Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.cm
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
Emergency Department; Security Personnel; Workplace Violence; Occupational Stress; Wellness; Complex Adaptive Systems
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background: Workplace violence in emergency departments (EDs) has been widely studied, yet the occupational wellness of ED security officers has received comparatively limited focused attention in emergency medicine literature.
Objective: To conceptually examine the role of ED security personnel within the emergency care environment and outline a research agenda addressing their wellness.
Discussion: Security officers frequently respond to behavioral crises, assist with restraint events, and help maintain safety for patients, visitors, and staff. These duties include vigilance between events, sudden physical exertion, and exposure to aggression. ED security work often follows a recognizable rhythm: baseline vigilance, rapid escalation response, physical intervention when required, and return to baseline monitoring. This pattern resembles other emergency response professions and may carry cumulative stress effects. Security officers may experience sudden physical exertion during restraint events in addition to psychological stress from repeated exposure to confrontation, aggression, and anticipatory vigilance.
Conclusion: Supporting ED security officer wellness may strengthen safety culture, team cohesion, and operational stability across emergency care systems. However, there is limited research to draw upon in reference to ED security wellness. Recommendations are made for future research concerning the occupational wellness of ED security officers.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences | Mental and Social Health
Protecting the Protectors: Supporting Emergency Department Security Officer Wellness: A Brief Conceptual Review and Research Agenda
Background: Workplace violence in emergency departments (EDs) has been widely studied, yet the occupational wellness of ED security officers has received comparatively limited focused attention in emergency medicine literature.
Objective: To conceptually examine the role of ED security personnel within the emergency care environment and outline a research agenda addressing their wellness.
Discussion: Security officers frequently respond to behavioral crises, assist with restraint events, and help maintain safety for patients, visitors, and staff. These duties include vigilance between events, sudden physical exertion, and exposure to aggression. ED security work often follows a recognizable rhythm: baseline vigilance, rapid escalation response, physical intervention when required, and return to baseline monitoring. This pattern resembles other emergency response professions and may carry cumulative stress effects. Security officers may experience sudden physical exertion during restraint events in addition to psychological stress from repeated exposure to confrontation, aggression, and anticipatory vigilance.
Conclusion: Supporting ED security officer wellness may strengthen safety culture, team cohesion, and operational stability across emergency care systems. However, there is limited research to draw upon in reference to ED security wellness. Recommendations are made for future research concerning the occupational wellness of ED security officers.