No matter where people work in healthcare, they have one thing in common. They care about the safety of patients, clients, and residents.

“We care equally about the people working in healthcare, including the security professionals who provide vital support to our care teams,” says Victoria Schmid, SWITCH BC CEO, speaking to the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety Fall Ontario Chapter meeting in November. “That’s why I am excited about the work we are doing at SWITCH BC to update the Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum (PVPC) for everyone working in healthcare.”

SWITCH BC, with its partners that include unions, employers, physicians, WorkSafeBC, and the Ministry of Health, is updating violence prevention training to provide an accessible provincewide program for the more than 330,000 people working in healthcare. Following a needs analysis engagement, SWITCH BC’s What We Learned report shares reflections on the current program from nearly 1,300 health care workers representing more than 110 different health sector roles.

Key themes from the needs analysis were a desire for effective training, clear protocols and guidelines, supportive environments, access to resources and tools, and opportunities for continuous learning, Schmid says. This report also validated the importance of system factors that impact violence prevention training, including time constraints, resources, access to technology, and staffing shortages in healthcare.

The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety is a professional association with more than 3,000 members who are healthcare security, law enforcement, safety, and emergency management leaders. Schmid was invited to speak at the Ontario Fall Chapter meeting after participating in the 2022 Focus on Healthcare Security Summit. Read more of her insights from that event.