Man accused in stabbing nurse

want2banurse35 · Dec 10, 2009

A nursing student I know was hit in the head with a phone during clincals. She now is pondering whether she wants to be a nurse now. That is so sad. Even though she was working with patients with mental problems it has terrified her.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 11, 2009

(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.

excellent post and an excellent question. why is it that so many americans -- i'm not sure if this is a global issue or not -- feel entitled to act out at the expense of their nurse? why does the fact that you're in pain or under stress give you the right to strike another person?

i think some of it is our own fault. no, i'm not blaming the victim, but i think the profession as a whole has the tendency to dismiss patients and their families acting out because "she's under stress" or "he's frustrated." a few months ago, a patient's family member threatened one of our staff with a gun. most of my colleagues reacted with shock and horror, but there were several nurses -- mostly with five years or less of experience -- who attempted to excuse the family member because "she didn't understand what was going on," or "her sister has been in the hospital for months and she's frustrated" or "her sister isn't doing well and she's under stress." and some of my colleagues, who weren't there at the time and didn't see the episode insist that "it wasn't really that bad" or "maybe it wasn't even loaded" or "the nurse exaggerated" or "yes, she had a gun but she didn't point it at the nurse."

if patients and family members are being excused over and over again -- by well-meaning, "nicey-nice" nurses, by press gainey whoring management or by staff members who simply don't know what to do when confronted with abusive behavior -- there is no need to be accountable for their actions. is that the kind of message we want to send?

Scrubby · Dec 12, 2009

The problems exist in Australia too unfortunately.

There are many nurses I know and work with who would not even think about calling the police if they were assaulted by a patient or visitor. It's like this battered wife mentality that because you decide to become a nurse, being hit is just part of the job.

Well I didn't do a three year university degree, post grad studies just to become someone's punching bag. I'm happy to listen to a patient vent because the hospital system is no way perfect and I can understand why some people get angry. But to physically lash out at someone is completely wrong.