Self defense and protection in a hospital.

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So with the risk of an active shooter being real these days and all those darn "no firearms allowed" signs that don't do anything against a bad guy (but do put my job at risk if I carry on campus). We need other options.

One of the ones I really like is carrying the Kimber Pepper Blaster (Kimber America | Pepperblaster | The most powerful pepper defense system).

The other good option is a fire extinguisher (located all over facilities). Shoot the fire extinguisher into the bad guy's face and then smash their head in with the fire extinguisher once they are disorientated.

Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.

Perhaps I am lucky because our security are not just rent-a-cops. They are all former military or law enforcement (and when you can make nearly $15 more an hour as security than you can working for the county or local PD"s, we tend to get the good ones). Several of our security were tactical officers for the county. I know that security will shoot when necessary but they keep their guns holstered until it is necessary. They also keep their Tazers holstered unless necessary.

I own guns. I just won't carry one to my hospital. First, it's illegal, second, adrenalin very seldom assures accuracy.

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Specializes in Progressive Care.

If someone comes into the hospital with a gun and you are not likewise armed with a gun, by the time you get close enough to use non-lethal means, you'll already be long dead. This isn't Hollywood. The best you can do is run, hide and pray. We don't have any other options since hospitals are gun free zones.

There was mention of blades, but please note that knives are also not allowed in hospitals because they are lethal. Also they wouldn't help in an active shooter situation.

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I guess I don't understand all this hero-talk, because my main goal at work is to put my patients back together and get them home (minus the hospice folks, then my main goal is comfortable and calm), not to be a hero and save the floor.

I cannot fathom having the anger and mental status to bash someone's head in with a fire extinguisher. It's anathema to my personality. I can't fathom the conditions I would be under to *want* to beat someone to unconciousness.

I am, ultimately, more concerned with saving my life. 95% of the time, that would best be accomplished by ducking and running. There's lots of locked dark rooms I have the codes for. And my security teams move *fast*.

This is coming from a nurse that recently had a patient that hid a broken chunk of an incentive spirometer under his sheet. He had ground it into a shiv. It was found when we transferred him to a med-psych hospital. This guy had a history of attacking healthcare workers- nurses and aides had broken wrists, concussions, broken sternum after tangling with him. The worst was that he wasn't predictable - he'd be meek, and then bam, kicking, biting, screaming, you name it. I was really shaken - any time I went in to care for him could've been the time he decided to use that shank. To think that the young man could've been shot in his bed by the nurse assigned to care for him - makes me disgusted and saddened at what some of my profession feel is okay to do.

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I conceal carry a full-sized Kimber 1911 Custom Tactical II and my wife carries the Kimber pepper spray

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I conceal carry a full-sized Kimber 1911 Custom Tactical II and my wife carries the Kimber pepper spray

At work? If so, how do you intend to deal with the literal fallout of using it?

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Specializes in Pharmaceutical Research, Operating Room.

Personally, I think attacking a health-caregiver should be a felony everywhere.

Coming into this late, but I absolutely agree with this.

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At work? If so, how do you intend to deal with the literal fallout of using it?

The only time it would ever be brought out and used is in an immediate life threatening situation.

If I am in a life threatening situation and had to use a firearm then legal fees would be a small price to pay. Life > Anything Else.

I am by no means unique in carrying a firearm either, that is the beauty of concealed carry.

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I am by no means unique in carrying a firearm either, that is the beauty of concealed carry.

Which is utterly terrifying.

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Specializes in Hospice.
Which is utterly terrifying.

Also not the subject of the thread ...

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What sorcery is this?!? Seriously, tho, that's something I've never heard of; the administrator actively taking the side of the caregiver, and a CNA at that!

I had a great manager. One time a patient's family member seemed to take a liking to me. He kept coming up to the unit after we had transferred his relative to the floor. He would come in on my days off and ask my co-workers if I was there. It began to make me very uncomfortable. Our charge nurse (male, a good 10 years younger than I) spoke to him and told him in no uncertain terms that he had no business coming to the unit again. Offended, he went to our unit manager, who told him security would be called if he approached me again.

I was very grateful and that's just one incident of how great management works. I loved that place.

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We know today's atmosphere is far different than a few years back.. Hospitals are not necessarily the safe havens they once were. that being said I think it might be necessary for hospitals to put metal detectors at patient and family and visitor entrances where the doors open automatically.

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My hospital actually had an active shooter situation a few years ago. A distraught man came to the ER very angry because we couldn't manage his pain. He took the nurses and docs hostage for several hours before he finally took his own life. Fortunately I wasn't one of those nurses, and I can't imagine what they went through but I think I would have appreciated any form of self defense I could get my hands on at that point.

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