Thinking about getting a gun for safety

Have Nurse, ADN, RN · Mar 3, 2018

Carrying it your vehicle is risky. It can be stolen. And if you need it, your car is too far away.

Guest219794 · Mar 3, 2018

Yes I will definitely get trained and have my permit. I just want to keep it in my vehicle just to feel safe.

You will be in three environments:

Car
Walking from the car to the home
In the home

Of those three places, the safest place you will be is your car.

To my thinking, there isn't much logic in having a gun to protect yourself in your car, then to leave the relative safety of your car, and head into a higher risk area unarmed.

Personally, if I thought I needed to carry a gun to safely do my job as a nurse, I might consider other jobs. Carrying a gun means being prepared to kill somebody, which is not a part of nursing for me.

I own two guns, obtained a CCW when my state required one. My guns are well secured and easily accessible to me in my house, where the Castle Doctrine definitely applies. When I leave the house, I avoid going places where I think somebody might try to kill me.

itsybitsy · Mar 3, 2018

I would do whatever you feel is right for you. Whether that be having a concealed carry or not. Whether you want to leave it in your car or carry it on your person.

I understand you when you relay that you aren't worried about your patients, rather the areas where your patients live. Which is why you might want to just leave it in your car. I wouldn't worry about it getting stolen unless you are leaving it in plain sight, in your vehicle. So many "what ifs" could happen and none of them justify limiting your ability to protect yourself where you feel is a threatening area. Pepper spray and blunt objects won't do you any good if a gun is pointed at you.

Carrying on your person, into a patients home, is legal, as long as the patient/owner of the home doesn't have signage posted that firearms are not allowed. Yes, your employer probably doesn't "allow" it, if it's even discussed in your employee handbook. Your employer probably also doesn't allow many other things, such as cell phone use in patient homes. Obviously the latter wouldn't get you fired, while carrying concealed probably would, but it's not against the law. The point of concealed carry is that no one knows you have it, so your employer shouldn't and wouldn't know, even if you did, properly. The only time they SHOULD find out, is if you had to use it, in which case, if you saved yourself and your employer fires you for protecting yourself, within the limits of the law. In which case, I wouldn't want to work for said company. If you are found out to conceal carry, by accident (as in a patient saw it, as it wasn't concealed properly, and reported you), and you are fired, that is a risk you must decide if you want to take, in which you can mitigate that risk by concealing properly, 100% of the time.

Glycerine82, LPN · Mar 3, 2018

Did you consider getting a taser? much safer, user friendly option.

I've asked my brother in law who is a Boston cop what he thinks about Taser/Pepper Spray/ Gun and he said pepper spray all the way. He said with Pepper spray you can hit several targets in seconds and you can use it from further away.

tbannister4, ADN, LVN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 3, 2018

The statistics are misleading on this, as suicude by gun is included.

Most likely, your employer would not allow a concealed weapon due to their liability. The way I viewed it, if I had to use my gun to live, I'd be fired, but alive to go get another job.

lifeatthebluffs, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2018

I'd recommend mace, pepper spray, or even hornet spray (can hit 15 feet away and still burns like f***). In the scenario you describe as your most likely action, it seems like the mostly likely thing to happen is the weapon is stolen out of your car. A taser would also be less likely to be lethal when used against you.

MotoRN34 · Mar 3, 2018

Thank you all for your advice! For the time being I am just gonna get some pepper spray. My plan is to go into the rougher areas early in the day to reduce any safety risks and limit my time to no more than an hour in the home (yes I know that SOCs, ROCs, D/Cs can take a while but I can document on my own time). If I ever feel that I need a gun I'll just find another job instead.

**Elektra6, ASN, BSN, RN** · Mar 4, 2018

I saw a documentary about home health nursing in Chicago. The nurse had an armed escort with her! I was amazed.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2018

Ok why?

I believe others have already answered this but to me it just doesn't make any sense to carry a gun as a home health RN. I did home health for 3 years and most of my patients were in what could be considered unsavory areas. The children who had savvy parents generally just didn't need the same level of support in the home. I never felt the need to carry any sort of weapon and I once had to go into a home the day after the state took custody of a child based off of a report of neglect that I filed. (They left her in the home while they tried to make a plan.) If you leave your gun in your car, how is it going to protect you on the streets? Your employer and clients likely won't allow you to carry it into homes.

I am tangentially aware of a situation that happened with another nurse at my last job where a home infusion patient's brother pulled a gun on the nurse. The solution was not that the nurse could carry into the home for protection. The solution was that the patient was discharged from nursing services and became a pharmacy only patient- he had to go to the clinic to have his port accessed from then on out.

TruvyNurse · Mar 5, 2018

I am very pro gun. We hunt and target shoot for enjoyment. However I ONLY recommend you carry a firearm after you've had the proper training and have shot the weapon you choose enough that you'd be comfortable using it in an emergent situation. I wouldn't ever advise taking it to a home visit on your person. Keep it very concealed but retrievable place in your vehicle. You have a right to protect yourself but please be safe and be smart.

0.5GPA, ADN, CNA · Mar 5, 2018

Be trained please know what you are doing. Know the laws where you live.

Dont carry until you are comfortable with it. Seek out a top instructor (lots of LEOs teach these types of programs)

Also know what the policy for your employer says about it

amillion3147 · Mar 6, 2018

I am sorry but I need to make it home at the end of the day. Better check your state laws on that as well and make sure you have the training and permit to carry a weapon. I enjoy home health but I am not willing to die over it.