In Healthcare the areas you work in are closed and confined spaces. Getting tripped, pushed, or tackled to the ground, or grabbed in the front or behind and pushed into furniture or equipment, or grabbed from any direction, thereby  limiting your ability to escape can end badly. 

 In Healthcare, as in most professional settings, people typically speak in a low volume to respect others needs for privacy, concentration, and communication.    

When a life-threatening emergency arises, three professions must interact successfully to bring the situation to the best possible outcome. For example, a motor vehicle crash that has caused serious life-threatening injuries to one or more people will bring together law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services (EMS) at the scene and medical staff at the hospital.

When he was four years old, the Rodríguezes’ son Manny was diagnosed with autism.  Although that was difficult to hear, Mrs. Rodríguez felt relief when a diagnostician finally put a label on what appeared to be causing some Manny’s puzzling behaviors.  One of those behaviors was perseveration, something Manny’s therapist described as “insistence on sameness.”

When an attacker grabs you, it creates a situation that is dangerous on so many levels.  Grabs can quickly escalate to a fight, including the use of weapons.  Once grabbed, the victim is severely and instantly limited in their ability to escape or defend.  

All grabs are dangerous due to all the unknowns that may follow, meaning what might come next in the form of a follow-up attack. During any...

Problem:

People can deal with hunger for days and thirst for hours, but we can only manage being deprived of our next breath of air for a couple of minutes. That is why smothering sends a person so quickly into a blind panic, whenever they are forced to fight for their next precious breath of air. 

Unlike shooting from a distance or even stabbing during a sudden assault, smothering is a very...

I’m writing a new book and my research has caused me to reflect on the problems I’ve seen over the last 40 years that have most significantly impacted organizational performance.

What I’ve come up with is a pretty interesting list.

I’ve worked at a wide range of companies, spanning Fortune 500 companies to venture-funded startups, and the issues on my list have shown their ugly faces repeatedly...

No work is more personal and intimate than healthcare and working inside a hospital means you are always up close and personal with your customers. In fact, healthcare workers are so close to their work that managing their personal safety comes second to their patients needs. If you are unable to manage your distance and positioning, as say in our training, then you are more than likely going...