How common is Work Violence?

[Dr. Gonzo]

I hear alot of nurses being attacked by patients personally i dont know any who have been attacked. I volunteer in the ER and i never seen anybody get physically assaulted. I wanna be a ER RN so should i expect to deal with violence in the workplace. Does it come with the territory.

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Its those chemically challenged patients that get me

16 yo under alcohol, I got kicked in the mouth, 3 teeth missing

33 yo fem intox, bit me lt forearm a silver dollar sized chunk of flesh and swallowed it. Had to let heal open and slowly

2 diff times cracked ribs

the worse was a needle stick due to an obnoxious drunk with HIV and Hep C, Fortunaelt a ye later and still negative

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I've been hit, kicked, punched, choked and threatened by patients and by family members. (There was the guy who wanted to solve all of his wife's problems with a 9mm! He was arrested at midnight, and back in his wife's room visiting by 6AM. Only now he was pissed at the STAFF!)

I've also been shoved across the room into a table by my boss . . . she had an anger management problem. I wanted to pursue the matter, but my witness, a surgery fellow unfortunately died a week later. He had verbally reported what happened, but hadn't put it into writing yet. So it was my word against hers. Nothing happened, of course.

I've seen a fellow nurse slammed in the face with a chart by an attending whose response was "I didn't MEAN to hit her. She just got in my way."

I've seen a nurse punched by an attending who then claimed, "No matter what he says, I didn't hit him."

I saw a surgeon throw contaminated sharps at a fellow nurse, hitting him in the chest. The surgeon claims that Dan just got in his way.

I saw a surgeon haul off to hit a pulmonologist, instead decking the nurse who was trying to separate the two of them. No one pressed charges.

I worked with an agency nurse who used to be the L & D manager. One day one of the OBs decked one of her staff, and she (the manager) called the police. The OB is still there, but the staff member now sells insurance and the manager works agency . . . .

Years ago, a surgeon threw a (full) bedpan down a flight of stairs at my preceptor.

A cardiologist jammed a bicarb needle clear through my hand (claimed it was an accident). Actually, it may have been . . . .

And I dislocated a resident's shoulder. That one was an accident. He had a grand mal seizure while I was talking to him, and I grabbed for his arm as he went down. He didn't hit his head, but the dislocation was painful. (We're talking house staff, not LTC residents here.)

[abundantjoy07, RN]

It is VERY common. It was a part of a discussion in my Dimensions of Nursing class. It's sad but very real.

Oh, btw, my granny who was a nurses aide back in the day told me about this doctor who came to work either partially drunk or on drugs. He was mad because his spinal tap was not working out for him. He kept missing his spot on the patient. He was so agitated he kept repeatedly jabbing the patient. Then he swore and threw the syringe across the room. My granny ducked and shot out of there. Good job granny!

[Farkinott, RN]

If I ever see (still a student) a staff member assualted by a pt or if I am ever I will be calling 911. Just because we are nurses, aides or techs does not mean we should be assualted. It is still illegal. And we have every right to call the police. If the pt is altered or ped it might be different. But even so everyone has the right to a safe workplace. I worked in management (not nursing mgmt) before I had kids. And we would not have tolerated this behavior from our clients. Why should nurses have to? After all these are grown people who should not leave their manners at the door. If they are going to act like a criminal they should be treated like one and be arrested.

Thank you for this post. You are the first person I have heard/read that expresses the same opinion as me in regard to zero tolerance of violence towards nurses. Thankfully my workplace fully supports the same ideology but it is still a battle to get nurses to report infractions.

Many folk I work with still think it is part and parcel of the job to accept abuse and violence. It takes a lot of energy to persist with the crusade of "no violence towards nurses", but it is a cause I believe in.

Until we become as "untouchable" as judges, police officers, doctors, social workers, social security staff, waiters etc. we will be considered fair game.