Recent attacks on nursing students lead to training
A “unique cluster” of attacks against nursing students by patients last year prompted the University of Alberta to incorporate a new training module into its curriculum to help protect students on placements.
In the span of one week, three nursing students suffered nonserious injuries, but it was enough to initiate an internal review by the university’s environment, health and safety department, said the faculty of nursing’s director of undergraduate services, Linda Youell.
A student was struck and scratched by a resident in a continuing care facility, another student was grabbed around the neck from behind by a patient in a psychiatry unit, and a senior nursing student was among several staff who were subjected to violence from a patient who was subsequently restrained by hospital security in an intensive care unit.
“They weren’t serious injuries, but that’s not to say it doesn’t shake up the students,” Youell said last week.
As much as health-care workers accept “a certain level of risk that comes with their profession,” the review deemed it appropriate to include additional training earlier in its program, in order for students to prepare for placements in various clinical settings.
Prior to this, nursing students undertook general communications training early in their coursework and more focused verbal and physical techniques when they took their psychiatric or mental health nursing course.
At the start of the fall semester this year, all 1,300 nursing students were required to take the new 30-minute video module and test to ensure everyone was up to speed on managing and de-escalating patients deemed out of control.
Next year, the 350 first-year nursing students will be required to sit through the Covenant Health developed module and test at the beginning of their first clinical course.
“We see this module as providing knowledge to the student,” she said.
“It’s a tool in the tool kit, but they have to learn how to apply it when they get into a real clinical situation.”