PDN shot and killed

RN403, BSN, RN · Aug 26, 2014

I have long recognized the dangers of PDN/HH Nursing...I realized a long time ago that this area was not for me. I think that you all are brave souls and respect you all very much. It really can be a dangerous job.

I did see the article that you posted...very sad.

ButterflyRN90, ASN, RN · Aug 26, 2014

I have long recognized the dangers of PDN/HH Nursing...I realized a long time ago that this area was not for me. I think that you all are brave souls and respect you all very much. It really can be a dangerous job.
I did see the article that you posted...very sad.

This makes me a tad nervous. I'm starting PDN in Peds HH and now I'm not too sure...

Elle23 · Aug 26, 2014

I have long recognized the dangers of PDN/HH Nursing...I realized a long time ago that this area was not for me. I think that you all are brave souls and respect you all very much. It really can be a dangerous job.

To be fair, a nurse was attacked in my area several years ago in the parking garage as she was leaving her hospital job.

There is inherent danger working in the hospital as well as out if it. We ALL need to be concerned with safety, no matter where we work.

ceebeejay · Aug 26, 2014

I agree that safety is a 24/7 issue for anyone. However, PDN's and HH nurses are particularly vulnerable to problems because they are in a closed and foreign environment with people whom we generally know nothing about. Where I work they are under construction which brings a whole host of other strangers into the mix. Some of them have made me feel extremely uncomfortable and I have learned the hard way to listen when my internal bells go DING! If something goes down, I am done. I am trapped. I have nobody to hear me scream. It is definitely something in my mind. I pay a lot of attention to my body language and I try not to have my back to anyone I don't know. Two things that may have spoke "victim" to my attacker in a previous type of employment. I am always scanning my environment for exits and risks as well.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Aug 26, 2014

My condolences go out to the family.

My questions are whether this person knew her.

Similar situation happened to myself; I knew the person, though, and it was broad daylight, almost 10 in the morning. I was shot seven times at close range and survived.

It's been 6 years and those feelings still happen from time to time; more so when these situations occur.

I did return to home care years later successfully for a brief stint before moving to hospital work, and into other endeavors. :yes:

The person that caused me the most danger I knew; it wasn't a random person in the community; I even had a restraining order against this person.

There is danger; in my experience it was someone that I knew. :blink:

monkeyhq · Aug 26, 2014

Wow! I am so glad you survived. :yes:

PDN/HH has it's risks, but I was in a government hospital with psych patients and loads of PTSD afflicted souls. I found that much more unpredictable and frightening. Not long ago, there was a shooting in the main lobby.

Personal safety, no matter where we work, shop, or play, should always be a top priority. I won't even park next to a panel van at the grocery store! And I always carry pepper spray, in my hand, not my purse, when I am in a vulnerable place.

RNIBCLC · Aug 26, 2014

My condolences go out to the family.
My questions are whether this person knew her.
Similar situation happened to myself; I knew the person, though, and it was broad daylight, almost 10 in the morning. I was shot seven times at close range and survived.
It's been 6 years and those feelings still happen from time to time; more so when these situations occur.
I did return to home care years later successfully for a brief stint before moving to hospital work, and into other endeavors.
The person that caused me the most danger I knew; it wasn't a random person in the community; I even had a restraining order against this person.
There is danger; in my experience it was someone that I knew.

Wow, I'm glad you survived. The back stories many of us must have on AN has got to be incredible.

allnurses Guide · Aug 26, 2014

Has anyone worked for a home health agency that utilized bodyguards on occasion?

I think that it's justified, especially if the nurse is heading into a sketchy area.

My husband used to get hired to be the bodyguard for nurses having to do this. He told me about how he would escort the nurse to the door of a seedy apartment and wait. Well, all kinds of riff-raff would be eyeballing my husband (6'4" and built like a bear) and they did NOT like that he was there with those nurses. He said that he could only imagine how it was for the nurses going in there on their own.

Those nurses were very vulnerable, between the "ooooooh la la... a nursie" perception these jerks had and the fact that these jerks were expecting the nurse to have drugs... well, those nurses were in a rough spot.

The only reason he got hired, was because the nurses all started to refuse these assignments, because the harassment and fear was so bad.

He hasn't been called for sometime now, but I know nurses haven't stopped having to deal with this crap.

I'm sure it's the money that keeps the agencies from utilizing him, but those nurses expressed nothing but gratitude that he was there.

RN403, BSN, RN · Aug 26, 2014

To be fair, a nurse was attacked in my area several years ago in the parking garage as she was leaving her hospital job.
There is inherent danger working in the hospital as well as out if it. We ALL need to be concerned with safety, no matter where we work.

You are right, we all need to be aware of our environment no matter where we work and go. I agree that safety should be everyone's priority. Attacks have happened to nurses walking out of our hospital as well. Things can happen no matter where you are.

I still feel that HH/PDNs have a heightened risk as they are truly alone out there unless their agency utilizes security or allows police escorts.

nekozuki, LPN · Aug 26, 2014

I have worked in some rough neighborhoods (especially government housing), and just stick to what I've been taught my whole life from parents who grew up in Brooklyn: Don't make yourself a target. Be alert, look around you, keep your head and shoulders high, project confidence, don't have your hands full, keep your phone/wallet out of sight as you get in and out of your car. If you are perceived as vulnerable, you are a target. I've gotten "sup white b*tch" a couple times, but generally it's just stares and hushed comments.

A few of my fellow nurses carry weapons, and a couple keep a gun in their cars despite company policy. Their stance is "I'd rather be fired than dead."

MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN · Aug 26, 2014

This is an awful story, I feel for the family of this nurse. I myself am not a nurse yet, I am however a probation officer and go into neighborhoods and homes of others on a regular basis. While my current job is not the same, surprisingly I have found that most threats faced while out in the field is not the people we are visiting (in my case convicted offenders, in home healthcare your patients), rather their neighbors, random passersby, family members and even animals. The piece of advice that I can share is situational awareness, always be aware of your surroundings and the people in them. How you carry yourself is also key, body language says a lot to potential predators, in their mind you're are their next target or you're the one they are not going to gamble with because you look like you won't go down without a good fight, a thing most want to avoid. If you get a bad feeling in your gut, always, always listen to it--better safe than sorry. For you nurses out and about in the community, be safe out there.