FEATURED MEDICAL EDUCATION TOPIC: The Combative Patient

What is the problem?

Violence in the healthcare environment is a serious and growing concern. In the United States, healthcare workers face a substantially higher risk of workplace violence, estimated to be about five times greater than that of the average worker. Because of this elevated risk, healthcare professionals must be able to recognize situations that may create hostile, dangerous, or potentially life-threatening conditions within clinical settings. Agitated or hostile patients, especially in high-stress areas such as the emergency department (ED), can quickly escalate to aggressive or violent behavior, placing both patients and healthcare staff at risk of injury. Medications such as Haloperidol, Lorazepam, or Olanzapine are commonly used in hospital settings to manage acute agitation in patients when non-pharmacologic interventions are insufficient, helping to reduce distress and maintain safety for both the patient and healthcare staff. Healthcare professionals should be prepared to respond effectively when confronted with combative patients or other potentially violent incidents in the workplace.

Proposed Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, the learners will be able to:

• Compare approaches to managing the combative patient
• Select appropriate pharmacologic agents for the acutely agitated or combative patient
• Apply a tiered de-escalation approach to combative behavior

If your medical staff needs a CME lecture or training update on combative patients, workplace violence prevention, or acute agitation management in healthcare settings, consider contacting our office to book an expert CME speaker at 714-505-4777 or info@speakersnetwork.com.

REFERENCES

https://www.bls.gov/iif/factsheets/workplace-violence-healthcare-2018.htm

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33145538/