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Turrbal and Jagera Country
Level 4, 348 Edward Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
Go Rural Virtually (GRV) is an opportunity for health students to connect with health professionals through a virtual experience, by showcasing a topic, community, and health services from Queensland’s rural communities online.
The fifth instalment of Go Rural Virtually was held on Tuesday, 28 June and discussed Managing Aggressive and Violent Patients.
In conjunction with six speakers, all from varying health backgrounds, GRV provided students with an insight into how rural health professionals have developed their own strategies to deal with unmanageable patients in various health settings.
Alycia Jacob, JCU Researcher and PhD Student, described that the term violence was something that ‘we will know it when we see it’. Violence can be situational and the experience different depending on the circumstances as this will determine the way in which people interact.
Rebecca Schultz, Director of Nursing at Northern Territory Health, spoke about substance abuse, including alcohol, being a major driver of aggression and violence. Rebecca continued by stating that untreated mental health is also a contributing driver of violence in the health care sector.
Workplace Violence and Aggression Coordinator, Kallan Griffin left the students with an important take-away message by reminding them that although dealing with difficult patients is an unfortunate element of working in health care, it is a wonderful industry to be part overall.
Key discussion points on the night included:
How situational awareness training can moderate and keep health professionals safe in health care settings.
Learn to manage patients before they escalate into violent and aggressive behaviour.
Why it is important to report incidences when you have been verbally or physically threatened.
The importance of supporting yourself and your colleagues following a verbal or physical incident.
We thank all speakers and students for contributing to this insightful subject, and hope that those who attended benefitted from confronting a topic that undoubtedly will be experienced as part of working in health care settings.
If you missed the live event, you can watch it here. Join us for the next episode of Go Rural Virtually on Tuesday, 18 October. Keep up to date with all of our events via our website, be a part of our virtual community, connect with peers, expand your professional network, and be inspired.
