Do all nurses get assaulted by patients?

[ijuanabhappy]

I am just curious if all nurses get assaulted by patients and is this just part of the job. This might make me reconsider starting a nursing program this fall. I am a petite woman (not strong) and yes, the thought of being punched, hit, or kicked by a patient terrifies me. I feel like I would not be able to concentrate on my duties if I was constantly having to look over my shoulder. I am intelligent, but I tend to be on the anxious side somewhat. Are there any areas of nursing where this does not happen? I have read all of these horror stories on here about this happening all of the time. Maybe at my age, I should just stick to my home medical transcription! Any honest thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

I agree it depends a lot of what type of nursing you are doing. Developmentally disabled are more likely to assult their caregivers because they have learned a trust response. They know who they can let know they dont feel well and unfortunately the only way they know sometimes is to strike out against someone. But usually it is with someone they know isnt going to retaliate against them, that they trust. So you cant really view that as assult from their perspective. Also in places that house DD individuals have personal defense strategies that they integrate into their orientation process.

In an acute setting i havent seen much at all. Yes, at times the elderly confused patients can get combative, but with the right approach it can be avoided as long as people take the right attitude with them. The ER may be a whole different situation, i dont work there so i wouldnt speak to that.

It isnt really something i go to work each day worrying about though.

[RN1982]

I imagine a lot of the risk depends on where you work. If you work in an inner-city county hospital, you may be at higher risk of being assaulted. On the other hand, in those types of environments the staff have experience and sometimes training to deal with situations in which a patient or visitor may become assaultive.

There are warning signs that someone may become assaultive - learn them, and pay attention. No one expects a nurse to put themselves in harm's way.

It also depends on who your patient population is. With my background, I'd have to say that if you are worried about being assaulted, stay away from head injured patients.

Finally, there are the out-of-the-ordinary, more-than-two-standard-deviations-from-the-mean, ya-just-never-know, Richard Speck-type events.

What are you going to do? Everything in life worth having involves risk.

I can't believe you brought up Richard Speck, the freak that killed 6 nurses. I personally have no problem being assaulted by little old ladies that are confused. But if they are 30 years old and drunk, now we got issues, you better believe I'll be pressin' charges if I get assaulted.

Speaking of psych patients, my friend works on a very busy psych unit. He got slapped up side the head by a patient who had suffered a head injury. I teased him and said "its your own fault, your bald head is very appealing to psych patients'

[aeauooo]

I can't believe you brought up Richard Speck

I expected most people to say, "Who the heck is Richard Speck?"

I've been assaulted, but never injured, and yes, I would press charges.

I'm a big guy. I once dated a psych nurse who told me that psychotic patients feel safe around the big guys because they know they aren't in control of themselves and know that we can keep them under control.

That explains a lot.

I've thought about doing psych nursing, but I'm afraid people might not be able to tell the difference between me and the patients.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

Just remember your training. I gave my down syndrome patient only two fingers to squeeze, which eliminated her need to yell every time we cleaned her. (She got scared very easily). Could she have hurt me had I not remembered this tactic? Yes, she had a very good grip!

There is always a risk, but there is a risk in any job. Police, firefighters, fast food workers you name it, someone has gotten assaulted there.

I find respect and a calm demeanor go a long way with even the roughest of patients.

Tait

[Bonny619]

Ive been a new nurse for about 6 months and I've been slapped, pinched and punched at. Lovely, confused patient's...

[chadash]

All nurses are at risk for being assaulted.

Some populations are more apt to have these behaviors, but people are full of surprises. Even normally nice people with all their synapses firing can have odd reactions to meds and wallop you.

But most of my minor assaults have been in an altzheimers unit. Also, folks on alcohol withdrawal are apt to hit you, but again this is not deliberate. You learn to avoid these hits.

I think nurses are more vulnerable with the "normal" patients, because they don't have their guard up, because this is rare...

[suzy253, RN]

Unfortunately I've been assaulted, not bad, by confused patients, especially patients going through DTs

Me too. One confused elderly guy was quite strong to say the least. He kicked me in my gut and sent me to the floor with the wind knocked out of me. Have had similar experiences with DT patients as well, grabbing, scratching....:stone

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I've been bit, scratched, kicked and punched over the years. Nothing serious. I've hurt myself worse hitting my head on traction equipment or tripping over a bed frame.

[cherubhipster]

You can get assaulted in jobs that aren't in the medical field! I used to be an art teacher at a special ed school. We had one 300LB fellow who was....very very touched. Besides making sexual advances on EVERYONE, he once tried to choke me.

The thing is, he didn't really understand what he was doing (some people thought he did though..).

I guess I'm thinking, if I can survive that I can survive the little physical drama that could come up as a nurse. It sounds like it won't happen as often as a nurse as it did when I was teaching! So don't not be a nurse just because of this..it could happen in other jobs too!

[butlerette.rock]

You can get assaulted in jobs that aren't in the medical field! I used to be an art teacher at a special ed school. We had one 300LB fellow who was....very very touched. Besides making sexual advances on EVERYONE, he once tried to choke me.

The thing is, he didn't really understand what he was doing (some people thought he did though..).

I guess I'm thinking, if I can survive that I can survive the little physical drama that could come up as a nurse. It sounds like it won't happen as often as a nurse as it did when I was teaching! So don't not be a nurse just because of this..it could happen in other jobs too!

Very, very true. There are a lot of risks associated with special ed. My mother works in that field and supposedly she was assaulted when she was pregnant with me ...maybe that's why I turned out so wacky

In all seriousness, though, I think special ed comes with its own set of challenges, like nursing. Both take a lot of intelligence and courage, afaic.

[tutu123]

:nurse:Well to answer your question, it does not happen all the time. Some areas have a higher incident than others. You will learn over time and with training how to avoid situtations that are dangerous. Remember you are dealing with humans. And people are at their worse when they or a family member becomes ill. Just because you are petite does not mean anything. If you are anxious over this relax, nurses come in all sizes and you are selling yourself short. You will fine.

[rosiesbud]

I would say that the majority of nurses do get assaulted in some form during their nursing career. It may not be physical but there are other forms of assault that can be just as deadly. In the past several years not only have the nurses been assaulted in the ED where I work but also the physicians as well. We are there to help another and we end up becoming victims.