Keeping the Phoenix VA a safe place for Veterans and staff

At Phoenix VA Health Care System facilities both patients and employees should expect to have an environment free from violence. In order to realize this, all employees at the VA receive initial and annual refresher training on how to identify, prevent, manage, and report disruptive behavior when it occurs.

The Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior class is a national education program that was developed by the Veteran’s Health Administration as part of its workplace violence prevention effort. PMDB is intended to provide employees with the information and skills to help prevent or manage workplace violence and empower them to take the needed actions to do so.

Some of the skills taught in this class are focused on stopping escalation and deescalating situations by creating a therapeutic rapport with individuals who have been or are currently being disruptive, improving interpersonal communication skills and being considerate of the context or situation of others.

Specifically, PMDB teaches these key tenets: empathy, mindfulness, thoughtful communication, and the importance of personal safety.

“In essence, the information we provide can be used to build skills that you can utilize in all aspect of your personal and professional life,” said Lauren Rush, the Phoenix VA PMDB program coordinator. “You can confidently have a difficult conversation, you can calmly deescalate someone frustrated, and you can be empowered to confidently set limits to your safety in a high stress situation.”

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while less than 20 percent of all workplace injuries happen to healthcare workers, they suffer 50 percent of all assaults.

“Our medical staff are at a very high risk of encountering workplace violence,” said Rush.

However, the medical staff are not the only employees at the Phoenix VA that interact with Veterans. All the non-medical staff, from administration to facilities management to housekeeping, also go through PMDB classes because everyone at the VA has a responsibility to promote a safe environment.

“Workplace violence prevention is everybody’s job, and it can happen to anyone,” said Rush.

“Our non-medical staff have many interactions with peers, visitors and patients through the workday and can encounter workplace violence in any setting,” said Rush.

Theresa Gonzalez, a medical technologist at the Phoenix VA, said that learning deescalating techniques helped her in her everyday life as well as made her feel more safe at work.

“Learning about the mechanisms in place to prevent workplace violence was eye opening, and it made me feel more secure in the knowledge that VA is making strides towards improving,” said Gonzalez.

PMDB focuses on preventative actions and much of that lies in improving interpersonal communication skills as a lot of escalation and frustration comes from poor communication.

“We practice this in PMDB class,” said Rush. “If we can improve our communication skills, it will lead to higher quality interactions with our peers and Veterans, which will hopefully result in a more positive experience for our employees and Veterans.”

Elena Kononchuck, an RN with the Phoenix VA said this course helped her to identify when to use or not use therapeutic techniques.

“During this class, I was introduced to different techniques of therapeutic containments, used by other disciplines,” said Kononchuck. “This class also provided me with necessary tools to recognize, assess and manage disruptive behavior at my workplace.”

For Rush, teaching the principles and skills of prevention and management of disruptive behavior is where she feels she can use her education and passion to help affect a change happen for the good of Veterans and staff alike.

“PMDB is important for me to use in my life, because I see the vast and lasting benefits for myself and others,” said Rush. “It helps me to feel confident in my role and model the behavior for my peers. PMDB takes you from a bystander to an up stander and helps you have more control over communications and interactions, to the benefit of everyone.”