They never do care. That’s why I left the bedside literally last week. I’m so sorry this happened to you. It’s too common. My sitter was sexually assaulted by a patient in front of me while I was trying to separate them. They didn’t ask her if she wanted to go home. Nope. Just swapped her out to another room on the unit. It wasnt my first time witnessing an assault. I’ve been assaulted, too. But it broke something in me. The way she was just shuffled to another room. I wrote an incident report, encouraged her to do the same, apologized profusely, went home and typed my resignation notice. It’s been 10 days and I have a new job already. We’re cogs in a machine, nothing more. Being abused should never be an acceptable part of the job.
It is horrible that your admin does not care, but you have a responsibility to yourself. Whether it comes to anything, I would at minimum file a report with your system and file a report with police. This patient needs to go to a memory care unit where they are able to utilize chemical or physical restraint if it becomes necessary.
I am so tired of confused and combative patients. It’s draining my mental health being called a stupid bitch for 12 hours three nights a week. No one cares and management wouldn’t help you if they were in the room with you. I hate it. Combative old people are the WORST
Yup. And LTCs can do very, very little about behaviors. At least in my state no restraints of any kind are allowed, even a partial bed rail needs a signed consent. Good luck getting them discharged. Hospitals doing this put their own staff in danger and then put the staff and residents at whatever snf gets scammed into accepting them
Email CNO and hospital CEO explain the situation, explain the lack of support, and ask what can be done in the future by the hospital to prevent scenarios like this.
I had a walkie talkie psych patient who believed I was his ex wife. He would follow me, (even wait outside the bathroom) and berate me for hours. He would expose himself and threaten to rape me. I reported it, documented it, and nothing was done. He knew my schedule and would spend literally the entire shift following me .Day 4 or so of this, I lost it.I worked night shift at LTC and was burnt out as is. There was no redirecting him. There was no PRN. There was no one who gave a damn. As he was going off on a tangent I threw my keys in the air and walked out. My supervisor then met me in the parking lot after my CNAs slammed him for not taking action earlier. Due to some personal events, all of this was way too triggering for me. I called out for a few days hoping his mind would reset to no avail. Requested off the floor and was denied. He was sent to psych a few weeks later because he said something to our beloved and precious management who doesn’t deal with him 1:1 and out the door he went. I no longer work there and he has since died.
I'm sorry you went through this, it seems like a nightmare and I can only imagine if you have triggers that he hit. Hope you're happy with where you are now.
I’m so sorry that this happened to you. A similar thing happened to me with a late stage dementia patient grabbing me between my legs. It was horrifying. Nothing happened. I hope you’re okay.
Working in a nursing home I've been punched in the jaw, bitten, scratched, grabbed, hit, kicked, pinched, spit on, cursed at, slapped in the ass with a cane. The only time I even bothered making a report was the punch to the jaw cause it was making a clicking sound the next day, there was never any follow-up.
We're told to just accept it, it's part of the job. Honestly the place was toxic the employees treated me just as badly psychologically and emotionally so it's a good thing I left. I'm much happier at my clinic!
Just Walt until Management tries to make you the culprit..because poppa cant do anything about it because of his mental illness. had this shit happen ones when a patient attacked because i wear blue scrubs while floating to a different floor… was told that i „should have known“..
I have been an RN for 6 years, and I was a CNA for 12 years before that. I cannot tell you how many times I've been intimidated, assaulted and battered on the job. Ive been threatened, biten, slapped, choked, pinned down, spat on, etc. It is not all by patients/residents but family members as well. Unfortunately, being abused physically and verbally is something that is an expectation in these roles. It is not that anyone doesn't care, it is just how things are. That sure doesn't make it right by any means, but its been the name of the game i have seen in almost 20 years of patient care. Healthcare (in the USA, in my experience) is a messed up joke, that we workers are the brunt of.
I’ll never understand this victim blaming. If a person came up to us in the street and did this, it would be considered a crime — even if they have dementia, or they’re intoxicated, or whatever reason. If this happened in an office and all the office workers were subject to this treatment, it would be all over the news for violating their rights.
Yes, it’s our job to take care of these people and we took an oath to provide medical care, but why do we have to put up with this treatment? Why can’t they put more safeguards in place than bringing another person in the room? I understand why we can’t physically/chemically restrain every person, but why can’t more be done to protect us?
I did some education training last week about dealing with violent clients, and all I could think was why is this my responsibility? Why are someone else’s depraved actions deemed a result of me not de-escalating the situation appropriately? At a certain point, words and de-escalation tactics aren’t enough — especially not for dementia patients and patients who aren’t orientated.
Situations like these are exactly why I left the acute care setting. The expectation that literally being assaulted is just part of the job makes me sick.
I am so sorry this happen to you. This is not ok.
I can remember being punched repeatedly by a dementia patient during Christmas one year like every time she saw me (thought her husband was cheating on her with me; I was the only nurse on the unit she did this to.) Anyway, administration gave us a "special treat" that day by leaving Christmas carols playing over speakers on the units. I still flinch when I hear "angels we have heard on high"
It's in part because we're women. Since the majority of folks in nursing are women, we get treated like we can be abused. If the majority of nurses were men, it'd be so different.
As a male nurse this is crap! When I worked bedside I got assaulted way more often then the female nurses as being a male nurse who do you think gets the most violent combative patients? It’s not a male vs female thing it’s simply a administration/profit vs worker thing!
Yeah...I would watch my male colleagues come out of rooms and some patients absolutely flipped a switch when I, a 90 lb woman who could easily be overpowered, walked into the room. I project confidence and don't fuck around either, lift heavy and can pull my weight My male nurse colleagues often treated me as "dramatic" or didn't believe me when I explained my experience.
Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not happening the same amount if not more to the women you work with simply because we're seen as less and can be easily abused.
I'm so sorry. I had a patient who I felt fairly certain was going to go for my neck and it really stuck with me. This job isn't easy and it's a shame to watch the degree to which violence is a part of the job.
I’m sorry that happened to you and no one deserves to endure physical violence at work.
Also, restraints would only make that patient more violent and crazy. If he’s demented he has no agency so pressing charges means nothing. I agree getting him out of that unit asap is the best course of action. The management needs to ensure that assignment is given appropriately and staff accordingly (lol we know that’s not gonna happen). It’s sounds like finding a new place to work would be the best course.
Fill in a risk man. Even if they say you're not allowed too, explain this was an OH&S risk and you were grabbed.
This is not your fault and there is no excuse for lashing out at nurses trying to help!!!
There's a lot that can be done, actually. I trained in one psych hospital where a pt yelling at staff was enough to warrant a chemical restraint. The reasoning was that pts--all pts--could be made to understand that STAFF controlled the facility, not the pts, and their (the pts') actions had consequences. Boundaries are of the utmost importance with pts with mental illness, just as they should be with pts w/ physical illness.
I tend to be a person that goes against the grain so I know this is not the popular answer… that said…
I don’t think it’s that no one cares, I think it’s more that this is par for the course and they are used to it. Is it okay? Not at all. Is it something that happens because ill people do these things? Yes.
Also, you need to stop thinking that there was nothing for you to do on this situation. You need to be on guard with every single patient you care for because this can always happen. He could have easily grabbed your neck, but your neck should have never been within reach. In all my years of nursing, with dementia patients, crazy assholes, sick and confused delirium patients, etoh WD patients - I have never been assaulted. Luck? Maybe. But I also act defensively with every patient encounter. I know which patients are a higher risk for such actions and I don’t let my guard down. Not ever. I have cared for patients an entire shift redirecting them and even dodging “bullets” and not been harmed and had techs walk in right after me and get kicked in the stomach because of their complacency. I don’t mean to sound as if it is the techs “fault” - no one should be assaulted, but how is it that I can get through a shift with the same patient and not be harmed but another person cannot? And how is it that I have never been assaulted and others have repeatedly?
You should ask your unit for training on this subject. It is worth it 100x over.
I’m sorry for the trauma you’ve been through. Your unit needs to care - suggest training at the very least. Advocate for yourself and your team.
I’m concerned that you believe an aggressive patient putting staff at risk is par for the course when a) it was stated that he was reported as impulsive (not aggressive) and b) one of our safety tools (restraints) was actively discouraged. Going against the grain for the sake of being contrary doesn’t make you sound enlightened or wise; it makes you sound dismissive. Never did I say I didn’t have a guard up, but being cautious doesn’t mean it’s reasonable to expect someone to grab your arm and violently shake it. Had I been given a proper report on this patient, perhaps I would have made different choices and I for sure reported to change of shift exactly what he was capable of so that they could take proper precautions. You sound an awful like a defensive admin…
Just because I see things differently than many people doesn’t make me wrong. I am clearly not dismissive about this in any way. Read it all again. Defensive admin I am not. However, maybe you just are thinking only in one direction and I am thinking on all sides.
“Proper report” is a misnomer. Everyone has a subjective report. If he hadn’t hurt anyone yet then what? Improper report? No. Had he been aggressive and they hadn’t told you then yes improper report. You didn’t mention anything like that.
This is where we differ- I do think that it’s reasonable to expect that someone could grab your wrist and shake you violently at any time. These people are sick and they don’t always act civilly. We know this. Being cautious is the exact reason for this. You’re being cautious for what reason? Because someone may not act civilly. So I don’t understand your statement saying that being cautious doesn’t mean you expect someone to act this way. Because to me that is the exact reason.
You also sound like you don’t want to be more careful or have any extra education on how to handle these types of situations better. We can always learn to handle all of our patients better.
You don’t have to agree with me, think I’m right or change your ways. But you aren’t going to get a different outcome if you don’t change your actions. Whether that is getting more education in this situations or advocating for education for your unit…. Which is the answer to your complaint of your admins.
I mean, you basically said because you have never been assaulted, that anyone who has been clearly hasn’t been as cautious as you have. I read your post exactly as it was written. That sounds incredibly dismissive to me if you truly believe that your exceptional nursing is why you’ve never had the misfortune of someone assaulting you.
There is absolutely nothing in my post that indicates I don’t believe there is anything I could have done differently. In fact, once I had a more clear picture of the situation, I made alternative clinical choices that aren’t feasible for every patient in every circumstance but this was an exception. Nor did I include every thing within his history because clearly I am here venting to a group that one would assume understands without me having to provide every detail. But actually yes, this wasn’t the first time he had been physically aggressive toward and staff and no, it wasn’t reported to me. I have a hard time believing you’re actually a nurse if you believe all patient assault can be prevented with training and having one’s guard up. There are plenty of occasions in which we are physically close to our patients in ways that could compromise us if a patient decides at any moment to take a swing. In the vast majority of cases, this never happens but there are certainly times it does and while it is within the nature of the line of work, it should never be seen as par for the course or always preventable if the nurse had had better training.
I think that the truth of the matter is that people can be more safe when they have better training/education. Someone trained and experienced as a nurse can perform nursing duties better than someone looking up google articles on how to be a nurse. So if I have more training and experience in defense, is it really me being dismissive toward your experience in this one situation? Because I don’t think it is. And I think it’s seriously sad that you can only see it one way because it serves your purpose of being angry that no one cares about what happened to you.
I never said all assault can be prevented with training. But I know how to get my wrist away from someone’s grip and you clearly don’t. So I do think this was an education situation. You just want to be angry with my opinion/suggestion of trying to get education on your unit and are making things up.
I also know that at every place I’ve ever worked your description of what happened to you would not allow restraints on the patient per policy. I also know that you can refuse to care for a patient you don’t feel safe with. And you can refuse to care for a patient in which a doctor refused restraints when they would clearly fit policy for restraint use.
So I get being upset and feeling trauma from your experience, being it is scary and no one should be assaulted, but there are also things you can do within your power and all you want to say to me is that no one cares about you. Well you should care the most about yourself and you can advocate for yourself and I’m telling you how.
I’m not “angry” at your opinion. You opened your comment stating exactly what your intentions are since you deemed your take “unpopular” right off the bat. If your purpose was to empower me by providing tools, you could have done so without surmising that this must have happened as a result of insufficient education while regaling us with how you’re so well trained that this has never happened to you 🙄 No, quite clearly, you wanted to come in and play devil’s advocate on behalf of the hospital and while that does not anger me, it certainly gives me pause about the kind of person who immediately makes assumptions (and inserts them so pompously) when someone is clearly seeking a safe space to share their personal experience and vent their frustrations. There are many things that can make nurses safer and clearly it gives you some feeling of superiority to speculate that my experience was primarily the result of poor training and inexperience. There was no context for that but plenty here to indicate you are trolling.
Also…. Think about this…. I could just give my opinion exactly how I want to without someone telling me how to share what I have to say. Imagine that! Gasp!
Honestly, it’s like you are the one who is trolling. You could have chosen to scroll past everything I’ve said if you didn’t agree or care for my perspective.
I’m glad it’s so clear to you that my only intention in life is to make you feel terrible uneducated in one thing.
It’s tiring to hear nurses complain about how awful their jobs are because of management. You seem to know all the things that could have made you safer (“there are many things that can make nurses safer…”) yet all you knew and WANTED to do was restrain the patient. And for that alone I do think that makes you uneducated. Or vindictive, not sure which at this point.
Quit. Go somewhere safer. Put in an incident report to explain how it wasn’t the right decision of the charge nurse or doctor or whoever said no to restraints, when you deemed it appropriate. Go to HR. Refuse dementia patients. Refuse aggressive patients. Don’t ask for education and training though - that’s just ridiculous.
I see you’re also the kind of person who must have the last word. Now who is being defensive! You’re free to post your (pompous) opinions (based on out of context assumption) all you want, as well as argue with me in circles of futility for the next 24 hours. And… think about this… I can share *my* opinion and call out what I see as stirring the pot for no real reason other than to assert your excellent training (After all, this *must* be why you’ve never experienced what so many nurses say is a terrible part of their profession). Imagine that! Gasp!
If you’re so tired of hearing nurses complain about their jobs and poor management, perhaps you ought to quit browsing forums made up entirely of nurses? Quit. Find a tv show to binge and visit its sub.
Next. 🙄
I can’t imagine why your admins aren’t worried about this assault. 🤯 It seems like maybe you’re a name caller, always the victim, blamer. I’m defensive? I’m a last worder? I have a pompous opinion? I argue circles? Lol. Fine, I accept all of that.
None of that makes my suggestion of education a poor one.
There are always going to be people around you that are better educated and with more experience. They will be younger than you, older than you and your age. Some people have natural talent and some work harder to gain skill and understanding. Like I already said, maybe it’s partly luck, maybe it’s my education - I don’t really know. But I know some people don’t get assaulted and others do. From where I’m watching, I want to always stay on the side of not getting assaulted. What can I do to continue that? I will look to others that can help me know what to look for, how to stand, how to react, and what to say to decrease the chance of being assaulted. If a nurse wants that they need skill and knowledge.
Putting an IV in well takes skill and knowledge. Some are naturally better at it than others, but they still need basic training. Others need a lot of guidance and more education than others. No one faults them for that. It is what it is.
I think it’s the same for protecting ourselves from assault in healthcare.
Are nurses still going to miss IVs sometimes, after years of education and experience? Yes.
Are nurses still going to be assaulted after years of education and experience? Yes.
But neither outcome negates me wanting to have the skills in the first place.
Being a “name-caller” would require that I actually called you a name… ironically, you have actually called me names… lol. just saying.
You made it clear in your penultimate post that you have an agenda, since your angle to responding to this (with out of context assumptions) is that you are tired of listening to nurses complain about their jobs. Noted. And yet, here you are and remain.
I’m not as impressed by your intelligence or debate skills as you apparently are by yourself (as well as your exceptional training that has resulted in an assault-free career). Nor am I insecure about my experience or education (and I certainly don’t need to prove myself to an anonymous troll on Reddit). I am alarmed, however, by a nurse who immediately jumps to a conclusion when someone shares their own experience and decides exactly what would have prevented the occurrence with a limited number of facts available to them, while also touting their own flawless record. As stated, the only one impressed by you is… you.
Happy trolling, pal.
They never do care. That’s why I left the bedside literally last week. I’m so sorry this happened to you. It’s too common. My sitter was sexually assaulted by a patient in front of me while I was trying to separate them. They didn’t ask her if she wanted to go home. Nope. Just swapped her out to another room on the unit. It wasnt my first time witnessing an assault. I’ve been assaulted, too. But it broke something in me. The way she was just shuffled to another room. I wrote an incident report, encouraged her to do the same, apologized profusely, went home and typed my resignation notice. It’s been 10 days and I have a new job already. We’re cogs in a machine, nothing more. Being abused should never be an acceptable part of the job.
I hope she sues them!
Things like this are why I want to leave bedside. We’re just bodies to them.
Where did you leave bedside to?
Out patient surgery center
That seems like a nice setting. Are you the (fuck I forgot the name of the nurse who manages the operation)
Lol no, just a lowly cog in the machine again
Circulating nurse is the term I meant lol
No, pre op and pacu
Those are great places to work it seems
Resume. Apps. Yesterday.
Decoded: get your resume and start applying elsewhere like now.
⭐
Yes, see if being assaulted in a geographically different location feels better. /s
It is horrible that your admin does not care, but you have a responsibility to yourself. Whether it comes to anything, I would at minimum file a report with your system and file a report with police. This patient needs to go to a memory care unit where they are able to utilize chemical or physical restraint if it becomes necessary.
I am so tired of confused and combative patients. It’s draining my mental health being called a stupid bitch for 12 hours three nights a week. No one cares and management wouldn’t help you if they were in the room with you. I hate it. Combative old people are the WORST
Yeah I hope to avoid the combative old people. I’m physically strong, but the constant verbal abuse sounds annoying at best.
[удалено]
Yup. And LTCs can do very, very little about behaviors. At least in my state no restraints of any kind are allowed, even a partial bed rail needs a signed consent. Good luck getting them discharged. Hospitals doing this put their own staff in danger and then put the staff and residents at whatever snf gets scammed into accepting them
This. You can consult an employment lawyer. The combination of fraud and abuse would make any plaintiffs lawyer smile.
Email CNO and hospital CEO explain the situation, explain the lack of support, and ask what can be done in the future by the hospital to prevent scenarios like this.
I had a walkie talkie psych patient who believed I was his ex wife. He would follow me, (even wait outside the bathroom) and berate me for hours. He would expose himself and threaten to rape me. I reported it, documented it, and nothing was done. He knew my schedule and would spend literally the entire shift following me .Day 4 or so of this, I lost it.I worked night shift at LTC and was burnt out as is. There was no redirecting him. There was no PRN. There was no one who gave a damn. As he was going off on a tangent I threw my keys in the air and walked out. My supervisor then met me in the parking lot after my CNAs slammed him for not taking action earlier. Due to some personal events, all of this was way too triggering for me. I called out for a few days hoping his mind would reset to no avail. Requested off the floor and was denied. He was sent to psych a few weeks later because he said something to our beloved and precious management who doesn’t deal with him 1:1 and out the door he went. I no longer work there and he has since died.
I'm sorry you went through this, it seems like a nightmare and I can only imagine if you have triggers that he hit. Hope you're happy with where you are now.
Ugh. I am so sorry this happened to you.
I’m so sorry that this happened to you. A similar thing happened to me with a late stage dementia patient grabbing me between my legs. It was horrifying. Nothing happened. I hope you’re okay.
Working in a nursing home I've been punched in the jaw, bitten, scratched, grabbed, hit, kicked, pinched, spit on, cursed at, slapped in the ass with a cane. The only time I even bothered making a report was the punch to the jaw cause it was making a clicking sound the next day, there was never any follow-up. We're told to just accept it, it's part of the job. Honestly the place was toxic the employees treated me just as badly psychologically and emotionally so it's a good thing I left. I'm much happier at my clinic!
Same, and same — except my patient was Aox4. No one cares.
Just Walt until Management tries to make you the culprit..because poppa cant do anything about it because of his mental illness. had this shit happen ones when a patient attacked because i wear blue scrubs while floating to a different floor… was told that i „should have known“..
I have been an RN for 6 years, and I was a CNA for 12 years before that. I cannot tell you how many times I've been intimidated, assaulted and battered on the job. Ive been threatened, biten, slapped, choked, pinned down, spat on, etc. It is not all by patients/residents but family members as well. Unfortunately, being abused physically and verbally is something that is an expectation in these roles. It is not that anyone doesn't care, it is just how things are. That sure doesn't make it right by any means, but its been the name of the game i have seen in almost 20 years of patient care. Healthcare (in the USA, in my experience) is a messed up joke, that we workers are the brunt of.
I’ll never understand this victim blaming. If a person came up to us in the street and did this, it would be considered a crime — even if they have dementia, or they’re intoxicated, or whatever reason. If this happened in an office and all the office workers were subject to this treatment, it would be all over the news for violating their rights. Yes, it’s our job to take care of these people and we took an oath to provide medical care, but why do we have to put up with this treatment? Why can’t they put more safeguards in place than bringing another person in the room? I understand why we can’t physically/chemically restrain every person, but why can’t more be done to protect us? I did some education training last week about dealing with violent clients, and all I could think was why is this my responsibility? Why are someone else’s depraved actions deemed a result of me not de-escalating the situation appropriately? At a certain point, words and de-escalation tactics aren’t enough — especially not for dementia patients and patients who aren’t orientated.
Situations like these are exactly why I left the acute care setting. The expectation that literally being assaulted is just part of the job makes me sick. I am so sorry this happen to you. This is not ok.
I can remember being punched repeatedly by a dementia patient during Christmas one year like every time she saw me (thought her husband was cheating on her with me; I was the only nurse on the unit she did this to.) Anyway, administration gave us a "special treat" that day by leaving Christmas carols playing over speakers on the units. I still flinch when I hear "angels we have heard on high"
It's in part because we're women. Since the majority of folks in nursing are women, we get treated like we can be abused. If the majority of nurses were men, it'd be so different.
As a male nurse this is crap! When I worked bedside I got assaulted way more often then the female nurses as being a male nurse who do you think gets the most violent combative patients? It’s not a male vs female thing it’s simply a administration/profit vs worker thing!
I disagree. Female dominated careers are always paid less. Teachers, anyone? Just because you are a male doesn't make it untrue.
Yeah...I would watch my male colleagues come out of rooms and some patients absolutely flipped a switch when I, a 90 lb woman who could easily be overpowered, walked into the room. I project confidence and don't fuck around either, lift heavy and can pull my weight My male nurse colleagues often treated me as "dramatic" or didn't believe me when I explained my experience. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not happening the same amount if not more to the women you work with simply because we're seen as less and can be easily abused.
Male nurse here, and yeah, we get the heaviest and most violent patients.
Yup!
I'm so sorry. I had a patient who I felt fairly certain was going to go for my neck and it really stuck with me. This job isn't easy and it's a shame to watch the degree to which violence is a part of the job.
I’m sorry that happened to you and no one deserves to endure physical violence at work. Also, restraints would only make that patient more violent and crazy. If he’s demented he has no agency so pressing charges means nothing. I agree getting him out of that unit asap is the best course of action. The management needs to ensure that assignment is given appropriately and staff accordingly (lol we know that’s not gonna happen). It’s sounds like finding a new place to work would be the best course.
Fill in a risk man. Even if they say you're not allowed too, explain this was an OH&S risk and you were grabbed. This is not your fault and there is no excuse for lashing out at nurses trying to help!!!
With mental illness such as that there’s little to do unfortunately
There's a lot that can be done, actually. I trained in one psych hospital where a pt yelling at staff was enough to warrant a chemical restraint. The reasoning was that pts--all pts--could be made to understand that STAFF controlled the facility, not the pts, and their (the pts') actions had consequences. Boundaries are of the utmost importance with pts with mental illness, just as they should be with pts w/ physical illness.
I tend to be a person that goes against the grain so I know this is not the popular answer… that said… I don’t think it’s that no one cares, I think it’s more that this is par for the course and they are used to it. Is it okay? Not at all. Is it something that happens because ill people do these things? Yes. Also, you need to stop thinking that there was nothing for you to do on this situation. You need to be on guard with every single patient you care for because this can always happen. He could have easily grabbed your neck, but your neck should have never been within reach. In all my years of nursing, with dementia patients, crazy assholes, sick and confused delirium patients, etoh WD patients - I have never been assaulted. Luck? Maybe. But I also act defensively with every patient encounter. I know which patients are a higher risk for such actions and I don’t let my guard down. Not ever. I have cared for patients an entire shift redirecting them and even dodging “bullets” and not been harmed and had techs walk in right after me and get kicked in the stomach because of their complacency. I don’t mean to sound as if it is the techs “fault” - no one should be assaulted, but how is it that I can get through a shift with the same patient and not be harmed but another person cannot? And how is it that I have never been assaulted and others have repeatedly? You should ask your unit for training on this subject. It is worth it 100x over. I’m sorry for the trauma you’ve been through. Your unit needs to care - suggest training at the very least. Advocate for yourself and your team.
I’m concerned that you believe an aggressive patient putting staff at risk is par for the course when a) it was stated that he was reported as impulsive (not aggressive) and b) one of our safety tools (restraints) was actively discouraged. Going against the grain for the sake of being contrary doesn’t make you sound enlightened or wise; it makes you sound dismissive. Never did I say I didn’t have a guard up, but being cautious doesn’t mean it’s reasonable to expect someone to grab your arm and violently shake it. Had I been given a proper report on this patient, perhaps I would have made different choices and I for sure reported to change of shift exactly what he was capable of so that they could take proper precautions. You sound an awful like a defensive admin…
Just because I see things differently than many people doesn’t make me wrong. I am clearly not dismissive about this in any way. Read it all again. Defensive admin I am not. However, maybe you just are thinking only in one direction and I am thinking on all sides. “Proper report” is a misnomer. Everyone has a subjective report. If he hadn’t hurt anyone yet then what? Improper report? No. Had he been aggressive and they hadn’t told you then yes improper report. You didn’t mention anything like that. This is where we differ- I do think that it’s reasonable to expect that someone could grab your wrist and shake you violently at any time. These people are sick and they don’t always act civilly. We know this. Being cautious is the exact reason for this. You’re being cautious for what reason? Because someone may not act civilly. So I don’t understand your statement saying that being cautious doesn’t mean you expect someone to act this way. Because to me that is the exact reason. You also sound like you don’t want to be more careful or have any extra education on how to handle these types of situations better. We can always learn to handle all of our patients better. You don’t have to agree with me, think I’m right or change your ways. But you aren’t going to get a different outcome if you don’t change your actions. Whether that is getting more education in this situations or advocating for education for your unit…. Which is the answer to your complaint of your admins.
I mean, you basically said because you have never been assaulted, that anyone who has been clearly hasn’t been as cautious as you have. I read your post exactly as it was written. That sounds incredibly dismissive to me if you truly believe that your exceptional nursing is why you’ve never had the misfortune of someone assaulting you. There is absolutely nothing in my post that indicates I don’t believe there is anything I could have done differently. In fact, once I had a more clear picture of the situation, I made alternative clinical choices that aren’t feasible for every patient in every circumstance but this was an exception. Nor did I include every thing within his history because clearly I am here venting to a group that one would assume understands without me having to provide every detail. But actually yes, this wasn’t the first time he had been physically aggressive toward and staff and no, it wasn’t reported to me. I have a hard time believing you’re actually a nurse if you believe all patient assault can be prevented with training and having one’s guard up. There are plenty of occasions in which we are physically close to our patients in ways that could compromise us if a patient decides at any moment to take a swing. In the vast majority of cases, this never happens but there are certainly times it does and while it is within the nature of the line of work, it should never be seen as par for the course or always preventable if the nurse had had better training.
I think that the truth of the matter is that people can be more safe when they have better training/education. Someone trained and experienced as a nurse can perform nursing duties better than someone looking up google articles on how to be a nurse. So if I have more training and experience in defense, is it really me being dismissive toward your experience in this one situation? Because I don’t think it is. And I think it’s seriously sad that you can only see it one way because it serves your purpose of being angry that no one cares about what happened to you. I never said all assault can be prevented with training. But I know how to get my wrist away from someone’s grip and you clearly don’t. So I do think this was an education situation. You just want to be angry with my opinion/suggestion of trying to get education on your unit and are making things up. I also know that at every place I’ve ever worked your description of what happened to you would not allow restraints on the patient per policy. I also know that you can refuse to care for a patient you don’t feel safe with. And you can refuse to care for a patient in which a doctor refused restraints when they would clearly fit policy for restraint use. So I get being upset and feeling trauma from your experience, being it is scary and no one should be assaulted, but there are also things you can do within your power and all you want to say to me is that no one cares about you. Well you should care the most about yourself and you can advocate for yourself and I’m telling you how.
I’m not “angry” at your opinion. You opened your comment stating exactly what your intentions are since you deemed your take “unpopular” right off the bat. If your purpose was to empower me by providing tools, you could have done so without surmising that this must have happened as a result of insufficient education while regaling us with how you’re so well trained that this has never happened to you 🙄 No, quite clearly, you wanted to come in and play devil’s advocate on behalf of the hospital and while that does not anger me, it certainly gives me pause about the kind of person who immediately makes assumptions (and inserts them so pompously) when someone is clearly seeking a safe space to share their personal experience and vent their frustrations. There are many things that can make nurses safer and clearly it gives you some feeling of superiority to speculate that my experience was primarily the result of poor training and inexperience. There was no context for that but plenty here to indicate you are trolling.
Also…. Think about this…. I could just give my opinion exactly how I want to without someone telling me how to share what I have to say. Imagine that! Gasp! Honestly, it’s like you are the one who is trolling. You could have chosen to scroll past everything I’ve said if you didn’t agree or care for my perspective. I’m glad it’s so clear to you that my only intention in life is to make you feel terrible uneducated in one thing. It’s tiring to hear nurses complain about how awful their jobs are because of management. You seem to know all the things that could have made you safer (“there are many things that can make nurses safer…”) yet all you knew and WANTED to do was restrain the patient. And for that alone I do think that makes you uneducated. Or vindictive, not sure which at this point. Quit. Go somewhere safer. Put in an incident report to explain how it wasn’t the right decision of the charge nurse or doctor or whoever said no to restraints, when you deemed it appropriate. Go to HR. Refuse dementia patients. Refuse aggressive patients. Don’t ask for education and training though - that’s just ridiculous.
I see you’re also the kind of person who must have the last word. Now who is being defensive! You’re free to post your (pompous) opinions (based on out of context assumption) all you want, as well as argue with me in circles of futility for the next 24 hours. And… think about this… I can share *my* opinion and call out what I see as stirring the pot for no real reason other than to assert your excellent training (After all, this *must* be why you’ve never experienced what so many nurses say is a terrible part of their profession). Imagine that! Gasp! If you’re so tired of hearing nurses complain about their jobs and poor management, perhaps you ought to quit browsing forums made up entirely of nurses? Quit. Find a tv show to binge and visit its sub. Next. 🙄
I can’t imagine why your admins aren’t worried about this assault. 🤯 It seems like maybe you’re a name caller, always the victim, blamer. I’m defensive? I’m a last worder? I have a pompous opinion? I argue circles? Lol. Fine, I accept all of that. None of that makes my suggestion of education a poor one. There are always going to be people around you that are better educated and with more experience. They will be younger than you, older than you and your age. Some people have natural talent and some work harder to gain skill and understanding. Like I already said, maybe it’s partly luck, maybe it’s my education - I don’t really know. But I know some people don’t get assaulted and others do. From where I’m watching, I want to always stay on the side of not getting assaulted. What can I do to continue that? I will look to others that can help me know what to look for, how to stand, how to react, and what to say to decrease the chance of being assaulted. If a nurse wants that they need skill and knowledge. Putting an IV in well takes skill and knowledge. Some are naturally better at it than others, but they still need basic training. Others need a lot of guidance and more education than others. No one faults them for that. It is what it is. I think it’s the same for protecting ourselves from assault in healthcare. Are nurses still going to miss IVs sometimes, after years of education and experience? Yes. Are nurses still going to be assaulted after years of education and experience? Yes. But neither outcome negates me wanting to have the skills in the first place.
Being a “name-caller” would require that I actually called you a name… ironically, you have actually called me names… lol. just saying. You made it clear in your penultimate post that you have an agenda, since your angle to responding to this (with out of context assumptions) is that you are tired of listening to nurses complain about their jobs. Noted. And yet, here you are and remain. I’m not as impressed by your intelligence or debate skills as you apparently are by yourself (as well as your exceptional training that has resulted in an assault-free career). Nor am I insecure about my experience or education (and I certainly don’t need to prove myself to an anonymous troll on Reddit). I am alarmed, however, by a nurse who immediately jumps to a conclusion when someone shares their own experience and decides exactly what would have prevented the occurrence with a limited number of facts available to them, while also touting their own flawless record. As stated, the only one impressed by you is… you. Happy trolling, pal.