Chapter 25 Workplace Violence and Incivility

Chapter 25  Workplace Violence and Incivility

Complete Chapter Questions And Answers
 

Sample Questions

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Your healthcare organization places a high value on workplace safety and integrates this into all aspects of administrative and patient care processes. As a unit manager, you thoroughly endorse this direction, and during the selection and hiring of new staff, you consistently:
a.
Refuse to hire applicants who are pushy during interviews.
b.
Thoroughly follow up with all references before offering a position.
c.
Ask applicants during the interview if drug or alcohol abuse is a problem.
d.
Refuse to interview applicants with sporadic work histories.

ANS: B
Sporadic work histories and a “pushy” attitude may or may not be associated with aggression and violence. Checking references thoroughly helps to effectively check out impressions gained during the interview and may yield useful information about issues related to violence and aggression in previous employment.

REF: Page 504 TOP: AONE competency: Business Skills

2. You need to terminate Gregory, who has had a long-standing history of conflict with you and the staff, and who recently was charged with theft of patient belongings. You consult Human Resources, and together, you develop a plan, which includes:
a.
A private meeting with Gregory, a Human Resources representative, and you to deliver the news and deliver the termination notice and all other documents that are related.
b.
Planning an opportunity for Gregory to return and be recognized at a staff farewell.
c.
Calling Gregory at home to tell him that he is fired, and that his paperwork will be sent to him at a future date.
d.
Calling him into a meeting in your office on the ward, where assistance is available, should he become upset or agitated.

ANS: A
Termination requires careful planning as to timing, privacy, safety, and how to preserve the employee’s dignity and avoid humiliation. Choosing a private location where colleagues are not present, and organizing all documentation that is required to be given to Gregory, achieves these goals and prevents his having to come to the organization at a future date.

REF: Page 504 TOP: AONE competency: Business Skills
3. In which of the following situations would you, as the head nurse, be concerned about potential safety issues?
a.
Jordan comes to your office to complain about inadequate staffing on the unit. He says that he is concerned because he attributes a recent incident to the staffing levels.
b.
Henry, a long-standing RN on the unit, has begun to miss work regularly. He calls in but is vague about his reasons for the absences.
c.
Carla, RN, has just ended a relationship with Jake, RN, and he will not leave her alone. You are meeting with Jake today because colleagues on nights have reported that Jake seems to have been intoxicated last night and the previous night.
d.
Sarah is very quiet and says almost nothing in team meetings. Lately, she has been much more animated since becoming friendly with a couple of other RNs on the unit.

ANS: C
Jake seems at most risk for violence because of his alcohol use and the end of what may be an obsessive relationship with Carla. In the other situations, Jordan is expressing a legitimate concern and is behaving assertively; Henry may have health concerns or other issues that are private and interfering with his work life; and Sarah’s change in behavior is likely related to a higher level of comfort with work and colleagues.

REF: Page 512 TOP: AONE competency: Business Skills

4. Delaney, one of your staff nurses, confides that Marjorie, another nurse, has been actively telling others that you are incompetent and do not know what you are doing in relation to patient care, and that you lie to the staff about attempts to get more staffing. Through telephone calls and conversations during breaks, she is recruiting other staff to her position. Delaney confides that most of the staff find you fair, honest, and knowledgeable. Marjorie’s behavior can best be characterized as:
a.
Political action.
b.
Bullying.
c.
Building alliances.
d.
Disgruntlement.

ANS: B
Workplace bullying involves aggressive and destructive behaviors such as running a smear campaign and failing to support another nurse.

REF: Page 508 TOP: AONE competency: Business Skills

5. During coffee and other breaks, Rosalie, the new RN, is shut out of conversations with the other staff. When she approaches other staff on the unit to ask questions, they turn and walk off in the other direction. The behavior of the staff is characteristic of:
a.
Dislike.
b.
Lack of trust in Rosalie’s abilities.
c.
Horizontal violence.
d.
Cultural incompetence.

ANS: C
Horizontal or lateral violence and bullying are terms used to describe destructive behaviors towards co-workers, such as the “silent treatment” and shutting others out of socializing.

REF: Page 498 TOP: AONE competency: Communication and Relationship-Building