Sexual Harassment, Ethical & Professional Boundaries

8/22/2021 - 8/22/2021
12:00 PM - 3:15 PM
Location: Live Webinar, Sponsored by Institute for Natural Resources, Cost: $40.00; 3.0 in Ethics, Live Webinar

Sexual harassment has long existed and with the aid of the #Me Too and #TimesUp Movement a spotlight was shined on this behavior. Sexual harassment knows no boundaries as it is exists in every community, workplace, business, health system, school and college campus, in medicine and the military. Globally, 25% of nurses report experiencing sexual harassment; with the occurrence being greater in Australia, Canada, England and the United States (39%) (Spector, Zhou, & Che, 2014). Jagsi et al. reported in the January 2020 issue of Journal of Women’s Health that 82% of women in an academic medical setting reported at least one incident of sexual harassment in the past year. A research study found 60% of female nurses and 34% of male nurses reported being victims of sexual harassment (Cogin & Fish, 2009). Shaikh (2000) reported that 16.9% of nurses had experienced physical sexual harassment from male physicians, male patients, and male co-workers.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment as follows: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when such conduct: 

Explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment

? Unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance

? Creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment Workplace harassment, which includes sexual harassment, is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. The law applies to federal, state, and local employers and governs all employment actions.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces harassment in the workplace. The results of a recent study published by the Center for American Progress emphasized the pervasiveness of EEOC claims and showed that healthcare industries rank 4th on the EEOC list with the most reported sexual harassment claims (Center for American Progress, 2017; Frye, 2017, Nov 20). The healthcare industry accounted for 11.48% of the claims.

The Joint Commission, specifically Standard LD.03.01.01, requires Leaders to create and maintain a culture of safety and quality throughout the (organization). The delivery of safe health care is dependent on a healthy culture. Establishing and maintaining a safe culture is the foundation of achieving high reliability quality of care. Sexual harassment is an infringement of safety culture. Regardless of the drivers leading to harassment, the impact to patient care delivery and patient safety is vital. The Joint Commission Standards are applicable to ambulatory care, critical access hospital, home care, hospital, laboratory, long-term care, office-based surgery programs and behavioral healthcare programs. Unprofessional misconduct is the conduct of a provider, which is in betrayal to the standards of the employer’s policies, procedures, the Professional Board’s laws and rules or the expected norms of the public. Professional boundaries are the legal, ethical and organizational frameworks that protect both the healthcare professional and clients/patients from physical and emotional harm, and help to maintain a safe working environment. Sometimes healthcare professionals encounter challenging situations that can make maintaining these boundaries difficult. This course will explore ways to ensure your professional boundaries and codes of ethics are not altered with a sexual harassment claim.

  This course covers what is defined as sexual harassment as well as other ethical issues that can arise in the workplace and how to implement professional boundaries and reporting guidelines.

For more information:      Customer Service Department Phone: 877-246-6336 Fax: 925-687-0860 Email: info@inrseminars.com

To register:  Participants can register by phone, fax, or email or by visiting www.inrseminars.com

this workshop will award 3.0  CE clock hours in Ethics; no NBCC credit is available  for this program.

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