Psych Nursing Question PO vs IM

[Roda dendron]

This is more of a legal question regarding when to give an IM vs a PO, with consideration of taking the least restrictive route of course. Say for instance, working on a psych floor a patient suddenly gets violent and grabs another patient and begins shaking them aggressively and at this point talking them down doesn't seem safe do you still have to legally offer a PO prior to calling security and providing an IM injection?

[JuanabePHNurse]

In this scenario, it's going to take that PO medication about an hour to kick in while it may take that IM about 15 minutes. If that person is unable to be talked down to be offered PO, then IM it is. Also, what happened before this incident? Was the nurse of the agitated patient aware of their potential to be aggressive? What was done? Was PO meds offered and refused? If PO was refused and this happened, then IM it is. IM administration can be very traumatic for both patients and staff. Communication with the patient is key to minimizing this. I always like to stay in constant communication with my patient and tell my patient an IM will help them calm down faster and document this in my  charting.