Nurse safety

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Specializes in ER/Emergency Behavioral Health....

It's not exactly patient safety, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to ask.

This is just out of curiosity. I'm not looking for advice or anything.

How do you handle an aggressive patient when you feel unsafe caring for them?

Also, in your state, what are the repercussions for a patient assaulting a healthcare worker?

Sometimes things happen and I was wondering if people knew their rights, especially when it comes to their own personal safety.

It's just something to think about...

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Specializes in Maternity.

Your institution should have some policies or protocols. Have tried looking for any? In any case you have to protect yourself always.

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Specializes in ER/Emergency Behavioral Health....

Like I said in my post; I wasn't asking for advice.

I was more inquiring if people knew the laws protecting them in their state.

https://www.ena.org/government/State/Documents/StateLawsWorkplaceViolenceSheet.pdf.

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The laws don't matter if your employer won't enforce them or there is a culture of not reporting patients or calling the police.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

In my state it is a felony to assault a healthcare worker in the ED. To my knowledge that's the extent of the law.

Short answer to what we do--put 'em in 4-point leathers.

I am among those non-ED RNs. My hospital has a behavioral emergency "code" which we call if a pt is becoming aggressive or threatening. Psych staff and security respond, much like MDs/RRT/ICU charge RN/etc. respond to a code blue; their behavioral "crash cart" includes leathers. I love that staff safety is such a priority! :yes:

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

A lady at my job was just suspended for using restraints on a pt who had assaulted 5 people in 1 shift, then attacked her then turned away from her. Admin said she was not supposed to restrain him because he had stopped for the moment.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

^^^ That's terrible. :no:

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Specializes in rehab.

One place I worked at me and other staff were told "you should move out of the way of the fists." This is after reporting being punched while stand pivoting a patient that is unable to hold his own weight. Which then left us dumbfounded at if we were really supposed to drop the patient onto a hard floor and possibly break bones to duck away from those fists.

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