Maybe the past few rough nights have got me too much on edge with not enough sleep, but I hit the end of my patience last night. Detoxer sucker punched me in the face. We had a good relationship going there on our second night together, I tend to not be a line in the sand type with my detoxers. You tell me we're on a boat, I'll ask where you're driving me. We can joke around and keep things light, as long as we're all safe. We weren't even doing anything invasive, a boost in bed with me by his chest, another aide next to me and one across. I didn't see it coming, and even with the padded mitt, it was hard enough to move my glasses (not knock them off entirely), and my jaw still feels it. Not the hardest I've ever been hit and we all know you just take it, right. But when I looked over there was clear intent on his face, and that face came back many times over the night. Ended up in four points within a few hours, and by the end of my shift I'd been threatened enough times I decided to call.
The officer comes in and his first question is "Well, what were you doing to him at the time?" He clarified that he plays devil's advocate because he has to prove intent in order to get a warrant (as we all know), and in a patient detoxing, on benzos, and hallucinating, that's nearly impossible. But "I support you" he says. Then he proceeds to show me bruises on his arm from an arrest and then tells me he's been injured many times and he's never pressed charges. As if he's better than me and I'm lacking in compassion and knowledge about my job if I'm doing this. I treated that patient professionally and courteously, as I do all my patients. I know they're dealing with addiction issues and no matter what brought you to my assignment, I try not to judge because it has no place in providing competent care. But why are we expected to just take this time and time again as an appropriate behavior? And not just us. Police, teachers, EMTs, many professions, we're now expected to just take it. So, I know my complaint won't go anywhere, nothing will happen to him, but just on the principle of it I wanted to put it out there. If nothing else, as least the next time he's back I can claim a conflict of interest.
Does anyone have a workplace that takes this stuff seriously? Because I'm not the only one recently, and especially in the ED, some of these people are alert, oriented and just mean. Or maybe I'm wrong for calling because it shows a lack of understanding for my patient, whatever. But I just felt like someone has to do something, I have friends at work, and I don't want them to be in danger, either. We can't put everyone in restraints just for our safety, that would be abuse, so we have to wait, and hope it's not more serious next time.
