I was slapped by a patient

Published

It wasn’t about the fact that he was a patient and I was his nurse. It was about the fact that he was a man who slapped me out of rage, when I had no control over his plan of care at that point ( he was discharged from ER because his labs/tests came back clear, he didn’t want to leave because he had nowhere to go). It didn’t strike me with empathy because he didn’t feel well and wasn’t himself. It striked me with fear, because a man twice my size wanted to hurt me. I just wanted to share this. To get it off my chest.

22 minutes ago, ally1991 said:

I walked out of the room, called security immediately. Then informed my charge nurse of what happened. I had to step out for few minutes to put myself together. When I came back 10 minutes later, he was gone. Not sure what happened while I wasnt there. I did file an incident report.

I am so sorry this happened. I, we, seemed to have assumed you did nothing. Fine if you just came here to vent. If you are having a hard time letting this incident go, go back to your supervisor and tell her you need to talk to someone.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
7 hours ago, beckysue920 said:

Yes, I agree with reporting it to the authorities : police, security, etc.

But a question I have is: where does Hippa come in, regarding this situation?

It doesn’t.

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1 hour ago, brownbook said:

I am so sorry this happened. I, we, seemed to have assumed you did nothing. Fine if you just came here to vent. If you are having a hard time letting this incident go, go back to your supervisor and tell her you need to talk to someone.

"go back to your supervisor and tell her you need to talk to someone". -------------------------------

I am sure she knows to do this. Her situation I feel is helpful to a lot of nurses that may find themselves in a similar situation.

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Specializes in NICU.

FELONY and next time kick him in the balls.

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Just a patient-- Sorry this happened to you. I'm disabled and in a wheelchair and have never even thought about assaulting a nurse. I hope they face some jail time. Always remember you have patients who respect and appreciate the work you do. Stay strong!

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

I’m glad you reported this. The police can subpoena his information. The hospital can give his name and address when this happens s if you wish to file charges.

While your biggest issue is that he was a man harming you as a women, there is an even bigger issue. A patient wanted to harm you. Outside of the hospital, it would be a large man hitting a woman. In a hospital it is more then that. It is a felony to assault a health care worker.

Even if this was was a little old lady. If an alert and oriented little old lady slapped me because she wanted to harm me, I would report it just the same as if a big man did. The only difference is that I would probably be a little more fearful of a large man then a little old lady. But in either case, assault is assault.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.
18 hours ago, beckysue920 said:

Yes, I agree with reporting it to the authorities : police, security, etc.

But a question I have is: where does Hippa come in, regarding this situation?

Once a pt hits you, at least in IL, its a felony - HIPAA has nothing to do with assault.

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
11 hours ago, Leader25 said:

FELONY and next time kick him in the balls.

Leader, I love you right now.

@ally1991 - we don't practice for this so when it happens we don't know how we're going to react. It's not like CPR where muscle memory will take over. I think you did the right thing, and you took 10 to get yourself back together. Hang in there.

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I hope they catch the ***.

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Specializes in corrections and LTC.

HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Acountability Act

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
On 3/21/2019 at 8:17 AM, ally1991 said:

It wasn’t about the fact that he was a patient and I was his nurse.

If he wasn't a patient and you weren't his nurse, I'm guessing he would already have been arraigned for assault and battery. So it absolutely *IS* about him being a patient.

For far too long, we've excused assault and battery by patients (and their families) because "they were upset" or "he's not himself." It's not right.

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On 3/21/2019 at 1:29 PM, Sour Lemon said:

Don't you have to do the mountains of hipAA modules every year like the rest of us?

Somehow the topic of reporting a patient to the police has never come up in any of my modules ?

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