THE ASSAULTED STAFF ACTION PROGRAM (ASAP) - COMMON ISSUES IN FIELDINGA TEAM

Thirty-five years of empirical research have continuously documented t he potential negative impact of patient assaults on staff. The Assault ed Staff Action Program (ASAP) is a voluntary, peer-help, systems-wide crisis intervention debriefing approach for employee victims of these assaults. ASAP has been associated with providing needed clinical sup port for victims, declines in violence, and cost-effectiveness in serv ice delivery. A previous paper outlined the basic steps needed to fiel d an ASAP team. This paper continues to address this need by outlining the most commonly encountered ASAP problems and solutions that have e volved in the first eight years of ASAP programs. The implications are discussed.