If you drive your own car at work, you’re part of what’s called “the grey fleet” and your car is considered part of your workplace. Sales people, home care workers, and house cleaners are in the grey fleet – and once upon a time so was I.

“If I was to report every time a patient actually tries to strike out at me or literally tries to claw me or kick me, we’d be drowning in a sea of paperwork,” said Beth, who has worked as a nurse for four years. “There’s huge under-reporting because it’s ‘just part of the job’ – but it shouldn’t be.”

I asked Earl about his training in violence prevention. He said he and his colleagues in the recreation department take seminars on the topic every two years. He said that in 10 years he’s only had one brush with violence. But maybe there’s something about violence that warrants so much preparation against it. It can happen so suddenly, and it’s helpful to think in advance what you would do if you became the target of someone’s anger.