Physically attacked on the job?

Nurses General Nursing

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My gf told me of a situation where an addict threw an IV pole at her, luckily it missed. My friend's wife was kicked in the knee sustaining a minor patellar fracture.

Have you ever been attacked at work?

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Sure have, by a man aggitated in Icu, with a surprise kick in my throat while I was fixing his blanket.

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if you work in the ed, like me, you most likely have been attacked or assaulted some time in your career. i have been assaulted a few times, threatened many times, too many times to count. the worse assault was a 14 year old female who was combative, on drugs and pregnant. we were attempting to restrain her and somehow, her leg got loose and she kicked me hard in the ribs. i sustained nothing more than rib contusions, but i was in pain for weeks. i have had clipboards thrown at me in triage, was slapped in the face by a psych patient, and have had combative, drugged out psych patients attempt to bite, kick, and punch me. through the years, i have learned to always be aware of my surroundings, always have a way out of the room, never take chances and restrain the patient at the first sign of combativeness, and to move really fast ande duck when i see an extremity or clipboard coming at me! ;)

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.
My gf told me of a situation where an addict threw an IV pole at her, luckily it missed. My friend's wife was kicked in the knee sustaining a minor patellar fracture.

Have you ever been attacked at work?

Hello, KungFuFtr,

Yes, many here have been victims of a violent situation in the workplace. You may view many responses regarding this issue, here, mine included:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f18/er-violence-103495.html?highlight=violence+workplace

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Specializes in Hospice, Critical Care.

Yep, been punched, kicked, bit and thrown against a wall. Mostly crazed addicts in withdrawal or DTs but also by a psych pt. and a little old demented lady!

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Specializes in Telemetry/Med Surg.

Sure have--freshman year there are 4 students (myself included) helping out a CNA with a patient who was acting out and admitted for change in mental status. Got kicked in the stomach and had the breath knocked out of me. Just one situation of several.

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Specializes in Gerontology.

In my 20 year career, I have been hit, slapped, punched, kicked, choked and pinched. I've had my hand squeezed so tightly I thougt it would break. I've had my hair pulled. Just a few days ago I was punched in the face and my glasses flew off. One time a patient twisted the collar around my throat so tightly my partner said I was turning blue before she finally go my free - she thought she would have to break the pt's fingers!

The scariest part of all this is I work in Geriatrics and most of these people were over 75!

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Yep.

I got punched in the face by a head-injured patient because I was trying to convince him NOT to leave his room. I work as a CNA on an acute rehab floor.

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Specializes in Case Mgmt; Mat/Child, Critical Care.

Absolutely! The worst was accompanying a psych pt to the ER and she got agitated, jumped of the exam table....freaking out the doc, myself and the aide I had w/me. Everyone jumped back a bit, but I was closest so she grabbed me by the front of my shirt, literally picked me up and threw me into the wall/glass obs window behind me!! By this time, others were all over her, but the doc left, refusing to see her until she was calm or sedated. Fortunately, I didn't have any serious injury.

One of many stories....

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I was taking care of an 82-year old women who was severely confused during CNA clinicals. She thought that she was being assulted whenever someone tried to care for her, and fought as hard as she could. She once clocked me pretty well in the face, and scratched me with her talons. I swear, why doesn't anyone ever trim their nails?

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if you work in the ed, like me, you most likely have been attacked or assaulted some time in your career. i have been assaulted a few times, threatened many times, too many times to count. through the years, i have learned to always be aware of my surroundings, always have a way out of the room, never take chances and restrain the patient at the first sign of combativeness, and to move really fast ande duck when i see an extremity or clipboard coming at me! ;)

ditto.

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So, has anyone ever pressed charges or sued?

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