Man accused in stabbing nurse

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Specializes in ED, OR, SAF, Corrections.

I didn't realize you needed a screwdriver to play Sudoku - no WONDER I suck at it...

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Specializes in ED, CTSurg, IVTeam, Oncology.

he's likely going to get off, 75 years, on morphine, dealing with the immediate loss of a limb, body image, forget that he was holding a screwdriver (he was playing sudoku), etc... even a dumb lawyer would probably get him off.

i hope the nurse's tetorifice status was up to date.

(but i'll be damned if i ever walk up on a patient playing sudoku again)

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

That first comment made me see red. There is NO excuse for a nurse being assaulted!

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

I agree cherrybreeze, but sometimes humor has a way of helping us get through the rough stuff.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.
I agree cherrybreeze, but sometimes humor has a way of helping us get through the rough stuff.

I doubt the nurse that got stabbed saw the humor at all. As someone who has been assaulted by a patient, it isn't funny in the least, and demoralizes the nursing realm.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

gee, if he's facing charges those press gainey results will probably be skewed . . . it's unlikely he'll be happy with his care!

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

Until pts. are held accountable for their actions. I'll tell you what I tell every new employee. Learn to duck. Never wake a patient by touching any part of their upper body. If they don't wake to your voice, touch their feet and be wary (feet can kick). Know where the pt is in the room at all times. And always keep your eye on them when giving medication or starting IV (we just had a phlebotomist have her jaw broken when an pt. punched her while she was drawing blood)!

~You are there to care for, not to be a verbal or physical punching bag!

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Specializes in ED.
Until pts. are held accountable for their actions. I'll tell you what I tell every new employee. Learn to duck. Never wake a patient by touching any part of their upper body. If they don't wake to your voice, touch their feet and be wary (feet can kick). Know where the pt is in the room at all times. And always keep your eye on them when giving medication or starting IV (we just had a phlebotomist have her jaw broken when an pt. punched her while she was drawing blood)!

~You are there to care for, not to be a verbal or physical punching bag!

Thats why I warn people and count down before I stick someone with any needle. The patients even laugh at me but if it keeps someone from swinging I'm all for it.

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Specializes in ER.

(Another long post. This is something I've been pondering recently.)

Why is violence an acceptable coping mechanism? I know there are nurses on this board employeed outside of the US- I'd like to hear from them if they encounter the same in their countries.

It's a subject the media is warming up to in light of all the healthcare press- but it's still not covered near as frequently as it occurs. I'd be willing to step out on a limb and say that a healthcare worker is threatened or assulted daily in every town across the nation. It's a mindset that seems to be on the rise instead of in a decline.

There are always execptions- a confused pt, a DT-er, a visitor who was obviously escalating but handled inappropriately, an unexpected and tragic situation with a poor coping response- some I can understand. The daily little innuendos casually spoken or small episodes of crossing the line are not. These happen in everyday situations and it seems to me there is an overwhelming portion of the population that feel it is their right to act out at the expense of their nurse.

I recently took care of an elderly (but in no way infirm or confused) gentleman with chest pain. He seem to be one of those 'all bark, no bite' pts w/ a wicked sense of humor. I enjoy these pts- my humor is also a bit warped. At one point however; when it came time to start an IV and draw blood, he said quite seriously that last time he was stuck six times, was in no mood for it and very likely may punch me. Joking aside, I do think he was serious at that point. I had needle in hand and he was in need of cardiac enzymes, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind- "Well, I reccomend you not do that as this is a very large needle and likely to hurt a lot more if you jar my hand while it's in your body." He balled up his fist and turned quite red, then started laughing, relaxed, and said "You make a good point there." It deflated my whole mood- I just didn't trust him after that.

I wish this was an isolated incidence, but it's not. I'm sure everyone on this board could post many examples of the same thing.

The mom who warns her teenage son who is asleep after phenergan may 'hit you if you wake him up. I have to dodge every morning.' Now, unless he's in the grip of a night terror, waking up swinging every morning because he doesn't want to get up for school is not acceptable. I can promise my child would only try that once.

Or the infinite number of pts that warn before IVs or blood draws 'I hit the last person who stuck me', and then laugh. Yeah, that's funny.

Or the concerned adult child who literally shoves you if Mom swallows water the wrong way. Really? Can you CPR your mom?

Or the vague pain complaint frequent flyer who 'accidently hits you' during a 'pain spasm' in an effort to prove how bad the pain is. Not acceptable. My civil rights did not end when I passed my NCLEX or clocked in for this shift.

I've notice these little helpful warnings increase in proportion to how long the pt has had to wait in my ER. Whatever. My family members have on occasion been ER sick and they waited their turn based on triage levels just like everyone else.

These instances are usually disproprtionate to the circumstances. It seems that if a pt doesn't have things go their way, threats ensue. You've had to wait in the lobby three hours because the hospital is full, it's a near blizzard outside, and we were intubating a pt- yeah, I can see why you might be annoyed. Your total ER time is less then 1 1/2 hours, you were seen quickly but not faster then an office visit which was your true 'presenting complaint', and you swung at the lab tech 'out of frustration'? That's not acceptable.

I really do love my job. I could do my job a lot better if I didn't have to be on guard and ready to duck while I'm trying to make a pt feel better or even save their life.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
I agree cherrybreeze, but sometimes humor has a way of helping us get through the rough stuff.

I didn't see this as a humorous reply? I think the person making the comment was serious, and that's what made me so angry:

chessplayer wrote on December 8, 2009 3:56 a.m.

"Ok lets try not to be too stupid here.First they guy is 75 years old.Second where did he get the screwdriver.Third hello he was juiced up on moriphine. The hospital could be more liable than he is.But i do feel bad for the nurse."

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I didn't see this as a humorous reply? I think the person making the comment was serious, and that's what made me so angry:

chessplayer wrote on December 8, 2009 3:56 a.m.

"Ok lets try not to be too stupid here.First they guy is 75 years old.Second where did he get the screwdriver.Third hello he was juiced up on moriphine. The hospital could be more liable than he is.But i do feel bad for the nurse."

They thought you meant the first reply in this thread not to the actual article. That's where the confusion lies.

The response you quoted is absurd. Yeah let's blame the nurse who was the victim here. Where has the accountability gone in our world?

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