Violence against nurses law.

Mike A. Fungin RN · Nov 8, 2010

Anyone who beats someone in the face with a wooden chair deserves to be harshly punished. I don't care if they're beating a nurse, "some guy" who fills the vending machines or a circus clown. I'm not sure we need a special law for any particular group of people.

Likewise, I'm not a big fan of laws that afford greater protection for a particular class of people. This reminds me of "hate crime" laws that don't protect white victims of race-based offenses.

We simply need to be better about reporting violence against nurses and taking advantage of the laws that already exist to protect everyone from violence.

JDougRN, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2010

I think the point of the stepped-up laws are because so often nurses are targets of physical and verbal abuse. One of the other nurses posted that in 40 yrs of being a nurse, they have only been assaulted twice? I commend that person, as they must be extremley gifted at de-escalating situations. :yeah: I have been assaulted NUMEROUS times, all by confused, or "transiantly" confused people. I do work in the ER, however, and I have noticed an escalation in bad behavior from patients, as well as their family. It isn't much of a stretch to the day when an a/o x 3 person loses control. In NYS, battery or physical attack on a law enforcement officer is a felony, because it is recognized that they are doing a very dangerous job. I believe all health care workers should have the same protection, and the numbers of staff assaults certainly back up the fact that health care workers are getting assaulted. People seem to have much less respect for health care workers than they used to, im my opinion they are much ruder than they were 20 yrs ago.OR....they could just do what I suggest...and give us Tazers...THAT WORKS FOR ME!:anpom:

grannyrn65 · Nov 8, 2010

For truly criminal behavior I agree that this law was not necessary. However, much behavior towards nurses and other health care professionals was excused because it was either a risk of the profession or the patient/family was under stress of the moment and no action was taken against the perpetrator. In fact if the nurse complained about it or tried to take legal action the administration of the hospital often sided with the doer as opposed to the nurse. Although this attitude is now in a downward trend thanks to laws like this found in many states highlighting the problem.

What makes you think that this law will result in more 'doers'being arrested and prosecuted? Most incidents take place in hospitals. For any law to be enforced, law enforcement has to be summoned. If it has been the facility's policy not to call, what effect is the law going to have? I worked in two major NYC ER's. And trained at a third. The HHC did not tolerate staff, regardless of their job title, being attacked. Security was provided by off duty NYPD officers because they were the only ones entitled to carry guns. On the very rare occasions when someone was physically attacked,the doer was arrested. NYSNA has attempted to solve a problem by forcing the NYS legislation to pass a law,affording nurses special protection. I am sorry but I am not entitled to being classified into a special category, for protection. The one time I was attacked, in a upstate hospital, security called the local police, the doer was arrested and prosecuted. Neither I nor the hospital had to have a special law to initiate an arrest.

I believe in law and order. And in rare incidents, I even believe in special enhancements to prosecution, such as hate crimes. It is up to the DA to determine if the crime reaches this entitlement. If special interest groups keep it up, the ice cream man will eventually be entitled to special laws, when attacked because he does have a certain flavor.

GrannyRN65

Emergency RN · Nov 8, 2010

likewise, i'm not a big fan of laws that afford greater protection for a particular class of people. this reminds me of "hate crime" laws that don't protect white victims of race-based offenses...

really? imho, i think that's an erroneous presumption.

as a matter of fact, hate crime laws protect all (including whites) who are victimized wholly or in part, because of their race. there is nothing in any hate crime law (in the us, afaik) that expressly excludes protection of, or for whites; or preferentially protects minorities over whites. while there are plenty of cases of minority preference over whites in terms of hiring quotas, hiring eligibility, or business incentive (the need for which is something that does need to be reviewed), there is no advantage to being of any race when it comes to protection offered by hate crimes laws.

the core rationale of these statutes are that they protect everyone equally. otherwise the law itself would run afoul of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment to the us constitution (based on the presumption that all men are created equal under the eyes of the law).

grannyrn65 · Nov 8, 2010

Thanks Emergency RN, you said it clearer then any of us.

GrannyRN65

deftonez188 · Dec 27, 2010

Yes, that's something we should all have. Too many patients see us as literal punching bags or that it's acceptable to hit us and get away with it. If you can't punch the kid at McDonalds for messing up your order, you can't punch me either.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 28, 2010

really? imho, i think that's an erroneous presumption.
as a matter of fact, hate crime laws protect all (including whites) who are victimized wholly or in part, because of their race. there is nothing in any hate crime law (in the us, afaik) that expressly excludes protection of, or for whites; or preferentially protects minorities over whites. while there are plenty of cases of minority preference over whites in terms of hiring quotas, hiring eligibility, or business incentive (the need for which is something that does need to be reviewed), there is no advantage to being of any race when it comes to protection offered by hate crimes laws.
the core rationale of these statutes are that they protect everyone equally. otherwise the law itself would run afoul of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment to the us constitution (based on the presumption that all men are created equal under the eyes of the law).

there may or may not be anything in any hate crime law that expressly excludes protection of or for whites or preferentially protects minorities over whites, however in practice the story is different. years ago, there was a hate crime in seattle. an african american gentleman was caught on videotape proclaiming "i'm gonna kill me a white boy" over and over and over. he was then videotaped beating in the head of a young white man with a brick while continuing to chant "i'm gonna kill me a white boy". police had the tape in hand -- there was no doubt who killed the young white man, and there was no provocation of any kind recorded. what was on the tape was the black man telling his friends he was going to kill a "white boy." how much more evidence could there possibly be that beating in the young man's head with a brick was a hate crime?

he wasn't prosecuted for a hate crime. why? because he was black and the victim was white and therefore not a protected minority.

i'm in favor of strengthening the laws protecting health care workers by making violence against a health care worker doing their duty a felony. it may make some folks think twice about whether or not they'd really feel better if they punch out mom's nurse. it may make some folks back up when they hear it's a felony. it may make it more "ok" for hospitals to support their employees in prosecuting their attackers.

if you punch out the cashier at walmart because she wouldn't take your personal check, you get arrested. if you punch out a nurse because she didn't get mom's ice water fast enough or because you're stressed out because your honey is ill, many people -- including nurses -- try to excuse the behavior because you're under stress. most of us have been either patients or families of patients, and we don't behave that way. joe blow from down the street shouldn't get away with it just because he's "under stress." he wouldn't get away with it at walmart, mcdonalds or his local 7-11, and in most cases he wouldn't even think of attacking a cashier no matter how much stress he's under because his family member is ill. but he will attack a nurse. that just isn't right, and it should be a felony. maybe if there comes a time when people are no more likely to attack a nurse than they are the nice people at the motor vehicle administration, we wouldn't need a law protecting nurse. but we're not there yet.

Mike A. Fungin RN · Mar 1, 2011

there may or may not be anything in any hate crime law that expressly excludes protection of or for whites or preferentially protects minorities over whites, however in practice the story is different.

that's what i was getting at, my point for being unclear. in any case... the comment about hate crime laws was really inconsequential to the topic at hand.

maelstrom143 · Nov 17, 2011

I have had patients become agitated and it has been scary. Never actually had any try to injure me, thank goodness. However, it is a fact that many people act toward their healthcare workers in ways that would be considered unacceptable under any other situation, yet their behaviors are overlooked/excused and we continue to try to please them, regardless how offensive/entitled they may act and the situation can and does escalate, as has been proven time and time again. In the LTC where I worked, the night shift nurse was the one most often targeted. Several times over the years she had patients who kicked her, slapped her, and verbally abused her. What did she do? Nothing. What did management do? Nothing. "It's just part of the job" she'd say, even though you could tell it hurt her. She was a really lovely person and deserved better.

I have seen patients be ugly and chase a nurse up and down the hall and into other patients' rooms, I have heard them be ugly and verbally abusive where everyone could hear them...and they get away with it. They would not as easily behave this way towards people more at ease w/calling the cops on them.

For all those nurses out there who have to deal with the verbal and physical abuse, thank God the laws are changing to make it clear that abusing the healthcare professional is no longer tolerated.

For those of you, like me, that have never had more than agitated patients or verbal abuse, thank God, God bless, and may it stay that way.