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720 Preventing Workplace Violence
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Incident Response Team Training

The members of the incident response team need to be competent in their own assigned duties and they need to know when to call for outside resources.

Workplace violence response team being trained
Practice responses to different scenarios of workplace violence.

Participating in programs and training sessions sponsored by government and professional organizations, reading professional journals and other literature, and networking with others in the profession are all helpful in dealing with workplace violence situations.

Team members also need to understand enough about each other's professions to allow them to work together effectively. Response team training should allow discussion of policies, legal constraints, technical vocabulary, and other considerations that each profession brings to the interdisciplinary group.

Much of the incident response team training can be accomplished by practicing responses to different scenarios of workplace violence. The case studies in this course are intended for this purpose. Practice exercises can help the staff understand each other's responses to various situations so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding during an actual incident. In addition, practice exercises can prepare the staff to conduct the supervisory training suggested above.

The team members also need to consult regularly with other personnel within the organization who may be involved in dealing with potentially violent situations. Those who are consulted on an as needed basis should receive some appropriate training as well.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

4-5. To minimize confusion during an actual event, incident response team training should include _____.