Not long ago I was part of a program on workplace violence. The program was produced at Cal State University Dominguez Hills and was hosted by Donna El-Armale who is an instructor at Cal State Dominguez and has a private practice as a psychologist as well.
Having discussed and written about workplaceviolence at length it is no surprise that Congress is holding hearings regarding a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report found nearly 300 claims of sexual assaults in Veterans Affairs (VA) treatment facilities. According to the GAO, the VA currently relies too heavily on patients to identify themselves as sexual predators so that they can be safely housed away from others in treatment. The patients do not undergo background checks for criminal records of for the sex offender registry.
The GAO found that facilities with broken security cameras and alarms, and found that sexual assaults are not always properly reported in the VA system. It was alleged that the VA has unclear reporting expectations and inconsistent definitions of assault. There is no clear policy for reporting assaults. Senior members of the House Veterans’ Affairs have filed legislation that would compel the VA to fix these oversights.
Given that the healthcare industry in general is reputed to have high degrees of sexual assault and general violence in the workplace, it would be helpful for the Veteran’s Administration to develop and enforce policies that would make it safer for healthcare workers to conduct their business. Overall, it is not just the VA that has reported high levels of sex assault and workplace violence. A recent article stated that in the Seattle Washington area, the most dangerous job is that of a nurse. Not a police officer or fireman. A nurse is the most dangerous occupation. That’s an eye opener.
So while we fill for our wounded veterans, we should also take note of the healthcare personnel who work to heal them. They shouldn’t suffer abuse just because they happen to be on the job.
