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| No. 30 | 
Oct 29, 2009, 11:31 AM
 Re: Customer Violence
I have had soup thrown at me...
Been told "I hope you die"
Been hit, grabbed and smacked...
What if a Nurse did these things to a patient...we would lose everything...
Abuse is abuse...
 | | Advertisement Sponsored Links | | | | No. 31 |
Oct 29, 2009, 01:13 PM
Re: Customer Violence Originally Posted by nerdtonurse?  These are not CUSTOMERS. They are PATIENTS. Customers actually pay for things.
They most certainly ARE CUSTOMERS... as well as patients. I've had many more encounters with acute care hospitals than anybody I know... with myself as the patient, with my kid as the patient, with each my dying parents as the patients. We were customers.
Customers have a choice as to where they procure the services that they're receiving. I don't know about your area but in these parts there are several hospitals offering the same sets of services. A hospital that forgets that their patients are also their customers is a hospital who is going to lose business... and staff who contribute to that are shooting themselves in the foot.
That said, customers are no more entitled to abuse or assault staff in a hospital than they are anywhere else.
As to your comment "customers actually pay for things".... I have news for you: I PAY out-of-pocket nearly $10,000 per year for my insurance... and the employee benefit (in lieu of wages... so that's MY money, too) is another $8,000 per year. To that you can add the 10% deductible and the substantial co-pays. Believe me, I PAY FOR THE SERVICE that I receive. Many millions of us do.
I am a patient... AND I am a customer.
Again, being a customer does not confer the right to behave like an @$$ and certainly not to be assaultive - assault and battery should be prosecuted as such. However, hospitals and their staffs do need to recognize that their patients are also their customers.
| | No. 32 |
Oct 29, 2009, 02:33 PM
Re: Customer Violence Originally Posted by UnionRN2 I disagree with the way the question is worded. I am a nurse. I take care of patients. If I worked at McDonald's, or a furniture store, or a grocery store etc. I would have customers. There is a difference.
Our institution has a zero tolerance policy. However, we all know that the patients and families can be as abusive as they want to staff and nothing will be done. Should an employee say or do anything it is a horse of a different color. If you are a management suck up you make get a day or two off. If you don't suck up then you will be fired.
Our hospital instituted a "code gray". When an employee becomes aware of a situation that can lead to violence then security is to contacted. Security is supposed to do frequent walk-bys and make their presence known. However, the Barney Fife types they hire are tiny little people that carry no type of weapon. And like all departments they are severely understaffed. At night there is one roaming around in a truck scanning in at checkpoints, there is one answering the phones (no operator at night), and there is one posted by ER.
I learned quickly that patients admitted with "pancreatitis" means that they could have pancreatitis but more likely have a substance abuse probem. I turned a corner in time to see an acute pancreatitis patient grab a nurse by the hair, swing her around, and slam her into the wall. He needed a drink and she must have left her bottle at home I guess. I have witnessed a cardiothoracic surgeon push nurses hard enough for them to land on the floor outside the room. I informed my nurse manager I would call the police if any of those things happened to me and press charges. Her response? "You won't have a job here then. That doctor is far more important than you are. And if you call the police on a patient then you violate HIPPAA The hospital will make sure are fined, go go jail, and lose your license."
Licensed be darned... I'd call the police. The policies here do not protect staff.
I will defend myself, to heck with the job. Patient or physician, doesn't matter. Assault me, and I'll return the favor. In spades.
| | No. 36 |
Oct 29, 2009, 08:34 PM
Re: Customer Violence
Violence against health care workers will continue as long as the folks at the top of the food chain never come face to face with that violence themselves. We may speak of ourselves as professionals, but to the big bosses we are just a different type of menial labor--one step above housekeeping and dietary. If we had any brains we would be in management, too, according to them. Therefore, we are assumed to be too stupid to know how to interact with customers and it's our own stupidity or shoddy work which results in those customers getting angry. So they send us to inservices on customer service and how to handle the dissatisfied client. Blame the victim at its finest.
I personally know of one instance in which a client had been repeatedly threatening and abusive to nursing staff. This person was rewarded with a catered meal. "We don't want you to be unhappy." Staff were afraid of the threats but were told to "use your customer service skills." What happened when said client marched over to the offices of the CEO and began yelling and threatening? Why, all of a sudden he was marched off the premises in custody and barred from ever coming back on hospital property.
When the CEO gets slammed up against a wall things may change. Until then, don't hold your breath.
| | No. 37 |
Oct 29, 2009, 09:04 PM
Re: Customer Violence
I find I have a little more to say, in reference to the original question. I think that what matters is that whatever policy you come up with has to be implemented and enforced for everyone. In the example I mentioned above, I'm sure that, if asked, management would have said something along the order of..."Here at Wonderful Medical Center we strive to ensure a safe and secure environment for our employees......" But those were just words. They were not backed up with actions.
You may truly care about the employees and want to help protect them. But if those over you choose to selectively apply your policy, it matters not that you have one.
I'm an old, cynical nurse, maybe too cynical. But when the choice is between losing a customer/money vs. losing an employee/cost center, I think I can guess how the board will vote.
| | No. 38 |
Oct 30, 2009, 11:47 AM
Re: Customer Violence
When I hired in at the hospital I work at now, ( I work in a clinic that is a part of the facility), we were told about the hospital's "no weapons" policy. The dinklepuss giving the speech made the comment "I don't care if you have a pistol permit or a permit to carry concealed, you leave your gun at home". RIIIGGGHHHTTT. I work across the street, where I park with my back to a crop of HUD-type townhomes. The kind with 14 vehicles and as many if not more dogs. The kind that look like the front-runner for Home of the Year in mext month's Better Homes and Garbage. Have you BEEN over here lately? Do you KNOW what side of town we're on? Now, I don't know about you, but when all a tenant or owner has to do all day is sit on the front stoop, drink, and stare holes through me, I get a wee bit of the heebie-jeebies.
My point? My permit trumps your silly little policy any day, because when I get attacked, I can bet my sweet bippy that YOU will not be coming to my aid. We aren't even in the same parking lot. And until you take steps to protect me, as well as those I work with, I'll do whatever I can to protect myself. You can quote policy till you're blue about no weapons, the state thinks otherwise.
Thank you, rant off.
| | No. 39 |
Oct 30, 2009, 04:13 PM
Re: Customer Violence
This topic hit a very personal note with me. You see I don't have the brawn and stature to "even out the playing field". For the first time in 20yrs practice, I was viciously attacked by a resident. No security on my floor, lock broken to the nursing office, and facing a cane weilding dementia patient. I fought for my life and was terminated,and brought up on charges. No support from my union, staggering lawyers fees, and the possible loss of my license. A person that has been deemed mentally incompetent cannot be held liable. I worked the night shift.Many states have enacted laws to make it a felony to assault healthcare workers. I encourage everyone to check out an online petition site www.care2.com in the search box type in: stop the violence against healthcare workers, and the petion will pop up. The resonse that I received from management..."When you work in this environment,you should just expect that something like this could happen."
Please spread the word about this petition, it could just save a life!
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