As a 1yr ms RN going into ED, one of the top things that concerns me is the safety. I'm sure you have seen lots of crazy things that happen at ed, and I'm not doubtful that one of them include violence against staff.
I have heard from others that people bring guns to the ed, sometimes you can get punched, kicked, put in choke holds, wrestled like in the octagon, etc.
In my state, we have a law that makes assaults on ed staff a felony, but I don't think that will stop the real crazies. I already have a bad back for which I go to the chiropractor, and I don't want to get disabled.
I understand that the best thing to happen is just avoid the violence when it's happening, but what if I have a coworker who is 5ft and will surely go to Valhalla if I run away? Or what if I'm cornered and have to fight? I be honest with you, if there's two options, one being a saint and risk being disabled for rest of my life or being badly hurt, and the other being "selfish " and knock the snap out of someone so I can support my family, I will happily put someone to sleep as best as I could with the blessings of Rocky Marciano. This is not really something you would worry too much about in MS setting, so I feel apprehensive about it.
As you all know this is my first ed position and I know I will defend myself and my coworkers in violent situations. So the question is probably this: what is the realistic approach in hitting someone before yourself can get hurt bad in ed? I'm not going to just simply start punching pts but I'm taking about real danger situations where you know it's either do something or get hurt.
Many ED nurses I talk to about this said they had to use "rough" methods to avoid having themselves or coworkers from getting badly injured... Or am I worrying about something that happens very very rarely?
