the shootings at the johns hopkins hospital made national news. maybe i'm cynical, but i think it was because a doctor was shot. news reports say that dr. david cohen was updating the patient's son about her condition, and the man was increasingly unhappy with what he was hearing. after threatening to jump out of a window, he pulled out a gun and shot the surgeon in the abdomen. he was taken to the er -- and whoever went and removed him from the scene is certainly heroic! -- and then to surgery. latest reports are that he is doing well and expected to make a full recovery.
the visitor shot his mother and then himself.
this may seem like an isolated incident, but really it's just a progression of what we nurses put up with on a regular basis. shooting a doctor makes the news. threatening to shoot the nurse, even if you're armed and dangerous, does not. decking a doctor makes the news. beating up on mother's nurse does not. threatening a doctor gets attention; threatening a nurse is business as usual.
i've been kicked, bitten, slapped, punched and threatened with knives, guns and an "attack dog" while in the course of taking care of patients. once i was in the center of an armed confrontation between law enforcement personnel who carried guns and were unhappy with their relative's care and hospital security personnel. the situation was resolved without formal charges, and the visitors were back the next day. another time, when taking care of a prison inmate who was dying i was nearly knifed by his son (also an inmate) with a homemade machete he'd smuggled out of prison and into the hospital. withdrawing care on the patient was illegal -- it would be shortening the convict's life sentence. the son was intent on shortening the life sentence, although it's unclear whether he was doing it to ensure dad was indeed on his way to hell or if it would have been a mercy killing. (i wasn't particularly brave. i had my back to the visitor and was tackled by a prison guard to get me out of danger while two other guards wrestled the son to the ground and disarmed him.) it's made me reluctant to turn my back on visitors.
in some states, threatening or attacking a health care worker performing her job is a crime on the same level as assaulting a police officer. not in our state. the visitors are free to insult, assault and batter nurses and then come back to visit. in one incident, a patient's husband threatened me and another nurse with a handgun at 6 pm. it was 9pm before the police were notified, and midnight before the visitor -- who was in plain sight the entire time -- was in custody. he was back visiting by 6 am. our manager, bless her heart, wasn't concerned about the gun-toting husband because "he's from texas. everyone carries a gun there."
we need stiffer penalties for attacks on nursing staff, managers who will stand up for us and a visitor's code of conduct prominently posted in hospital entrances and waiting rooms and strictly enforced. (metal detectors and locked units would be nice, too, but i'm not holding my breath.) and we need it sooner, rather than later.
Friends, it is sort of wearisome to read post after post stating that injured and bullied and battered, victimized nurses are of no concern to their employers, nurses are always blamed for their injuries, and the like.
Don't we know by now that if we want to be taken seriously, we must make others take us seriously? When, oh when, will we stop expecting bosses or media or the public to care about and respect and appreciate us when we are too timid to open our mouths and speak out about things that are not acceptable to us in the workplace?
So many nurses expect others to fight their battles. This doesn't work. We have each got to respect ourselves enough to speak up for ourselves. Don't look for other nurses to join you, either. Just speak up for yourself and require that others show respect for you.
Don't worry if your employer questions you about "What did you say or do to provoke the attack". We should all be making sure we did NOT say or do anything wrong. If we somehow contributed to the problem, well, we should take a lesson from that. It is the employer's job to get the whole story. But if you did NOT bring on the problem, then you didn't bring it on.
There are plenty of rude people, plenty of deranged people, plenty who are upset and stressed and they strike out at what they perceive to be a weak target. Show them they misjudged you - call the police yourself. Don't wait for your manager to call them for you, don't believe your manager when they say you are not allowed to call police. Just do it. you do not give up your right to be treated properly when you report for duty.
But my main point is, YOU must take action and stop expecting or hoping that someone else will do this for you.
Sorry to burst any ones bubble but they were not that its just that nurses aand can are attacked all the time and expected to grin and bear it I feel sorry for the doctor and the perputrator but the point of the post was that this happen to nurses all the time no I do not condone the actions of that man however I am appalled that its okay to be abusive to the nurse and can mostly because we are women no offense male nurses just like spousal abuse hsa come to the forefront within the last 25 years although it has been going for forever I could be wrong but if more people begin to care about their staff then it will become illegal to hurt your caregiver in those instances I feel like the vulnerable adult I have to be honest if I feel threatened then I chart you refused care and was combative I refuse to let someone hurt me and I can no longer take care of me I try to redirect you if unsuccessful you have refused your care
Ok. A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL was shot while performing his job functions. This is horrific in and of itself. Doctors, as well as nurses, are our colleagues and the tragedy of this situation doesn't need to be minimized by someone piggybacking a "well, nurses have it just as bad, but we don't make the news" post. WHO CARES? A physician was seriously wounded!
This post is in very poor taste, IMHO.
The point is that we are suppose to grin and bear it as nurses its just part of the job I do not believe the writer condoned the actions of the man they were voicing their concern for their own safety on the job that's all no one wants to see a colleague or anyone for that matter hurt however we need for our concerns to be addresses I feel like a vulnerable adult if any other healthcare worker is threatened they can refuse to give care because their safety is threatened in new york paramedics refused to give:crying2: care bcz they felt their life was in immediate danger fireman can pull back if bullets are being fired from a gin that is burning in a house and paramedics wait until police have arrivedand secured the scene why can't we get that same courtesy like other healthcare workers that's all
It is terrible that hospitals are no longer a haven. The state of the economy affects psychological and mental states of all people. It is important to look at the circumstances surrounding the crimes to understand. I see this worsening with the economy we are in. I have seen violence in all units , not just the Er and psych. OB and peds unfortunately have their share as well. I know some hospitals with security outside of ICU.
Reviving this site must mean that things are slow at AllNurses.....
Having graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1960, let me say that hospitals have never been regarded by their communities as "havens", just a necessary service center when bodily functions are in trouble (except for OB, which has been intervened so much that complications arise more frequently because of the medical need to mess with natural function - to wit the astronomic rate of C-sections being done). Judicious use of medications in all branches of treatment is always crucial. Hospitals had been known as "Houses of Pestilance" in the 18th and 19th centuries. Then Dr. Semelweiss came along with mandatory handwashing. As a former Infection Control Nurse, I wish he'd done a better convincing job, and that setting better priorities for care would rise above the multitude of other duties.
Nurses are less highly regarded than physicians due to our society's focus on more favored/Hollywood agrandized titillation and awe of body functions being a doctors' function, rather than a team effort. (I have been impressed when watching "House" by the visual presentations to explain symptoms and illnesses.) It is such a laugh to see on "Grey's Anatomy" and other drama/sitcoms, how the writers seem to believe that doctors do everything (although I haven't seen or heard of them giving an enema), including transport of patients. We have become mother figures, which IS a step up from the prostitute-like forbears caring for the sick just before Florence Nightingale came onto the scene. Unfortunately though, many parent-child relationships are fraught with confusion and negativity.
Possibly the lower regard in which we're held is caused by our lack of power, other than to withold things patients want, for need of a doctor's order. We also have a huge schism in economic status. I heard on a news program today, that poverty disempowers people. That's obvious of course, but I hadn't looked at that point closely enough in terms of patients' perspectives of nurses.
Since our job satisfaction hinges more on relief of their symptoms for our patients, we could blame doctors for witholding that, but lack of emphasis on positioning patients with strategic pillows for pain prevention and relief, back massage to relieve tension, and other basic nursing procedures, along with the time crunch presented by poor (low budget based) staffing, we fail miserably most of the time. Many of those procedures were dropped in the effort to save time and money, without an evaluation of the value to recovery they presented. Unfortunately that has resulted in patients seeing us as powerless,needing to please others with our efficiency next to the all important physician who can relieve pain by ordering a pill or injection conscientiously.
The dramatic increase in criminal violence and almost zero respect for others wherever the population is greatest (therefore where hospitals are located), has resulted in healthcare workers' vulnerability to that. Fear of harm does cause more adrenalin to be present, and it needs to be channeled toward better care for our patients, along with less worry about being able to carry out our assignments speedily. The pecking order among hospital workers is such that patients actually seem to have less nursing care as it was once known. We have become factory workers delivering a lower quality product, in as little time as possible, sadly..... Another tragic loss has been less accurate delivery of care, as the terrible increase in medication errors illustrates.
We need more dynamic leaders and determined educators who will promote our value by negotiating for more, better educated staff and higher compensation (rather than high priced interior decoration). The importance of full information and transparency of methods has never been more necessary. Are we up for the challenges that can make our work as essential and meaningful as it should be?
I cringe at the thought that our society lashes out when they can't get their way, hear what they don't want to hear, have to wait for what ever reason. Nurses have always been the forerunner getting caught in the middle, assaulted, or worse. It seems to be the acceptable when its the nurse but the unacceptable when its the doctor. The push now for open visitation in intensive care units offers even more possibilities of violence as well as other units. Granted family participation helps, but it also hinders. What happened to control, letting the patient get needed rest? We had issues with a patient's family just walking in when ever without first calling into the unit. They were rude, confrontational, etc. We had the facility police called several times to remove them. Yet each time the police dragged their feet, one even stated that the family was just upset because of the patient's status. The patient was very sick, but that doesn't give anyone the right or privilege to act like animals. When this family acted out toward the doctors, steps were taken to remove them asap. What are we.....chopped liver? I provide the best possible care to my patients, and respect to both the patient and family...even when they act out. Don't we, as nurses, deserve the same amount of respect as our fellow doctors? Just a thought
We had a consistently antagonistic and beligerent family member just as you described. Nothing was getting done about it though we tried all levels of reasoning and solution pathways with them over time, to no avail.
One day they physically pushed me into a door frame, slamming my back up against it. It was witnessed by coworkers. I informed management.
Having had it, I took them aside later and calmly explained five year old tantrums weren't going to help their cause and assaulting staff could lead to police involvement.
They lodged a complaint.
I was asked to apologize.
Uh. No.
To this day I wonder what the response would have been had it been one of the MD's that were assaulted.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
We had a consistently antagonistic and beligerent family member just as you described. Nothing was getting done about it though we tried all levels of reasoning and solution pathways with them over time, to no avail.
One day they physically pushed me into a door frame, slamming my back up against it. It was witnessed by coworkers. I informed management.
Having had it, I took them aside later and calmly explained five year old tantrums weren't going to help their cause and assaulting staff could lead to police involvement.
They lodged a complaint.
I was asked to apologize.
Uh. No.
To this day I wonder what the response would have been had it been one of the MD's that were assaulted.
My guess is if they had laid a hand on one of the docs, SWAT would have surrounded the unit. Those family members would have been removed from the hospital, one way or another.
Kooky Korky, BSN, RN
5,216 Posts
Friends, it is sort of wearisome to read post after post stating that injured and bullied and battered, victimized nurses are of no concern to their employers, nurses are always blamed for their injuries, and the like.
Don't we know by now that if we want to be taken seriously, we must make others take us seriously? When, oh when, will we stop expecting bosses or media or the public to care about and respect and appreciate us when we are too timid to open our mouths and speak out about things that are not acceptable to us in the workplace?
So many nurses expect others to fight their battles. This doesn't work. We have each got to respect ourselves enough to speak up for ourselves. Don't look for other nurses to join you, either. Just speak up for yourself and require that others show respect for you.
Don't worry if your employer questions you about "What did you say or do to provoke the attack". We should all be making sure we did NOT say or do anything wrong. If we somehow contributed to the problem, well, we should take a lesson from that. It is the employer's job to get the whole story. But if you did NOT bring on the problem, then you didn't bring it on.
There are plenty of rude people, plenty of deranged people, plenty who are upset and stressed and they strike out at what they perceive to be a weak target. Show them they misjudged you - call the police yourself. Don't wait for your manager to call them for you, don't believe your manager when they say you are not allowed to call police. Just do it. you do not give up your right to be treated properly when you report for duty.
But my main point is, YOU must take action and stop expecting or hoping that someone else will do this for you.