Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Friday, September 18, 2009

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ: Fear walks the streets of New Haven, CT, the town which hosts Yale University, one of the most prestigious centers of higher learning in the world. The sudden, and apparently violent, murder of one of their own has led the students to be concerned about walking around campus and that "a killer is among us," as some students have said. But they meant, from my read, that it is someone in the community who is stalking the students. They talked about the fact that the security system in place all over the campus should have protected them, but they fail to understand one fact: a killer can be anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Killers are our next door neighbors, the person who sells or delivers something to us, our co-workers, our fellow students, persons of every stripe in our society. We are never far from someone who could, if spoken to a manner they consider to be disrespectful or unappreciative, act impulsively. and hurt any of us. The killers lie inside, not roaming around the campus or the nation in search of prey. The prey is right next to them all the time and all they need is that one thing which will hit the switch to put them into murderous rage.

We've seen workplace violence in many settings and, much of the time; it is fueled by firings, employee disputes or romantic relationships gone wrong. The US Dept. of Labor, however, has noted, as have other agencies, that hospital settings are particularly unique in the number of workplace violence incidents. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (1999) statistics for an estimated 2,637 nonfatal assaults on hospital workers, they found the rate was 8.3 per 10k as opposed to other workplaces which had 2 per 10k.

A 2003 survey in Canada found that "nurses are experiencing a high number of violent acts…but not just from patients." The assaults noted by the 9000 nurses who responded went from physical assaults and threats of assault to sexual assault from patients, family/visitor as well as physicians and nursing coworkers. One finding of the survey was that most hospital personnel are reluctant to report violence.

When we consider the stress that is evident in hospital and research settings, violent incidents may occur unless there is a means to prevent them. What is one of the primary things that need to be done in these settings? The issue of burnout must be addressed since it can lead to feelings that can precipitate violent incidents.

However, while there are programs in place, how effective are they? Do staff really identify all the incidents of violence they experience and where do graduate students fit into the mix? Working in labs with strict time limits on work to be performed, not getting enough sleep, having to prepare research papers and apply for grants all increase the stress level. Can graduate students complain with impunity or do they feel their careers may be jeopardized if they do? All relevant questions that need to be answered.

http://www.drfarrell.net

Patricia A. Farrell, Ph.D.

Licensed Psychologist

Patricia A. Farrell, Ph.D., LLC

Englewood Cliffs, NJ

201-646-0478