Nurse pressing charges

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

Workplace Violence

In her own words: How ER assault has changed RN Charlene Richardson's life, work

04.15.2005

From the Massachusetts Nurse Newsletter

April 2005 Edition

By Charlene Richardson, RN

RN Charlene Richardson at an MNA workshop on violence held last October listens to keynote speaker District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Since the story of my March 2003 indecent assault was published in The Salem News, I have been overwhelmed by the public response and the questions I have been asked in regards to this incident. Most people are quick to say they are impressed with the article, yet wondered after reading it how this incident has impacted me and affected my life both personally and professionally.

Since then, I have taken extensive time to think about how to even begin to answer these complex and difficult questions. Most times I find myself unable to find the words to describe the turmoil this incident has caused in my life and the impact it has had on me. In searching for the right words, I have been told by my closest friends and support systems to "search my soul" and the words will follow. While trying to follow this advice I came to the realization that an incident of this magnitude is more traumatizing than any words could ever express. I have also come to the realization that such an experience can rob you of your soul.

I became a nurse to help people and working as an ED nurse was always a dream for me. For nearly 12 years I functioned in this role and although ED nursing is a stressful career, I welcomed each new day and enjoyed the challenge that came with the profession. As ED nurses we must be skilled and ready for anything to happen in a moment's notice.

Job includes violent patients

Unfortunately our job includes taking care of violent patients; those who sometimes assault. There are people who present to the ED for legitimate help with their illnesses and I have always felt more than up to the task in those circumstances. However, many people present to the ED with the primary intention to be disruptive and maybe even violent to the ED staff and other patients or visitors. With this in mind, nurses are often put in a situation of being on the "front line" without the adequate support and resources to keep us safe.

My incident has been completely life altering. I no longer work in the ED, something that was always my dream and that I dearly loved. And it has left my husband married to a completely different person, one who he describes as "not being a whole person anymore." This is emotionally distressing because I know he is right. I have feelings about this incident that I am unable to convey, even to him. How do you tell the most important person in your life that you feel destroyed by one 90-second violent incident? It is especially hard since he works in law enforcement and prides himself on putting such criminals away where they belong. I guess the bottom line is that admitting to my peers how deeply this episode hurt me--more deeply than I ever thought I could hurt--was more than I could bear. Perhaps admitting this to my peers was so hard because I was their leader for so long. However, even leaders bleed when cut.

Since this incident I have to kick-start myself daily where previously I was a generally happy and energetic person. I fight every day to find the "pre-incident me" as I continue in my multiple roles as nurse, wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, and friend. It is grueling to rise each day and look in the mirror only to see myself as someone's victim. Friendships become altered due to lack of understanding of a normal post-traumatic response. An incident like this is haunting and causes sleepless nights, restlessness, and generalized feelings of insecurity in all aspects of life. Life stays disrupted long after the bruises are gone ...and the scars last forever. There is no longer any sense or feeling of security or safety.

Incident opened my eyes

This incident has opened my eyes on many issues and given me a better understanding of certain things. I now completely understand why sexual assault victims refuse to move forward with prosecution of their assailant. The legal process is long and exhausting and with that comes the judgment of many and lack of understanding due to ignorance of the situation. I have yet to understand the present mentality that suggests it is reasonable for nurses to be abused in any way or form by patients or visitors since we are in this job to help them. This present mentality insinuates that if this occurs while we are on the job "it is OK" because the patient is a "customer" and that our choice of occupation makes us second class citizens.

I rise daily to ask myself these same questions: How did this whole incident become about anything else except me being a victim to a brutal felony crime? How can I be judged by some who actually believe what happened to me was OK because of my choice of occupation?

No support or counseling

I would love to say my employer was one who took this issue seriously and the necessary steps to provide me with the professional support and compassionate care that victims of such trauma deserve, but my employer didn't do that. Instead, just the opposite occurred. I was never provided support or counseling, and no one ever even said "we're sorry this happened to you." When I finally decided to share my story through activities sponsored by the MNA and in the media, I was made to feel intimidated by my employer and asked to sign a document pledging me to remain silent. I was made to feel as if I had done something wrong and that I was making things worse by trying to protect myself and other nurses in my department.

This incident has also opened my eyes to the reality of normal post-traumatic response and the effect that an inadequate response can have on the victim. I now realize without the proper support systems in place, a victim's recovery from an incident can be prolonged. Luckily, I have special friends I have been able to lean on to support me during this most difficult time.

Now, I am speaking out to let other nurses know that it hurts intensely when a victim of violence does not receive the support needed after such a critical incident. Every word said to the victim post-incident is critical since any negative comment will reintroduce trauma and re-victimize the victim. Most days, just when I think I have cried my last tears over this issue, I am surprised at how I become re-victimized. The pain is as fresh as it was immediately following the incident.

In my case an ounce of compassion would have gone a long way. Support of a co-worker is crucial post-incident. It can make or break the victim.

This is written in hopes of saving any nurse from ever having to endure such a deplorable incident. And if they do suffer workplace violence, it is my hope to help ensure the victim is treated with the compassion and respect so rightfully deserved. All nurses need to reach out to and support their colleagues who are victims of assault.

MNA legislation must pass

The MNA has filed legislation to make it mandatory that every hospital have a plan in place to prevent workplace violence from occurring, to educate all employees about the issue, and to offer a system of support and counseling for those who are impacted by workplace violence. We need to make sure this law is passed.

Fortunately, I know in the grand scheme of things I have won and the commonwealth doesn't share the opinion that I am a second class citizen because of my occupation. Furthermore, my assailant received the maximum penalty allowed in this state. Justice prevails and so does the truth. Yet sometimes the right path isn't always the easy path and as tough as this has been for me I can look into the mirror and see myself with a free conscience. So the moral of the story is, sometimes it's just about doing the right thing.

http://www.massnurses.org/health-and-safety/articles/workplace-violence/p/openItem/1629

One of the strongest, smartest, bravest person I know.....love you charlene!!!!:redbeathe

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

another article......

life changed completely for charlene richardson the day she was brutally assaulted by a patient she was treating in the emergency room of beverly hospital.

"i don't think i'll ever be the same," she said...........

while we rightfully think of law enforcement and firefighting as being high-risk jobs, it is a fact that among those most susceptible to workplace violence are health care professionals," he said in a prepared statement given to the committee.

blodgett also detailed richardson's incident in his testimony. three security guards, another nurse, two emergency room patients and a visitor intervened to pull the drunken and violent attacker off the nurse, the district attorney wrote.

as it is, an assault and battery on a nurse is essentially seen as part of the job and hospitals tend to discourage workers from filing charges, richardson said.

she had to press charges privately and waited 16 months before her attacker, john brown, formerly of 100 washington st., salem, was convicted. he was sent to jail for 18 months.

"that was the worst for me," richardson said of her long journey to seek justice.

she has since become an advocate for nurses who have similarly been assaulted while working. a nurse for nearly two decades, richardson is now associate director of education for the massachusetts nurses association, the state's largest union for registered nurses and health care workers.

richardson also said the law would help the public. if an er nurse is away from her duties because of an assault, patients aren't getting care.

after her incident, she would only work in the locked recovery room. she once vowed never to return to the er.

working to help others who have been attacked by patients has helped richardson grow stronger emotionally.

now, she splits her time between the er and the recovery room.

"never say never," she said of her return. (for full article......follow the link)

http://workplaceviolencenews.com/?p=2861&upm_export=print

http://www.massnurses.org/health-and-safety/articles/workplace-violence/p/openitem/1628

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

i have seen facilitiesback nurses 100% and press charges themselves and I ahve seen others that have "lost" incident reports and badgered that injured employee and threaten them not to press charges.
If a perfectly alert patient hit me with their tray and hurt me.....I'd call the police....whether or not to press charges depends on the circumstances but I think we should. All 50 states have enacted some felony violence nursing laws.........click on the followinf for the ENA's listing of states and their statutes.
http://www.ena.org/IENR/Documents/State%20Survey%20-%20Criminal%20Laws%20-%20Misdemeanor%20and%20Felony.pdf
For nurses in New York state, Nov. 1, 2010 represented a victory for on-the-job safety. It was the day that the Violence Against Nurses law took effect, making it a felony to assault an on-duty RN or LPN.
For many nurses, including those in home health, dealing with violent or abusive patients and caregivers was considered part of their plight. The New York State Senate passed the legislation in January, noting that, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly 500,000 nurses each year become victims of violent crimes in the workplace. Most commonly reported acts of violence include spitting, biting, hitting and shoving.
Violence in the workplace for nurses is very under-reported. Nurses were either afraid to come forward or not sure if what was happening to them was classified as violence. Erin Silk, is the assistant director of communications for the New York State Nurses Association, which has been working to bring the legislation forward since 2008.
With the Violence Against Nurses law, nurses join the already protected groups of police officers, firefighters and emergency responders. A physical attack against an RN or LPN on duty is a Class D felony, subject to a maximum of seven years in prison.
So yes.....I do think we should press charges.......

They weren't sure if something was violence?

I think the patient should have slugged the doctor who broke the news, not the nurse, if he was going to violence anyone.

I think males in general need to verbally express themselves, not physically.

I wonder if the nurse did anything to provoke or was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If someone did anything to my eye, face, eye area, or any part of me, you can da**ed sure bet I'd be calling the cops. I am not a punching bag. Take your emotions out on the mattress. Pound it with a pillow.

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

I'm going to go with the unpopular opinion of those who believe that there is NO excuse. If you can insert this situation into any other milieu and come up with the same answer, then good for you. But if you change the 'nurse' to postal worker, cashier, teacher, bank teller, etc... and get a different answer, then I'd like to know why because your reasoning is faulty.

Girlygirl69 · Sep 3, 2011

They weren't sure if something was violence?
I think the patient should have slugged the doctor who broke the news, not the nurse, if he was going to violence anyone.
I think males in general need to verbally express themselves, not physically.
I wonder if the nurse did anything to provoke or was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If someone did anything to my eye, face, eye area, or any part of me, you can da**ed sure bet I'd be calling the cops. I am not a punching bag. Take your emotions out on the mattress. Pound it with a pillow.

No no no no!!!! Slugging the doctor is unacceptable as well. The doc was doing his job and reporting his findings. How is that worthy of being assaulted?????

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

No no no no!!!! Slugging the doctor is unacceptable as well. The doc was doing his job and reporting his findings. How is that worthy of being assaulted?????

I think Kooky was just trying to emphasize that the public lashes out on people who have the least amount of prestige and less professional distance from them.

Doctor = plenty of prestige and lots of professional distance from the patient

Nurse = less prestigious role and far less professional distance from patients

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

What if this is a parent who has just been told by a police officer that his/her child was murdered, and the parent lashes out. It's not their normal behavior. It's up to the cop to decide if charges are going to be pressed. Take illness out of it for just a second. (and I do agree people need to be held accountable- but what jury is going to convict- and what more can you take from the person?). The exigent circumstances are overwhelming. Is it right they slugged the cop? Of course not. Are they acting within their normal behavior? How could they? Their judgment and reactions would be overridden by grief.
JMO. :)
What do you get by prosecuting someone who will not live until the trial?

We are all going to die. And many "terminal" pts will be living 5-10-15 years with their incurable diagnosis. Witness AIDs - people that were given a 1-2 prognosis at diagnosis in the early 90s are still alive.

If a pedophile finds out that he has nonresectable lung cancer, and he says that the stress made him snap and reoffend, should he be let off for the 3-8 years that I have seen some nonresectable lung cas survive with a little palliative chemo/radiation. Should he be able to be scott free in his stressed condition to keep abusing children.

I do not accept that a normal emotional healthy parent can snap and attack a police officer, unless there a significant other factors involved. And those factors and the fact that they "snapped" with bad news, strongly indicates that they are a danger to themselves and others and they need help. Filing charges, even if dropped later, generally will require them self examine and get the help they need. At the very least it mayl keep them from harming others more vulnerable when they "snap" or "lash out" again.

You also have to take in the "collateral" damage that comes from ignoring this behavior. A family member punching a cop....takes them out of action. They are unable to catch other offenders, leading to more distraught parents, victims and less safety on the street.

A year ago, the son of patient came into my hospital. After discussing the pts prognosis, who pulled a gun and shot the MD at point blank range, then barricaded himself in the pt's room. The entire facility, a major teaching facility, had to go into lockdown mode with all visitors and staff without badges being escorted out as SWAT team members blocked off a several block area of major urban city. Nursing classes were interupted as they were moved away from windows. Numerous pts had to be evacuated outside of the danger zone. We had a critical ill pts that had tests delayed because it was in the "danger zone". Family members of dying pts, were notable to get in and out as they should have been able to. Pts, many of them of other states and foreign nations were not able get to appts or tests in many cases, and had to have their care delayed. After several hours, the gunman was found to be dead, and to have shot his mother, to death.

I would rather have an injured law office file charges against a family member that "lashes out" and that person be forced to seek help or learn to control their behavior, then to cleanup the damage when they go lash out at innocent bystanders, suspicious looking neighbors or family members that they may blame for the murder.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

Whatever, prosecute the world..... :yawn: Have a ball

I've been assaulted. I get the reoffender thing- trust me

http://thepolicenews.net/html/TPNSep11.pdf

I don't see a serial criminal the same as someone in a crisis situation. Or someone who is just being a jerk-- no issue w/calling police on them.

JMHO... if you feel like calling the cops if it happens to you- go for it. I choose differently, in spite of my history.

Best wishes.

And this isn't a "victim card" if anyone sees it that way- just backing up my opinion- and like all opinions and *55 holes, we all got 'em

Shades of gray.... all I'm sayin' :)

leslie :-D · Sep 3, 2011

I'm gonna go to the supermarket and punch the cashier in the face. When I get arrested my excuse will be that my doc just told me I have gonorrhea and then I'll apologize to the cashier. Do u think I'll get off??

gonorrhea is treatable, unlike a terminal, non-treatable diagnosis.

so no, you shouldn't get off.

I wonder if the nurse did anything to provoke or was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

the bolded (by me) upset me, kork.

your statement is analogous to a rape victim who 'deserved' it for dressing so provocatively.

we are supposed to be civil beings.

and that means you don't stoop to another's level, however that presents itself.

it means you don't act like an imbecile, esp knowing we were born with superior capacity as a human being.

it means that in spite of bad news, we can act devastated, less the physical attacks.

it means that even if it was provoked, it gives no one the right to react violently.

all that said, because we ARE human and have these subsequent emotions, and because we're NOT perfect, there will be times where this **** does happen.

and so, to answer the question, generally speaking, i would press charges.

but there are circumstances where i would not.

and most important, i have a strong awareness of my boundaries.

i don't understand how anyone can rubberstamp such a question, with a resounding yes or no.

each situation is unique, and requires thought.

there can't be any absolutes...that is not due process.

so in this case, i don't even know if i'd press charges, w/o knowing all available information.

leslie

so

anotherone, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2011

55 y/o male just finds out he has terminal CA. RN comes in room to administer meds and pt becomes verbally then physically abusive. Patient throws meal tray at RN hitting her in the face. No permanent damage just a really swollen black eye. Pt is deemed alert and oriented times three, would you press charges?

I would probably be too much of a coward to do so. But everyone should. Too bad the tray couldn't bounce off soemthing and hit him back................................. ( nursing would probably get blamed somehow)Doesn't have to be permanent damage to be a crime.

PediNurse3 · Sep 3, 2011

I probably would, but I can't say that I'm 100% for sure.

When I worked in the ER, my patient grabbed my hand and bit my arm- hard. Clearly there was something wrong with him. He was intubated about 10 minutes after that. I did not press any charges, but went filled out the appropriate incident report, saw employee health, etc.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Sep 3, 2011

I havent yet for someone who has attacked me. I keep saying the next time it happens I will.