A nurse in New Zealand who reacted to being punched in the head several times by a mental health patient by punching the patient back, was found guilty of breaching the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights and ultimately suspended.
At the time, a female patient had been admitted to a medium security mental health facility "due to increasingly changeable mood, psychosis and associated aggressive behaviours." "The patient punched the nurse several times in the head leaving her ear bleeding and her earring torn out."
The nurse in this situation was a new nurse and probably without the experience and training needed to work with such volatile patients. But, even with training and experience, situations happen. Nurses and other healthcare professionals become the target of sudden violence.
While hitting patients can certainly not be condoned, what do you think about acting in such a manner in self-defense? Have you ever been in a situation where you were the victim of bodily injury inflicted by a patient?
I've had a patient put me in an arm lock before and the only way to get out of it was to put the patient on the floor by kicking his legs out. Patient or not, I will not have my arm broken and lose out on the work and have to go through the recovery period just because he did not want me to wash him. He could have just requested someone else.
His daughters apologised to me actually and said he is very homophobic and thinks any male working in nursing is a homosexual. Figures I suppose.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
I wear my stethoscope around my neck every day, all day. It never occurred to me that some of my demented/deranged patients could choke me with it! I'll be stopping that habit immediately!
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I wear my stethoscope around my neck every day, all day. It never occurred to me that some of my demented/deranged patients could choke me with it! I'll be stopping that habit immediately!
Also....if you wear a lanyard around your neck be sure it is a break away one....they can choke you with it as well.
Working towards my RN but currently work with MR/psych. Basically they can do what ever they want to you and you can't so anything outside of their version of CPI otherwise lose your job or potential legal issues
At my psych facility we are not able to use ANY technique not taught to us (it's a non CPI course - with little focus on self protection). We are only allowed to block punches and move away. If they grab our hair we are to "pull them into us, break the grip by flexing their wrist and flee." Seriously? What a joke. Further we've been told if we do any sort of unapproved technique admin will not suppport us - not our jobs, in court, etc. We are also instructed not to press charges.
A coworker was cornered and groped repeatedly by a patient in our coffee area until her screams drew our attention to it.
I've been threatened and had objects thrown at me by a psych patient I found out later had killed a staff member at the facility from whence he came. I was quite pregnant and emotional but did consider quitting that day.
Other than that, minor injuries from combative patients with dementia.
I would absolutely defend myself. Or at least i hope I would. I haven't been in the situation but I go through "scenarios" with my husband (LEO) so I can at least have some idea of how to respond. I was injured by a patient once and while I was trying to hold down limbs and get more help, I applied pressure points but that's the closest I've gotten. And hope to ever get.
Easy to be armchair quarterbacks in these situations. I hope the nurse is ok and that she can get any help for ptsd and feel safe to go to work again. Though the resulting charges I'm sure don't help. I can't imagine being blamed in a situation like this and I think it would be pretty traumatizing all over again.
Reading the comments, how scary that we as nurses don't seem to have the right to defend ourselves. When my patient injured me, security actually asked me if I wanted to press charges. I didn't even know that was an option. I was so shocked by it. I said no but did want all the testing (blood was drawn). Looking back I wonder in these situations if I had been supported by my hospital. Patients rights always seem to trump the staff's rights. Sad.
destabilise
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I've had a patient put me in an arm lock before and the only way to get out of it was to put the patient on the floor by kicking his legs out. Patient or not, I will not have my arm broken and lose out on the work and have to go through the recovery period just because he did not want me to wash him. He could have just requested someone else.
His daughters apologised to me actually and said he is very homophobic and thinks any male working in nursing is a homosexual. Figures I suppose.