Learning de-escalation skills is a key part of a workplace violence prevention strategy for community physicians and their staff. SWITCH BC’s Community Physician Health and Safety (CPHS) team shared tools and tactics with Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) at the Surrey North-Delta Division of Family Practice on July 23. The presentation, led by Dawn Wong and Carolina Borges, was titled Clinic Safety in Practice: De-escalation Strategies and Online Tools for Medical Office Staff. 

The session featured interactive activities to use the tools we’ve developed in workplace scenarios. Participants learned about patient stressors and protective postures through discussion, role-playing, and small group exercises. By practicing de-escalation strategies, MOAs are building confidence to apply these skills in everyday clinic interactions. 

After the presentation, 87% of attendees rated the session content as extremely or very relevant to their day-to-day work.