threatened at work

[gonzo1]

Had a psych patient in ER for 8 hours last shift. Patient verbally threatened me with stalking and death for the entire shift. Come to find out I have to give her a form with my name on it. I respectfully declined and the house sup gave it to her.

How come they have all the rights and we have none. For the first time in 7 years I am really spooked. Just doesn't seem fair.

And of course no patients have EVER come back and actually did what they threatened.

[luvmy2angels]

I think you did the right thing, people now a days can just be sooooo unstable! People in our local hospital ERs are NOT allowed to have thier full name on thier IDs and i think that is a SMART idea!! Besides Dr's signitures are usually a swip and swoosh of thier pen...whatever design they decide to scribble for the day so why should ours be legible???? (just joking)!!

[Midwest4me]

yikes! that is wrong on so many levels i don't even know where to begin. the unfortunate thing is that i am imagining that many of these incidents could be prevented if the establishment cared enough to spend a bit more money on more staffing/security. my heart goes out to you and all of your colleagues.

yes, it is wrong on so many levels...and thanks for your heartfelt concern. the "powers that be" do try to recruit new staff but the hospital is in the news quite frequently(due to abuse by patients, patient escapes, etc) so very few are willing to hire on. i think sometimes we use more agency staff than regular staff.

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

I've learned my lesson, from now on my penmanship is going way downhill. Logging off now to practice my swoops and swirls.

PS. tonight security came looking for me saying I had complained to so many people that they had to file an incident report about the situation.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

I've learned my lesson, from now on my penmanship is going way downhill. Logging off now to practice my swoops and swirls.

PS. tonight security came looking for me saying I had complained to so many people that they had to file an incident report about the situation.

for you or against you??

[elizabeth8503RN, MSN, EMT-B, NP]

I have worked in psych also, and where I worked I just had my first name and last initial. Had I not had that choice to have my last name be an inital only, I would have scratched it off, covered it with stickers, or blacked it out. And I had good reason. My father was was/still is a deputy sheriff and has transported several of the patients from to and from either court or jail (for those who believed they could use "I'm gonna kill myself if I have to go to jail..." and not go to jail)

For me, my privacy is huge, and I live in a rather small area, and my last name although not uncommon, is a name that when heard around my neck of the woods....most people who have dealt with law enforcement for very long, know the name.

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

for me, not against me. but they let me know they thought I was stupid for caring that this woman was so viscious to me. Their attitude is "it goes with the job"