In Harm's Way: Professional Heath Care Workers at Risk
A critical argument for organizational change
by Dr. Denise E. Hall

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In 2014 CBC television and radio investigated the treatment of staff at a high-risk adolescent treatment/corrections centre in British Columbia, Canada. This is a government run facility that put their staff in "Harms Way". WorkSafeBC (The Workers Compensation Board of BC) and the BC Nurses Union cited them for failure to protect their staff. Despite the notoriety of this extreme example, staff indicated they are skeptical that recommended changes will be implemented. This example illustrates the intransigence of some management groups in changing unsafe practices. This book is about the safety of professional health care professionals, therapists and counsellors and their workplaces and how organizations fail to perform their "due diligence" and ethical responsibilities in protecting their employees. It defines the conditions of Secondary Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue, Vicarious Trauma and outlines historical influences, and the role of organizations in creating and perpetuating unsafe workplaces. Dr. Hall’s book is uncompromising and thorough in its approach and reveals the inconsistencies in the care of caregivers and the illusion of safety that many professional health care workers work under. She maintains in her book that workplace injuries are costly and entirely preventable and the responsibility, although shared, largely lies with the organizations that employ these workers. These professionals, their clients, their families, and society bear the cost of unsafe workplaces. She also uncovers the socio/political/economic factors that impact this highly preventable situation and offers examples of organizations that are working for change. In summary, Dr. Hall’s book is a revealing expose of the workplaces of the people that care for the most vulnerable, sick, and marginalized clients.

www.drdenisehall.net

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"Dr. Hall’s critical approach to the well being of health care workers sheds a light on an area that is not discussed in terms of organizational responsibilities. The focus is on what individuals should do. Impairment is an ethical issue and this comprehensively researched book addresses the critical need for change in the field". Kate Andrews, Ph.D Faculty California Southern University “a wonderful start for protecting clinicians. . . . Exploitation of those in helping professions, . . interns dependent upon acquiring hours toward licensure, are ignored within the field. This manuscript has the gumption to take an objective look at the structural foundations of organizations which. . . . foster harm to those in helping professions. . . what happens to those who speak up in dysfunctional systems. . . . a great read for anyone new to helping professions or . . . understanding unjust systems and what can be done to make them healthy.” Greg Western, Psy.D | School of Behavioral Sciences, California Southern University "Dr. Hall’s book is a must read for Health Care professionals, supervisors and their employers. It addresses the need for organizational change promoting physically and psychologically safe workplaces”. Dr. Lee Pulos

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Dr. Denise Hall is a 30 year plus veteran of working as a healthcare and social services professional; first as a college program assistant, then as a child care counsellor in an Alternate School and a Special Services to Children worker. She trained as a Family Therapist later becoming a Family Life Educator and Family Therapist/Clinical Supervisor in an addictions centre for adolescents. She changed her career focus to that of Employment Counsellor and then Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant working with injured workers and becoming certified as a (MVRP) Master Vocational Rehabilitation Professional. In that role, she worked with insurance companies, unions, employers and workers in a number of industries to provide safe and durable return to work outcomes. During this time she completed a BA in Communications, (2000, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC), and then a Masters of Counselling Psychology at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Vancouver, BC and Chicago Il. (2007). In 2013 Dr. Hall earned a doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) from California Southern University in Irvine, CA including participating in an internship in a pain management system. She is therapist (Canadian Certified Counsellor, CCC), and manages a private practice with injured workers and private clients focusing on pain management, trauma treatment, PTSD, including anxiety and depression, career development, workplace health, and vocational assessments. She has two grown children and two grandchildren, and lives with her Siamese cats, Yoshi and Tara, in Vancouver, BC, Canada. In Harm’s Way Denise E. Hall Psy.D., MA., CCC., MVRP. 2607777814609 ISBN 9781460260777 90000 > .

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Contributors

Author

Dr. Denise E. Hall

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