Enraged (venting)

Specialties Emergency

Published

OK, I know y'all can relate...

Tonight I received a 23yoM, out drinking and driving, hitting parked cars. He already has 2 felony DUI's on his records.

He fought with fire department on scene (no head injury - he was just a drunk jerk), EMS on scene, police on scene; en route was kicking my medics and the police. He arrives and is still screaming and trying to swing while handcuffed to the cart.

I *tried* my very best to remain calm and therapeutic, but could only tolerate so much of the, "I refuse, you can't touch me, I'm suing you because my dad's a lawyer, and you can't let them take me to jail because I want to go home," while he attempts to swing, swears, and spits. He made mistake number one at that point by grabbing at my hand and squeezing until my hand popped (I filed charge number one at this point).

He smelled so strongly of ETOH it made the eyes water, and of course, he ended up in CT scan.

He fought and carried on over there, getting tazed several times. I ran over and medicated with Haldol and Ativan, but it was like spitting in the wind. Head blocks were gone, c-collar askew, and un-even on the LSB.

For a few minutes he chilled out and I once again explained everything. The CT tech needed his arms above his head, so I explained that I would remain at his side to care for him, and help him hold his arms. He said, "Whatever." (Meanwhile my tech and 5 policemen were on the other side of the glass watching).

I put on the lead, and was helping him hold his arms, and he screamed, "Let go of me you 'effin B*tch!" He then pulled an arm free and punched my chest (mistake number two, and charge number two filed) and face (mistake number three, and charge number three filed).

I lost my cool at that point and completely lost it. I'm ashamed to admit that without thinking, and in order to get away, I punched him very hard and quick 3 times in the chest so he would let go of my other arm (and it worked).

The police were all over him like a cheap suit. I told him that we were done playing the easy way, and he would now be going down the hard road, and told him I was taking him back to the ER to paralyze and intubate him.

He cried all the way back.

I'm just irritated that such a young man is wasting his life an potential and doesn't even care (he could have killed someone!). I'm furious that he thought he had to right to assault me. And I'm even more enraged that I lost my cool and responded the way I did.

Any tips for calming down?

Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.
First, I think you need to stop working with this type of patient. You assaulted and battered a patient, which could very well be felonious. You'd better check with a lawyer ASAP, I think.

Your upset is perfectly understandable. No one should have to deal with this mess. But I am not sure that a nurse has the right to strike a patient. I suppose a case could be made for self-defense.

she did not assault and battery the pt she defended herself he had already punched her several times and had her arm .and who are you to tell her to stop working with this type of pt ? she works in an ed this is what we see everyday every shift .just because a pt is addicted does not give them the right and an automatic pass to violence with ttheir caregivers .we don't make them addicted they are responsible for their own actions.we as caregivers do have a right to protect ourselves.i am glad she is pressing charges .

It's a really old fashioned and outdated idea that nurses should just take whatever any patient wants to give them. I find it difficult to believe that someone middle aged or past that would still think in that manner.

Ideally, yes, the nurse shouldn't have hit the patient, but it's a natural instinct to hit back when hit and maybe that was the only way to get away, as in self defense.

The old martyr attitude, still alive and well, is a great part of the problem with how nurses are treated today, by patients and families, and by administration.

Kudos for pressing charges!

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho.

I say you should have taken him back to ER,, called his lawyer daddy and let him sign him out AMA,, so the cops could arrest him as he walked out the door. Keep daddy up all night with him filling out paperwork and letting him deal with the monster he created.

Sorry i have NO patience whatsoever for drunks of anykind.

Just curious ... have you ever called Security while you were being assaulted?

I thank God that I have never been assaulted. Having worked in Corrections, though, things often got threatening. I would simply raise my voice and say to the inmate, "Don't make me yell for a Deputy!" Before I knew it, several deps were at my side and the inmate had either come to his senses and started behaving safely or was escorted off, his med care to resume at a later time.

The key here is that I raised my voice and yelled for help. If other staff had been around the OP (and I think they were, based on him saying that they were gathered outside the scanner room), he could pretty easily have raised his voice and conveyed to them that they needed to stat get him Security backup.

Or, he should require that the doctor order the pt to be controlled with anesthesia/intubation for the scan or take whatever other steps were necessary to keep everyone safe.

Are you advocating that nurses allow themselves to enter dangerous situations? Are you saying nurses should stay in them if they find themselves in them? What exactly are you trying to say?

I say you should have taken him back to ER,, called his lawyer daddy and let him sign him out AMA,, so the cops could arrest him as he walked out the door. Keep daddy up all night with him filling out paperwork and letting him deal with the monster he created.

Sorry i have NO patience whatsoever for drunks of anykind.

The sign out AMA part sounds good to me but I wonder about the legality of allowing a drunk to do that. If he later got hurt, there might be liability there.

I'm not so sure we should automatically blame Dad for the son's trouble.

In a extremely concerted effort to not be disrespectful in any way, I will just say that anyone who took measures to protect themselves after having been puched twice in the chest and once in the face IS NOT an assault and batterer, but a VICTIM of assault and battery.

Where I wonder, did this idea come from, that health care individuals have no right to protect THEMSELVES from physical harm inflicted by another individual? Where do you draw the line between getting hit 2,3,4,5 times and getting dead? Several well placed hard punches can knock a person out, and then what? You are at the mercy of someone who obviously did not feel it was wrong to punch you in the first place, you really think it's not a leap that they might not feel its wrong to kill you just because they feel like it?

Not in my world people, I've got three babies to go home to.

This entire line of reasoning has me enraged.

Angela, I never said we had no right to protect ourselves. That part you read into what I wrote. Please don't put words in my mouth or assume that I meant something I didn't say. We have a perfect right to defend ourselves and go home to our families and not get hurt at work.

I just responded to the question, that's all, with an opinion. I am not a lawyer, I don't know all the circumstances (read lower where the OP elaborates more). But I do 2000% believe that nurses should protect themselves. I'm just not sure that punching the guy was the best way. I imagine a strong case could be made for self-defense. Again, read the OP's elaboration a few posts down. Er, well, up, I guess that would be. A few posts up.

she did not assault and battery the pt she defended herself he had already punched her several times and had her arm .and who are you to tell her to stop working with this type of pt ? she works in an ed this is what we see everyday every shift .just because a pt is addicted does not give them the right and an automatic pass to violence with ttheir caregivers .we don't make them addicted they are responsible for their own actions.we as caregivers do have a right to protect ourselves.i am glad she is pressing charges .

I am just answering the OP's question.

If you work somewhere where you know you are prone to violence, why stay there and then c/o about it? It sounds like my former boss - she bought a house on a golf course and then c/o that there were golfers and golf balls on her property. :uhoh3: And no, I don't think we should be punching bags, no, we did not cause their addiction and should not have to suffer because of it. But, in your case, you really should try to get security at your ER. It sounds like your employer doesn't value you and your colleagues very well. And you guys let them get by with it so maybe you don't value yourselves much, either. I believe thoroughly in self-defense and in going home whole. I'm glad he's pressing charges, too.

Specializes in NICU, DC planning, Neurosurgery, Inf Dis.

too bad the OP didn't have the tazer available in the CT scanner..although it sounds like this guy was so blitzed he probably didn't care or had so much "anesthesia" already on board he couldn't feel it....hope the OP is working thru this..best wishes

topkat

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
I thank God that I have never been assaulted. Having worked in Corrections, though, things often got threatening. I would simply raise my voice and say to the inmate, "Don't make me yell for a Deputy!" Before I knew it, several deps were at my side and the inmate had either come to his senses and started behaving safely or was escorted off, his med care to resume at a later time.

The key here is that I raised my voice and yelled for help. If other staff had been around the OP (and I think they were, based on him saying that they were gathered outside the scanner room), he could pretty easily have raised his voice and conveyed to them that they needed to stat get him Security backup.

Or, he should require that the doctor order the pt to be controlled with anesthesia/intubation for the scan or take whatever other steps were necessary to keep everyone safe.

Are you advocating that nurses allow themselves to enter dangerous situations? Are you saying nurses should stay in them if they find themselves in them? What exactly are you trying to say?

I have never worked in corrections although I once did a volunteer day helping w/adult literacy classes in a state prison setting. Whole different world than a hospital ... totally different level of supervision of inmates and totally different setting designed specifically for command & control, not health care.

I could be wrong, but I read your post to be taking the OP to task for defending herself. Your suggestions included: 1) not working with "this type of patient" and 2) calling security. Again, I could be wrong, but your original post, and your subsequent posting, suggest that the OP is somehow at fault for losing her temper or being prone to violence or something.

So I asked the question: have you ever been assaulted? That is, have you ever been in a situation where you needed to act to minimize physical harm to yourself NOW, not as a hypothetical situation but NOW?

I found your suggestions outrageously naive for someone who has been practicing for any length of time. In the time it took for the 10, 12, 20, or however many steps it took for the police officers and others to get to the OP, she was being punched. This is a real event - not a cartoon where the action gets paused for the OP to call security.

I wholeheartedly agree that this terrible incident could have been avoided if the police had stayed within arms length of the patient (as they do in my facility). But the bottom line is that that did not happen, and the OP took steps to minimize physical harm to herself.

He is ill, let's not forget. He has an addiction to alcohol. Addiction. A person will sell his soul to satisfy a craving when addicted. It is an illness and the person deserves treatment. He might need jail, too. But he definitely needs treatment. And to be forgiven. There, but for the grace of God, go you and I.

Yes, addiction is an illness. But illness is not an excuse for assaulting anyone.

The OP believed, rightly from the facts related, that he/she was in imminent threat of bodily harm, indeed had been harmed already, and reacted to prevent further harm. Bravo. The OP did not continue to strike the Pt/assaulter after he had released him/her.

I was a practicing alcoholic for a couple decades, and I can tell you that it does no one any good, especially the addict, to give them a pass on violent behavior.

Yes, they should get treatment.......as soon as they are in a state to get it without harming the staff trying to render that treatment.

Specializes in Tele, Infectious Disease, OHN.

[I]In an extremely concerted effort to not be disrespectful in any way, I will just say that anyone who took measures to protect themselves after having been puched twice in the chest and once in the face IS NOT an assault and batterer, but a VICTIM of assault and battery. [/i]: :yeah: [/i]:yeah: :yeah:

.........I told him that we were done playing the easy way, and he would now be going down the hard road, and told him I was taking him back to the ER to paralyze and intubate him.

If you're talking about tips for calming him down, I'd say the chemical paralysis and intubation is a good way to go. As far as you, I hope that seeing that asshole sentenced to prison will make you feel better. Zero tolerance. Pursue conviction.

Contact your Congressman about initiating Federal legislation to protect healthcare workers.

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