are feeling this way, here are a few options to consider:
- Share your thoughts and condolences with your PMH nursing community by adding a comment below. APNA will gather and share your messages with June’s family.
- Share the APNA Key Components of Safety with your leadership. Recently updated by the APNA Council for Safe Environments, this resource is full of recommended tools and research.
- Share helpful resources for grief, safety, and more with your fellow APNA members on the Member Bridge All-Purpose Discussion Forum.
I’m holding each of you in my heart as our community copes with the realities of this tragic event. Our grief shows the depth of caring we have for each other and those we serve. Let us remember to be gentle with ourselves at this time as we carry on with delivering hope and healing in steadfast service. Thank you for your bravery and dedication to improving the lives of others.
Chizimuzo (Zim) Okoli, PhD, MPH, APRN, PMHNP-BC, NCTTP, FAAN
President
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
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