Dealing with Difficult Patients
September 2008
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation library holds many resources relating to dealing with difficult or violent patients. This is not a definitive list - please ask if you require other material.
Links have been provided where available. Other items are only available to members and staff of NZNO (if you are neither, please contact your local public, tertiary or medical library for assistance).
Books and articles
Abuse and Violence Against Nursing Personnel: Position Statement. (2006). International Council of Nurses. Geneva.
http://www.icn.ch/psviolence00.htm
Armstrong, F. (2006). Keeping nurses safe: an industry perspective. Contemporary Nurses, v21 (2), 209-211.
Australasian College of Emergency Medicine. (2004). Policy Document: Violence in the Emergency Department.
http://www.acem.org.au/open/documents/violence.pdf
Baum, N. (2002, November). 12 tips for dealing with difficult patients. Geriatrics, 57(11), 55.
Beech B, Bowyer D (2004) Management of aggression and violence in mental health settings. Mental Health Practice. v7(7), 31-37.
http://nursingstandard.rcnpublishing.co.uk/resources/archive/GetArticleById.asp?ArticleId=1801
Braithwaite, R. (2001). Managing aggression. London ; New York : Routledge.
Broadwell, S. (2003, May 21). Face up to violence. Nursing Standard, 27.
Butrej, T. (2001, June). Violence - is it preventable? The Lamp, 14-15.
Clements, PT. … [et al]. (May-Jun 2005). Workplace violence and corporate policy for health care settings. Nursing economics. 23(3): 119-
Conflict Prevention and Management. Practice Guideline (2006). College of Nurses of Ontario.
http://www.cno.org/docs/prac/47004_conflict_prev.pdf
Criner, J. (2007, January). Care of the Difficult Patient: A Nurse's Guide. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 57(2), 222-222.
Crouch, D. (2004, 17 August) Is an earful ever OK? Are there ever any mitigating circumstances that excuse verbal abuse towards nurses?. Nursing times. 100 , 33 26-27.
Dealing with difficult patients - a skill well worth learning. (2005, June 4). Pulse.
Deans, C. (2004-05 Dec-Feb). Nurses and occupational violence: the role of organisational support in moderating professional competence. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Distasio, C. A. (2002). Protecting yourself from violence in the workplace. Nursing, June 2002. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200206/ai_n9128669.
Documenting difficult patient encounters. (2000, January). Nursing.
Ferns, T. (2006). Violence, aggression and physical assault in healthcare settings. Nursing standard. v21(13): 42-46.
Gilmore-Hall, A. (2001, July). Violence in the workplace: Are you prepared? American Journal of Nursing, 55-56.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4086/is_200504/ai_n13499180
Griffin, M. (2004 Nov/Dec). Teaching cognitive rehearsal as a shield for lateral violence: an intervention for newly licensed nurses. Journal of continuing education in nursing. 35 ( 6), 257-263.
Guidelines for coping with violence in the workplace. (2007). International Council of Nurses. Geneva.
http://www.icn.ch/guide_violence.pdf
Haas, L., Leiser, J., Magill, M., & Sanyer, O. (2005, November 15). Management of the Difficult Patient. American Family Physician, 72(10), 2063-2068.
Harulow, S. (2000, May/June). Ending the silence on violence. Queensland Nurse,18-19.
Hollinworth, H … et al. (2005). Understanding the arousal of anger: a patient-centred approach. Nursing standard. 19, 37, 41-47.
Hull, S., & Broquet, K. (2007, June). How to manage difficult patient encounters. Family Practice Management, 14(6), 30-34.
Jones, J. (2000, December – 2001, February). Violence: Part of the job for Australian nurses? Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 27-32.
Kriet, K. (2008, April). Enhancing and Using Negotiation Skills. Dermatology Nursing, 20(2), 140-140.
Kupfer, Y., & Tessler, S. (2001, January). Weaning the Difficult Patient. CHEST, p. 7.
Landy, H. (2005, November). How nurses perceive their own and colleagues’ risk. Emergency Nurse v13 (7).
http://nursingstandard.rcnpublishing.co.uk/resources/archive/GetArticleById.asp?ArticleId=1195
Laskowski, C. (2001, January). The mental health clinical nurse specialist and the difficult patient: Evolving meaning. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 22(1), 5-22.
Lee, F. (2001, August 1). Violence in A & E: The role of training and self-efficacy. Nursing Standard, 33-38.
Lyneham, J. (2000, December – 2001, February). Violence in New South Wales emergency departments. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 8-17.
McLean, E.; Jamieson, J. & Holmes, J. (2006, Mar). How to guard against assault. Nursing Times. 102 (20): 58-59.
McPhaul. K. & Lipscomb. J. (2004, September). Workplace violence in health care: Recognized but not regulated. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. V9 (3).http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume92004/No3Sept04/ViolenceinHealthCare.aspx
Macdonald, M. (2007, July). Origins of difficulty in the nurse-patient encounter. Nursing Ethics, 14(4), 510-521.
Manos. P. & Braun. J. (2005). Care of the difficult patient: A nurse's guide. Routledge: London.
Model “State” Bill “The Violence Prevention in Health Care Facilities Act” American Nurses Association
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAPoliticalPower/State/StateLegislativeAgenda/WorkplaceViolence/ModelWorkplaceViolenceBill.aspx
Morrison, E., Ramsey, A., & Synder, B. (2000, February). Managing the Care of Complex, Difficult Patients in the Medical-Surgical Setting. MEDSURG Nursing, 9(1), 21.
Nabb, D. (2000, February 23). Visitors' violence: The serious effects of aggression on nurses and others. Nursing Standard, 36-38.
Norlan, P. (2000, June 15). Challenging violence. Nursing Times, 32-33.
Occupational Safety and Health Service. (1995). A guide for employers and employees on dealing with violence at work: Information for employers and other people who may be exposed to physical assault, verbal abuse, threats or intimidation. Wellington: Department of Labour.
http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/order/catalogue/pdf/violence.pdf
Oxtoby, K. (2004, 26 Oct.) How to tackle verbal abuse. Nursing times. 100 (43), 20-22.
Paton, Nic. (2004 9 Nov) Patients behaving badly. Nursing Times. 100 (45), 26-27
Queensland Government; Queensland Health. (2002). Occupational violence. Brisbane: Queensland Government; Queensland Health.
Ranson, D. (2004, August). Workplace violence in health care. Journal of law and medicine. 12 (1), 14-16.
Reeves, R., Douglas, S., Garner, R., Reynolds, M., & Silvers, A. (2007, March). The Individual Rights of the Difficult Patient. Hastings Center Report, 37(2), 13-15.
Rippon, T. (2000, February). Aggression and violence in health care professions. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 452-460.
Russell, S., Daly, J., Hughes, E., & op't Hoog, C. (2003, August). Nurses and 'difficult' patients: negotiating non-compliance. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 43(3), 281-287.
School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour, Industrial Relations Research Centre. (2001). Prevention of occupational violence in the health workplace: Taskforce on the Prevention and Management of Violence in the Health Workplace: Discussion paper no. 2. [Sydney]: University of New South Wales.
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policy/cmh/publications/violence/prevention.pdf
Sheldon, K. (2005). Communication for nurses: Talking with patients. Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
Smith S. (2005, August). Dealing with the difficult patient. New Zealand Family Physcian. 32 (4).
http://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/assets/Uploads/NZFP/Aug2005/Hawken_Aug_05.pdf
Stein, M., Jellinek, M., & Wells, R. (2004, November). The Difficult Parent: A Reflective Pediatrician's Response. Pediatrics, 114, 1492-1495.
Strachan-Bennett, S. (2005). Managing violent patients. Nursing times. 101, 13: 18-20
Twedell. D. (Ed.). (2008, September). Managing Challenging Patient Behaviours. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. v39 (9). p 390-391.
Violence: prevention and management. Chapter 46 in in Dougherty, L. & Lister, S. eds. The Royal Marsden Hospital Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures. 6th ed. Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing.
Violence: the short-term management of disturbed/violent behaviour in in-patient psychiatric settings and emergency.London : Royal College of Nursing, 2006
Wilson. H. (2005, April). Reflecting on the ‘difficult’ patient. Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association. v118 (1212).
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/118-1212/1384/
Websites
Workplaces against violence in employment (NZ)
http://www.wave.org.nz/index.html
Most of the Australian union sites have something on bullying or workplace violence
see http://www.anf.org.au/ for links through to the different state sites
American OSH factsheets and guidelines on occupational violence – includes in healthcare settings
http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/
Nurse Abuse/Workplace violence bibliography of resources prepared by the Nurses of Alberta, Canada
http://www.nurses.ab.ca/issues/HWHNBiblio.html
Alzheimers New Zealand
www.alzheimers.org.nz
Royal College of Nursing [UK]. Clinical Guidelines:
http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/clinicalguidelines/violence
Related resource lists
Bullying and Workplace Violence (Word)
Requesting an item
Members and staff can:
- Cut and paste the references of the items you require into an email to library@nzno.org.nz
- Phone us on 04 494 6387
- Fax us at 04 382 9993
- Visit us at Level 3, 57 Willis Street, Wellington.
The NZNO Library is open Monday to Friday 9.30-4.30pm. If you would like to visit the library please make an appointment to ensure that a staff member is available to assist you.
The NZNO library seeks to satisfy your information needs in the professional and industrial aspects of nursing.
Created September 2008
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