workingot

had my arm broken 1st day on job as psych RN, in 1996. I had already worked as a psych tech prior to that, with many injuries from fighting in emergency room and psych admission unit. as an RN I HAVE HAD BROKEN TIB/FIB, ORBIATAL SOCKET, HAND. MANY BITES. MANY PUNCHES, A FEW KICKS. SPAT ON SO MANY TIMES ( YET ADMINISTRATION won't LET US USE SPIT HOODS ON THE SPITTERS) SORRY I hit caps button some where in this post. my hospital has many murderers, rapists ( well I guess I am supposed to say ALLEGED murderers and rapists since they largely are declared incompetent to stand trial, and they use nurses as security. we have police, but they patrol the parking lot and write staff tickets for parking outside the lines, they seldom, almost never deal with patients. 3 of my daughters are new ish nurses, and I forbid them to work here. they are all in ICU pursuing nurse anesthesia ( smart choice). I can retire in a year or so at age 50, so YAY! BE safe fellow nurses

25 years here at state hospital. hospital wants the hold/restraint numbers to look good, so we are discouraged from doing those. patients can sucker punch staff, get a few more licks in, and when help arrives, as long as patient stops, they will have no consequences for harming staff. its a joke among patients, about 25% of whom are already deemed incompetent to stand trial, so they could kill staff and never even be charged. we have alot of staff injuries, ( I have had several broken bones in 25 years). the rare staff who presses charges is ostracized, pulled to different ward everyday, made miserable. and the cases are almost always thrown out of court. there are hospital police, but they never see patients or come on ward during violent episodes, they patrol lobby, parking lot etc. administration pays lip service to our safety concerns and fires staff when staff occassionaly have to fight back to keep from getting killed ( many of our patients are murderers, some have killed several people). its bad sometimes. staff are on camera and audio every minute, and patients know they can do whatever, hit staff, kick, spit, grab staffs breasts or crotch, ANYTHING, with no consequences. im trying to retire soon but it sucks for those that have years to go. we are a non union state with no power to collectively bargain, so its hard to negotiate with management.

thanks for your input. yes its more dangerous since hospital discourages holds, restraints etc. patients feel emboldened to sucker punch staff, and then stop fighting when help arrives, so they cant be put in hold and have no consequences for assaults. I have had broken orbital socket, chipped vertebra, busted lip , busted chipped tooth, glasses broken, broken tib fib, etc etc, and many coworkers have had worse. im trying to work one more year and retire, but I want to try to make it better for patients and coworkers .

hi all, hope everyones doing well. have a meeting with safety committee coming up, and we have been brainstorming ideas to propose that would make our workplace safer. Work at a state pysch hospital, about 25% of patients are forensic for murders, rapes, etc. Lots of assaults here, lots of injured staff. Severe injuries are common. When patients viciously assault staff, they are rarely even secluded or restrained ( management wants our seclusion/ restraint numbers to look good for auditors, surveyors,etc. There are police, but they do not go on patient wards, police never even see the patients, and nursing staff is responsible for handling all violent episodes. I've had several broken bones in 24 years on the job, and I'm 6ft , 255lbs. So we will have a chance as we do annually to pitch safety concerns and ideas to the brass. They often turn our ideas down and say they aren't feasible, but im looking for ideas from you guys and gals, our peers in the profession. So far we are asking for use of spit hoods to place on patients spitting blood etc , to have only our first name on id badges ( state law here allows for that, but our hospital does not) , to do away with the sharp pointed scissors on the wards and replace with safety/bandage scissors , . We have had many safety ideas adopted over the years, but usually someone has to get really hurt first. Our administrative team is not proactive, since they are safe in offices away from violent patients. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks all, and be safe.

wow the get a spine comment. we have been on tv, news, at the governors mansion protesting. but nc has a law prohibiting collective bargaining so we cant strike and they know it. just had a nurse get jaw broken and hair pulled out. she is pressing charges, but hospital will villify her and DA will likely throw charges out. we dont have collective bargaining. its actually declared illegal here from an archaic 1959 law. osha has not been helpful. we call them, they write a letter giving our employer 3 days to respond. employer lies in response, the end. osha doesnt even send inspector to our facility, and an actual osha inspector from nc dept of labor told our capitol newspaper the raleigh news and observer that he had wanted to inspect us but his supervisor denied it. its a mess here. hope things are well where you are.

nc . we are forbidden by state law to have collective bargaining. we do have unions, but without collective bargaining the unions are weaker , salaries low. cost of living low also so its not all bad. thanks for your input

I have over 3000 hours of vacay and sick time banked, and often go a whole year, one time two years, without calling out. the last time I called out i was calling from my hotel in the Bahamas. I work 60 plus hours a week, come to work sick , injured etc, while my colleagues often call in for bday parties, shoe sales, blah blah blah etc, so when I do call out, maybe one per year or once in 18 months, you can bet I am swimming somewhere.

Do any of your hospitals allow use of spit hoods for spitters? my psych hospital doesn't allow us to use face shield, regular hospital mask, or ANYTHING on spitters even when spitting blood. of course staff can use protective face shields but often we have a patient in a cpi hold and may get spit on for a couple of minutes before someone brings face shields to the incident. The administration says its unsafe to cover patients mouth in any manner, but staff think we should be protected from body fluids. please comment where you work if your workplace allows spit hoods or masks on patients as we are negotiating with management at this time and want to show them that other facilities do use spit hoods safely. thank you in advance 25 year psych nurse , 5 to go!

I am interested in what specialties are making 100k. I have 3 daughters in nursing school and can advise them on a lot, but not necessarily give them a big pic of the financial opportunities from across the nation. I am a 25 year RN and have a 65k salary, but double it most years with ot. not much fun working 68-72 hour weeks though. please tell me your specialty, experience , salary, and salary with diff and ot. oh, and where you r in the USA thank you all and hope your practice is professionally and financially rewarding

eastern nc here. with that type facility and 5 years experience you could expect maybe 68-75k . management here cant make overtime so the 75k or so you get is all you get. plenty of just regular staff nurses, even with 2 year degrees, have 60k salaries but go up to 100k with ot, and some even double their salary with ot , coming in at around 120k. their are perks to management, but I have resisted being a manager and instead went for the money. the managers here with experience similar to you make around 70k. of course cost of living here is low. good luck to you

at my psych ward full of murderers and rapists ( am I supposed to say " alleged" murderers and rapists?), we get verbally targeted 24/7/365. nothing is done or can be done I suppose. nothing much is done even when patients grab staff, by the throat, crotch, breasts, or spit on staff, or break staff legs etc. the administration say its part of the job, and local magistrates almost never call it assault and when staff do try to push it management pressures them to drop it. the local courts basically say its a mental patient you know where you work.

25 years psych rn here. like the other person said, you can do the best you can and think everything to death and they will still " go off" sometimes. dont second guess yourself too much. you could have taken the dresser so it wouldnt be used as a weapon and the patient could barge into another room and use that dresser. sometimes there is no right answer in this job. best of luck to you

in nc doctors can keep their medical license and even get cushy state jobs making 200k plus a year , EVEN WHEN THEY ARE FELON CHILD MOLESTERS. I think you are on safe ground with some traffic tickets. good luck nursing when that time comes

trying to get my facility to start using spit hoods and want some examples of other facilities that use them. any comments? and could you would you please say in your comment what type of facility . my state mental hospital says they are unsafe and a choking risk, but we employees counter that we are at risk for infectious diseases. we know that many emergency departments and prisons etc use the spit hoods, just looking for some concrete numbers to go to management with. thanks in advance and be safe