Have you ever been hit by a patient?

[birthjunkie]

I was talking with a friend who told me how angry she was with her nurse the whole time and that she wanted to hit her but after it was all done she thought she was the nicest thing. So has anyone ever been hit or bit or screamed at by a patient?

Kat

[NurseyNursey]

Hit, bit, scratched and cussed out. Oh, I forgot, hair pulled!

Never by anyone who had adequate pain relief though!

[researchrabbit]

Was STALKED by a patient..

[shay]

Cussed @ by many, many, many crack mommas. Never hit, never bit, never slapped, etc.. Have a scar on my hand from a pt. who was holding my hand for dear life and her nail accidentally dug into me. She honestly didn't mean to do it.

[shay]

Originally posted by researchrabbit

Was STALKED by a patient..

Okay, you can't just throw something juicy like that out there and not give DETAILS.

So what happened???????????? Share for the nosey. :chuckle

[live4today, RN]

As a nurse, I was hit, kicked, almost bit, pinched...but never had my hair pulled. I tried to keep my distance from combative patients as much as possible. :chuckle

I was a patient once...before I became a nurse...and a psych patient got loose from the "locked" psych ward (how the heck did that happen!). I remembered seeing him out on the sundeck of the hospital where I was taken to catch some sunrays one afternoon. He was the scariest man I'd ever seen! Later, when I was back in my room in bed, that same man appeared in my room. I started screaming this blood curdling scream, the staff came running PRONTO...I mean like lightening, they were in my room. The male staff present restrained the man until they could find out where he came from........he was "missing in action" from the psych ward. :chuckle They returned him to his "home". Two doctors stayed behind to talk to me to make sure I was okay. My doctor was notified, and she ordered a sedative for me, and said to tell me she'd be in to see me shortly. A nurse never left my side until my husband came. Wasn't that special? :kiss They had called my husband to come to the hospital...he got there so fast, too. I was crying and shook up the rest of the afternoon, but obviously, I survived the drama.

[AlaskaKat]

Hit, no. Bit, no. Cussed at? Almost daily. But, they are almost always appologetic and thankful for my help afterwards. Can hardly go to the grocery store without seeing one of my moms that has to come say hello. If I don't remember them, a general "How's the baby?" is always a good question!

[Furball]

I've had my share of confused old ladies batting at me harmlessly. No real puches thrown at me yet. I did have a boss throw a fruit basket at me for some reason. I was a produce clerk in a Grand Union...he was the produce manager. I ducked and it smashed all over the wall. It was a very dysfunctional company from the top down.... It's long been bankrupt....

He also chased customers out the door and kicked over the customer coffee pot....he had major anger issues:rolleyes:

[Sleepyeyes]

Hit, bit, punched, kicked, hair pulled...

ya hafta understand...Alzheimer's pts do things they never thought possible.....

[researchrabbit]

Originally posted by shay

Okay, you can't just throw something juicy like that out there and not give DETAILS.

So what happened???????????? Share for the nosey. :chuckle

I work in Psychiatric Research. When I was in KS, one of my pts at the Univ of KS was 25 years younger than me and schizophrenic. Also VERY large, 6 ft +. He also lived 3 hours away with his parents and they always accompanied him. I had to do lengthy interviews with these folks (called a PANSS interview) to identify and quantify type and intensity of symptoms. This guy decided that since I listened to him (neither family nor friends EVER let him talk about his symptoms) that I was the woman for him...

Anyway, after he brought it up, I thought I deflected it rather well (tends to happen often with the guys, they are so lonely), but NOOOOO!

Right outside my office was a stairway which I used often because at the time I was also in nursing school (and doing my mental health rotation which was in walking distance. It just doesn't get better than that).

ANYWAY, it's a day I have no patients scheduled, I'm running late, I rush through the stairway door, and there he is, 3 hours away from home, no parents in sight. He attempts to grab me, but I'm halfway down the stairs already (seems like I was always rushing then). RAN the rest of the way to the mental health facility (of course, through a parking lot with no one in sight). Shaky when I get there, call back to the office, warn the nurse (he's gone already, no one knows where). My professor makes sure someone takes me back to my car, halfway across campus, so I don't walk alone (once you have a campus permit you have to stay in YOUR OWN LOT no matter what. We used to call the people in charge the Parking Nazis).

The pt turned up several more times, each time "borrowing" mom & dad's car; finally between his parents and campus police, he was "persuaded" not to come back to KU.

Since I had just taken out a VPO in regards to my ex-husband (who had threatened me with a gun), the stalking incident coming at that time was really frightening.

[debyan]

Working with mentaly and physicaly challenged people they become easily frustrated and don't know how to handle it. You have to see that they are getting frustrated (they usually can't tell you) or duck and dodge fast . I wasn't always fast enough and have been cursed at, pinched, bit, hit, had my hair pulled one time and one fine gentleman threw every thing he could find at me across the nurses station wall (I didn't have a cookie and he wanted one). One of the CNA's I worked with was kicked in the face and had her jaw broke, another had her arm broke. I don't know why but I love working with them but you have to have a calm attitude and be alert for mood swings. Geez i think my husband said the same thing about me:) Debyan

[shay]

OMG!!! Researchrabbit, you win the prize. Hands down. Yeesh!!!