A patient pulled a knife on me today.

[LoriAlabamaRN]

Wow. I'm still shaking. At the LTC where I work, we have a short-term physical rehabilitation wing. One of our newer patients is suffering from dementia, and became violent this morning so I was called into a room. Next thing I know, he had grabbed a knife he had hidden in a bathcloth on his dresser. Thank God I was able to grab his wrist and pry his fingers from it. We don't have panic buttons or security here. I keep thinking about what might have happened. I still have the knife on the desk next to me (I'm in my office) and I have called my DON to see what to do.

What would the protocol be where you work?

I need to look into receiving combat pay. :angryfire

[veegeern, BSN, RN]

:yeahthat: :icon_hug:

Oops! Didn't notice that the page changed. I was agreeing that you should have mental health days at the facilities expense.

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

Bless your heart, what a scare. Thanks for sharing. We are looking into education for our staff in how to better handle these incidences. Your note makes it seem more urgent.

[Theloneliest_Monk]

Glad to hear that you are alright after that.

I work as a mental health tech on a child and adolescent unit and about 5 years ago, the day shift had a birthday cake for one of the staff and they left a knife to cut the cake in the nursing station. That evening a kid went into the nursing station and grabbed the knife and came at me with it. Luckily I was able to grab his arm and get the knife away from him.

[whiskeygirl, LPN]

Lori, Wow! Way to go! You kept your head under extreme pressure! I am happy things turned out ok for you. My heart is still racing after reading your post.

I am starting to think that we should all have a defensiveness training course as a part of nursing school!

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

Holly COW! I have never had that happen to me, but I have had injuries from demented patients before...a 30 mph baby food jar hucked at me and busted a two pagne window behind me (I ducked just in time), my nipple was bit that took a stitch or two when I bent over a patient, almost choked to death from my steth in the hands of another (never wear your steth! LOL!), and just last week bruises from freeing a CNA from one that was attacking her......

My husband who is paramedic has had the knife deal...Big old butchers knife hidden behind a scitz's back. Normally the police are supose to secure the scene for paramedics...ummmmm DOH! So my hubby came in the room just as she was going to stab a police officer...he struggled with her and got the knife (he was behind her and out of her vision...she didn't know he was back there) and only suffered mild lacerations. Believe you me, he gave the police officers a bit of his mind! LOL!

I am so sorry when this happens! Oh man! Now that I am working agency in a local hospital...I call security, and we do have a panic button in all rooms...and besides that...I can most certainly yell loud!

[dekatn]

When I first read the title, I was thinking....LTC. This happened to me....twice! First time it wasn't too worried about the threat and just said in a stern voice "You put that down RIGHT now!" Luckily they did. Can't remember what happened, just that this pt only got plastic utensils and stryro plates and had to be supervised for meals....family was very embarrassed and apoligetic (I was prego at the time)

Second incident...I was a little frightened, res was a paraniod schizophrenic and had the strenght of a whole football team. I yelled my butt off for help at PT aid came in the room and saved my butt by acting like this guy superior in the army (the pt was in the military and so was the PT aid) for some odd reason that worked. This pt has a history of these outbreaks and we were fighting woth administration to get this person 302'd for our benifit and his.....well he got 302'd and had a major restructuring of his medication regieme. Came back to our facility with better control of his illness.

Sooo....is a psyche consult been done? CP been revised..monitor his meals, plastic utensils, maybe a room search prn? or were you thinking more of should the police be notified?

Oh Michelle126, I can sooo relate, happened to me also, in LTC, only this pt. stabbed me in the hand with a fork. Like you, plastic utensils and tray, sent out for psych tx. Has been sent out twice for psych and our facility keeps taking pt. back. They must like the drama and mystery of what will happen next!!!

[LoriAlabamaRN]

Well, I made it back to work tonight to find that my resident knifeweilder has been committed to a psychiatric facility for 10-15 days at minimum. I just hope that they search him real good! His son arrived before my DON did and tried to get me to give him the knife, but I wouldn't, I told him it was already in my DON's box (true) and that I couldn't access it (not true). I was afraid that by the time she got here he would be claiming it was a butter knife or something (turns out it WAS a straightrazor).

Thanks to all for the wonderful advice, and I see I am not alone in this experience! Where else but in nursing would so many share such off-the-wall experiences? I'm glad you all survived yours as well. I guess I was just lucky.

And no, noone offered me any paid mental health days! Not that I would expect them to...

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

"my nipple was bit that took a stitch or two when I bent over a patient"

I gotta say it - YOUCH!

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

"my nipple was bit that took a stitch or two when I bent over a patient"

I gotta say it - YOUCH!

YOUCH is right! As a student, now I'm thinking I'll wear a thick padded bra for my clinicals.

[rehab nurse]

wow....from another ltc nurse who has a wing like yours. yikes! i'm glad you got the knife away from him. i shudder to think of what if. we don't routinely check their belongings on admit. maybe they should start? the only things we check are valuables, (read expensive things they'd want the facility to pay to replace), glasses, hearing aides, dentures. we don't check their clothes, etc. there's no staff or time!

just to add to the stories...one night at change of shift 11 pm. four nurses were in the hallway counting narcs (two nurses a shift on duty on the subacute). our doors lock at eight pm. out comes this guy, obviously high on something, who was in urine soaked jogging pants and nothing else. had a rattered blanket around him. came running toward us, yelling incoherent things, went in and out of pt rooms, jumping around like mad. we have no security. called 911, some of the big male cna's got him restrained on the ground and he stayed there till 911 arrived. scary!! how did he get in and how long was he back there lurking in the PT/OT area/kitchen (read knives and other potential weapons), med room area, lounge area without any of us knowing!!!!!

i am so glad you got out ok. they should give you an all expenses paid vacation to the place of your choice! and a few PAID weeks off! hugs to you....take care of yourself!!!

[Jellibum]

few! gald to hear that you all made it safe and sound.

i work in a dementia facitlity that gets aggressive pts. we have emergency buttons in each room but when you have two pt's linked togeter in a brawl with weapons - they're often not in reach. we don't have security (unless we call them) so we all carry whistles to rally the "troops". they're cheap, simple to use and heard all over the ward! talk about effective.

might be an idea for others.

[yadda_yadda_yadda, LPN, LVN]

We attend a class in non-violent conflict resolution and tactics. I can't think of the name.

Could you be referring to "Satori" or SAMA (Satori Alternatives for Managing Aggression) training?

We attend Satori/SAMA training yearly where I work...it's amazingly effective!