The Problem
A study by the American Nurses Association revealed that over a three-year period, 25% of surveyed registered nurses and nursing students reported being physically assaulted by a patient or a patient’s family member. Physicians — particularly emergency medicine physicians and inpatient psychiatric workers — are also frequently victimized. Furthermore, a recent Harvard Business Review showed that exposure to aggressive patients can increase the likelihood of medical error. The risk that compounds on a workplace violence incident can be devastating to your organization.
The Goal
To address this, patient-facing care providers at UCHealth received an Amplifire course covering de-escalation techniques in situations involving agitated or challenging patients. The course equips providers with skills to successfully manage aggressive patients and navigate unstable situations with confidence. The goal was to increase clinician safety while improving patient care. It was rolled out to 6,849 staff members at UCHealth.
Clinical Outcomes
Before Amplifire
- 60% of patient-facing care providers were confidently misinformed on topics regarding agitated patient warning signs and de-escalation techniques
- Staff were at risk, demonstrating 41,875 instances of confidently held misinformation and 32,701 instances of uncertainty
After Amplifire
- 34% decrease in workplace violence
- 11% decrease in use of violence restraints
- Overall increase in staff’s confidence in de-escalation capabilities
- 100% mastery was achieved on all course topics
Download the full case study to see all of the take-aways and the impact they had on clinical outcomes.
