--- title: "Workplace violence training rules and the method they share" description: "California, Nevada, Washington and the Joint Commission ask hospital staff to rehearse de-escalation with colleagues. What they share and how to deliver it." canonical: https://peopletechrevolution.com/insights/four-regulators-one-method --- [Insights](https://peopletechrevolution.com/insights) # Workplace violence rules, and the training method they share Four rules ask hospital staff to rehearse de-escalation with colleagues: the Joint Commission, California, Nevada and Washington. By [Kim Loza](https://linkedin.com/in/kimberlyloza), Head of Product at People Tech Revolution Published 20 September 2026 · Last updated 24 September 2026 · Version 1.1 [Connect with Kim on LinkedIn ↗](https://linkedin.com/in/kimberlyloza) Cite this research The moment ## An agitated visitor, and a colleague beside you The hardest part of workplace violence prevention happens at a triage desk or on a ward at night. The rules ask staff to have rehearsed it together first, which is the core of [de-escalation training for healthcare workers](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/de-escalation-training-healthcare). A man waits at the triage counter. A nurse at the ward station, mid-shift. A darkened ward bay, late in the night. Why these rules exist ## Health care carries most of the injury The rules answer a measured problem. In 2018, violence injured private health care and social assistance workers at five times the rate of workers overall, and psychiatric hospitals at far more. United States: violence injuries needing days off work, per 10,000 full-time workers, 2018 Nonfatal injuries from violence by another person, by industry. Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals 124.9 Nursing and residential care 21.1 Hospitals 12.8 Social assistance 12.4 Health care and social assistance 10.4 All private industry 2.1 Source: [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Workplace Violence in Healthcare, 2018](https://www.bls.gov/iif/factsheets/workplace-violence-healthcare-2018.htm), table 1. A night desk, one person on shift. ### Reported to the accreditor Hospitals report their most serious harms to [the Joint Commission](https://digitalassets.jointcommission.org/api/public/content/eac7511986c0442a9c1ae04b1aa02cc0?v=ad34daa0) as sentinel events. Reports of assault, rape and homicide rose from 53 (2020) to 106 (2023), then fell to 65 (2024). The Joint Commission warns that reporting is voluntary, so the counts show what was reported, not how often violence happens. In 2024, 27% of the assaults reported were by a patient on staff. Sentinel events reported to the Joint Commission: assault, rape, sexual assault and homicide reported events See the data (reports) 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 reported events 53 60 67 106 65 Source: [The Joint Commission, Sentinel Event Data 2024 Annual Review](https://digitalassets.jointcommission.org/api/public/content/eac7511986c0442a9c1ae04b1aa02cc0?v=ad34daa0). The rules ## Written apart, saying the same thing An accreditor, a state health standard and two state statutes were written by different bodies for different reasons. Colleagues swap roles in a rehearsal. ### California [California’s workplace violence prevention standard for health care](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3342.html) requires an opportunity to practise the techniques with the other employees a worker will work with, including a meeting to debrief the practice session. An instructor beside parts in the bay. ### Nevada [Nevada’s statute](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-618.html) asks medical facilities for the same practice with colleagues and a meeting to debrief each practice session, and adds a record of each training session. A rehearsal partner plays the hard part. ### Washington [Washington’s law](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.19.030) requires violence prevention training within ninety days of hire in every health care setting, and names strategies to prevent physical harm with hands-on practice or role play. ### The Joint Commission The [Joint Commission’s workplace violence performance goal](https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/standards/national-performance-goals/preventing-workplace-violence) asks hospitals to train leaders, staff and licensed practitioners at hire, annually and whenever the program changes. The method ## Practise, debrief, keep the record Read together, they describe how a skill is built: repetition with the people you work beside, feedback straight after, and proof it happened. Every team rehearses the same scenario. Feedback straight after the attempt. Reviewing the session on a tablet. Where training sits ## Training earns its place through rehearsal Australian rules reach the same point from the other direction, by ranking what each control can do. A colleague waits for your reply. ### The NSW healthcare code The [Healthcare and social assistance industry Code of Practice](https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/resource-library/list-of-all-codes-of-practice) places training among administrative controls, and calls administrative controls and personal protective equipment the least effective, because they rely on human behaviour or supervision. A control that depends on behaviour is as strong as the rehearsal behind it. That is why the American instruments specify a method. A colleague across the table, seen through the headset. ### Australian hospitals The [NSQHS Clinical Governance Standard](https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards/clinical-governance-standard) asks for a mandatory training program at [Action 1.20](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nsqhs-action-1-20), and the [Comprehensive Care Standard](https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards/comprehensive-care-standard) asks for de-escalation strategies at [Action 5.34](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nsqhs-action-5-34). Delivery ## Rehearsal for the whole roster A role-play needs a second person to act the difficult part, a room, a facilitator and an hour when neither is on the floor. A bedside scenario, ready at any hour. ### Rehearsal at roster scale Across night shifts, agency staff and each graduate intake, those four needs are the constraint. It is why a method every regulator recommends so often arrives as a slide deck. A guide beside a rolling ball, seen through the headset. ### Practice that fits the roster Staff rehearse in a [VR headset](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/virtual-reality) or with an [AI roleplay partner](https://peopletechrevolution.com/ai/ai-roleplay-practice) in a browser, then debrief with a colleague. See [VR de-escalation training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/vr-de-escalation-training) and [how classroom de-escalation programs compare](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/cpi-training-alternatives). Questions ## What safety and clinical leads ask Short answers to the questions that follow a first reading of the rules. Ground crew talk it through on the apron. ### Does this apply outside healthcare? The four instruments cover health care settings. In aviation, [ACRP Research Report 280](https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/29156/reducing-and-managing-disruptive-and-unruly-behavior-in-airports-a) recommends scenario-based training or role-playing for airport badgeholders. See [training for airport and airline staff](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/aviation). A driver's cab in the rain, seen through the headset. ### Which instrument applies to us? The [state-by-state guide to US workplace violence training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/workplace-violence-training-united-states) maps the American rules, and [occupational violence rules in Australia](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/occupational-violence-australia) sets out the Australian codes. A station officer and a passenger on the platform. ### What does a surveyor ask for? Evidence that staff trained and practised. The [guide to workplace violence training records](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/workplace-violence-training-records) covers what each instrument asks you to keep. - [California workplace violence training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/california-sb-553-training) - [Nevada workplace violence training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nevada-workplace-violence-training) - [Washington violence prevention training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/washington-violence-prevention-training) - [Joint Commission workplace violence goal](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/joint-commission-workplace-violence) ## Cite this research Free to quote and cite with a link to this page. Name the version you read, so readers can see what has changed since. APA 7 Loza, K. (2026, September 24). Workplace violence rules, and the training method they share (Version 1.1). People Tech Revolution. https://peopletechrevolution.com/insights/four-regulators-one-method Copy citation Data: Each rule read at its source when this version was written, on 20 September 2026. Every instrument is linked in Sources. ### Version history Version Date What changed Version 1.1 24 September 2026 Added US injury rates by industry (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and Joint Commission sentinel event reports, 2020 to 2024. Version 1.0 20 September 2026 First published. Planning workplace violence training? [Open the contact form](https://peopletechrevolution.com/insights/four-regulators-one-method#contact) Ask Simon’s Digital Twin a question ## Sources Each rule in full, on the regulator’s own site. ### [Workplace Violence in Healthcare, 2018](https://www.bls.gov/iif/factsheets/workplace-violence-healthcare-2018.htm) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2020 Injury rates by industry, table 1. ### [Sentinel Event Data 2024 Annual Review](https://digitalassets.jointcommission.org/api/public/content/eac7511986c0442a9c1ae04b1aa02cc0?v=ad34daa0) The Joint Commission Violence-related sentinel event reports, 2020 to 2024, and who the 2024 assaults were by. ### [Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3342.html) California Code of Regulations, Title 8, section 3342 Practice with the employees a worker will work with, and a meeting to debrief it. ### [Chapter 618, Occupational Safety and Health](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-618.html) Nevada Revised Statutes Practice with colleagues, a debrief of each session, and a record of each training session. ### [RCW 49.19.030: Violence prevention training](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.19.030) Revised Code of Washington Training within ninety days of hire, with hands-on practice or role play. ### [Preventing workplace violence](https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/standards/national-performance-goals/preventing-workplace-violence) The Joint Commission The national performance goal on workplace violence for United States hospitals. ### [Codes of practice](https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/resource-library/list-of-all-codes-of-practice) SafeWork NSW Includes the Healthcare and social assistance industry Code of Practice. ### [Clinical Governance Standard](https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards/clinical-governance-standard) Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Action 1.20: a mandatory training program, with participation monitored. ### [Comprehensive Care Standard](https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/standards/nsqhs-standards/comprehensive-care-standard) Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Action 5.34: identify patients at risk of aggression and implement de-escalation strategies. ### [Reducing and Managing Disruptive and Unruly Behavior in Airports](https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/29156/reducing-and-managing-disruptive-and-unruly-behavior-in-airports-a) ACRP Research Report 280, National Academies Recommends scenario-based training or role-playing for airport badgeholders.