Pain Matters Podcast Network · AAPM - American Academy of Pain Medicine

Confronting the Silent Crisis: Workplace Violence in Pain Medicine

·36 min·1 clip

There have already been more than 200 mass shootings in the United States this year, and sadly, tragic events involving gun violence are happening even in the settings that we traditionally consider off-limits.

This Pain Matters Podcast episode examines the escalating crisis of workplace violence against healthcare workers, with particular focus on pain clinicians who face elevated risks due to opioid prescribing decisions and the subjective nature of pain. Dr. Mercy Udoji and Dr. Michael Hooten present survey data showing alarmingly high prevalence rates and significant underreporting, while offering practical de-escalation strategies and policy recommendations. The discussion covers the full spectrum from verbal abuse to deadly shootings, the ripple effects on care quality, and the need for institutional codes of conduct like Mass General Brigham's recent policy.

As heard by us

A sober clinic-safety piece that turns pain medicine's most frightening risk into cues clinicians can actually watch for.

This episode treats workplace violence in pain medicine as part of ordinary clinical risk, not a distant headline, and that is where it lands best.

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Why you'd press play

For when clinic safety feels like a live issue, not a policy memo.

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