Guns at the Bedside

[rnrazzil]

My friend and I are having a heated discussion on gun rights. Would a patient admitted to a hospital be able to keep a gun at the bedside? Hypothetically speaking this patient would be licensed/certified to carry outside of the hospital.

[whalestales, ASN, RN]

11 minutes ago, rnrazzil said:

Yes that's it! Thank you! I don't know what happened there

Probably just got flagged to be reviewed because of extended talk about guns. Just to make sure no threats were made. If I had to guess ?‍♀️

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

Absolutely not.

Earning a driver's license gives me permission to drive a car--it doesn't give me permission to drive 100 mph in the wrong direction down the highway. Having a permit to carry a gun doesn't mean that you get to ignore the rules and carry it with you wherever you darn well please. SMH.

People have rights, but to exercise those rights you have to act in accordance with the law.

I understand the rationale behind personal gun ownership for hunting or self-defense, but there's no possible reason that it would be appropriate for patients/families to carry a gun in the hospital.

Yes, I'm sure there's some liability to storing patients' weapons, but it's obviously a smaller liability than letting them loose in the hospital. If the weapons (or contraband) are illegal, they can be turned over by security to the police instead of giving them back to the patient (most commonly done with drugs).

I applaud your determination (it sounds like something I would do), but respectfully, I think you need a better boyfriend. If he would truly argue in favor throwing a fit and getting trespassed/arrested for illegally bringing a gun into a hospital just to prove a point (instead of just leaving it in the car so he can be with his sick loved one), he sounds like a kind of a tool.

[MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN]

The thought of letting one of my post-op brain surgery patients, who often get confused, seems like the perfect candidate to bring their gun in! Or the narco naive patient who gets confused! Etoh/drug detox, etc. In the history of bad ideas, this would be the worst. Thankfully where I'm from, hospitals are gun free zones.

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

I'm pro gun ownership but patients have no reason to have a gun at the bedside.

[chrisjk]

You're kidding, right? Hmmmm.....kind of like an emotional support "object"(vs animal). So......nursing grads could have loaded guns at boards, college students could have their Smith and Wesson there while they take finals, postal workers would ALL carry, etc. Just absolutely dumbfounded here.

[Guest1142305]

Unless some POS starts targeting hospitals for soft targets it doesn’t make a lot of sense. On the other hand, I do see the need for well trained and well armed security at a hospital. I wouldn’t feel very safe with Paul Blart mall cop guarding me, but I feel very safe at the VA hospital when I visit there. They have some very respectable and well trained officers.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

On 6/24/2020 at 5:00 PM, JadedCPN said:

I would love to hear what kind of rationale your friend had in support of a gun at the hospital?!

Because when an old guy with a UTI gets confused, and now he has a gun and he's going to make sure he gets out of there because he has to go home and change the oil on his car, it keeps the day interesting.

[BSN-to-MSN, ADN, BSN, RN]

Being in ED or admitted to the hospital can be upsetting, worrisome, and anxiety producing. Or anger producing. People are not themselves.

Add a gun at the bedside.

No.

[Thanksforthedonuts, BSN, RN]

I’m very pro-gun as well. I grew up around guns as the men and women in my family are avid hunters. None of them would ever consider bringing a gun into a hospital. My dad does carry frequently, if not all of the time, but he removed it for his ER visit this week! Most gun owners have sound judgement and know when it is, or is not, appropriate to carry. Although I think you’ll see that some areas are more comfortable with guns than others. I think you’ll see more people openly carrying in public places like Idaho, Montana, etc. and many don’t give it a second though. However, I think I can speak for my entire family (an extended family who also carry) that guns are NOT an appropriate place for a hospital.

[Littleblackdog, ADN, BSN, RN]

Seriously? This is actually an argument where someone believes that a patient in a hospital should be able to keep a gun at his bedside? No. No. I would in fact refuse to care for someone with a gun in his room (unless it was a security guard, of course) How bizarre that someone thinks this is OK!

On 6/27/2020 at 3:44 PM, damiorifice said:

Unless some POS starts targeting hospitals for soft targets it doesn’t make a lot of sense. On the other hand, I do see the need for well trained and well armed security at a hospital. I wouldn’t feel very safe with Paul Blart mall cop guarding me, but I feel very safe at the VA hospital when I visit there. They have some very respectable and well trained officers.

well said!

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

On 6/24/2020 at 4:44 PM, rnrazzil said:

In the end, my stubborn boyfriend continued to argue that in the event he was awaiting admission in the ER and was denied care, or care was delayed because he had a firearm on him, he'd have a winning lawsuit.

WOULD he? the first rule that we are taught in any lifesaving situation is make sure the scene is secure. I wouldn’t think the law can fault hospital personnel for ensuring their own safety. I don’t know your boyfriend from Adam... and I am pro-gun-rights (AND RESPONSIBILITIES).... but I wouldn’t feel safe around someone who feels the need to bring a gun into the hospital. If you need treatment that badly, you honor the rules of the hospital.

Besides the constitution doesn’t override individuals’ property rights. A hospital is well within its rights to say “Wrongway Regional bans guns on the premises” — just like I can refuse to allow a houseguest to bring a gun into my home.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Nope. If there's a gun in the room it needs to be locked up before I will enter. If you're sick enough, you'll let security take it, otherwise I will wait until you pass out and take it then. This is a dealbreaker for me.