Physically attacked on the job?

mead · Apr 5, 2006

have wored in ltc for many years and like the comments befor, have been punched sctatched spat at and been just about bitten . This can be an every days occurance in long term care wirh the cognative impaired. You learn very quickly how to approach alzhimer pt with great caution. They are some of the most challenging pt you can come across!!!

firstaiddave907 · Apr 6, 2006

wow that is bad you guyes are busy trying to tkae care of them and there busy throwing stuff at you and kicking you. i wonder can u guys press charges aganist the pacients who kick and throw things at u gusy and injury you ?

kids · Apr 6, 2006

My gf told me of a situation where an addict threw an IV pole at her, luckily it missed. My friend's wife was kicked in the knee sustaining a minor patellar fracture.
Have you ever been attacked at work?

I've been injured a few times, never by anyone in their "right mind".

During Psych clinicals a patient positioned himself so he couldn't be seen when I checked before opening the door into the locked unit. He rushed me and slammed me into a counter edge breaking 2 ribs. I was the *last* student the hospital or school allowed to work on that ward (acutely ill involuntaries).

A few years later a very sweet little old man was hallucinating due to an adverse reaction to morphine. He slugged me in the face breaking my glasses and cheek bone. I was really angry at his doctor, we had been reporting suble changes in his demeanor for days and had been brushed off. The really sad part was how upset them patient was by it all, once he was off the med he was so mortified and afraid he'd gone insane.

Last was an early middle age man who was struck by Luey body disease. In 2 months he went from perfectly fine to profoundly demented but in excelent physical condition. I had assessed him at the geri-psych unit and deemed him inappropriate for our unlocked facility. My primary reason for rejecting him was because he was big & strong and prone to physically aggressive outbursts, the majority of the patients in our facility were fragile but mobile, elderly, dementia patients.

The administration took him anyway.

He had been there 3 days when he went after a patient. When I intervened he folded me in half, slammed me to the floor and dove on top of me swinging his fists. I got a chipped tooth and a 2 level fusion out of it.

I work with children now, preferably under 5 and not wearing cowboy boots. :lol2:

lisa4golf · Aug 1, 2006

We have had a sudden increase in violent patients in our ICU. Mostly overdose patients and drug addicts. These patients have been alert and oriented, they just didn't get their way and became violent. Hitting, biting and kicking staff.

Is there any legislation on protecting healthcare workers from assault (not by mentally challenged patients) besides the normal filing of assault charges? Mostly assault charges consist of a slap on the wrist.

rnsrgr8t · Aug 1, 2006

I have only worked in peds (no grown-ups :)) but I have had a couple of times that I was kicked and hit. There are two that stand out. We had a 6 year old boy we I was trying to give a flu shot to that was already being held down by his mom and another nurse (I normally do not have to hold kids down, but this kid was completely out of control and the normal things I do would just not work) and he still managed to nail me right in the shin. I had a huge bruise! The second was a 4 year old that I was laying on the table to examine and got me in the face and knocked out my contact! Luckily he did not scratch my eye! I just see it as part of the job, and normally can laugh at it.

ortess1971 · Aug 1, 2006

I'd press charges if the person was mentally competent(not waking from anesthesia, dementia pt etc). Sad that many nurses think they have to tolerate it. And as far as a doc putting his/her hands on me? Forget it, come hell or high water they'd pay for it, financially or otherwise(I have several friends who are big, burly dudes and they are VERY loyal! :rolleyes: )

abq rn · Aug 3, 2006

The state of New Mexico has recently passed legislation making an assault on a healthcare worker a D Felony. I happened to be one of the first people to use the law to prosecute a patient. I think I was actually number 4 in the state. While trying to restrain an apparent ETOH patient in the ED, he managed to get his fingernails around my wrist and pull. He has left me with four 1.5 / 2" scars on my left wrist. I went in front of the grand jury about 4 weeks ago but I have not heard weather he has been inedited yet. My feelings about prosecuting these people is that if no one does, than the work put in to pass the law was wasted.

PURPLEACORN · Sep 7, 2006

I was attacked by a DK ER patient who was also loaded on Meth. He caught me off guard, pull out handfuls of hair, left bruises all over my right side, and pulled a knife, threatened to kill me, and began lunging at me with the knife. I was pinned against a wall and had no way of escape, I was able to push the emergency button that I wore around my neck and the police arrived to remove this man from me. It took 6 big strong men to place him back on the gurney and handcuff him. Needless to say, he is doing time for attempted murder, battery and assault.