It’s an unfortunate reality that too many family physicians have experienced some sort of violent encounter in their practice. Although the absolute number of fatal events remains, thankfully, relatively small, violent behavior directed against physicians and other health care professionals in the workplace ― whether in the form of verbal attacks or physical threats or assaults ― is a widespread and growing problem.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP( has developed a comprehensive toolkit to help train health care team members and staff in family medicine practices to identify situations that often precipitate violence and respond accordingly.
Learn more and access the toolkit on the AAFP’s website.