Violence in the ER

Specialties Emergency

Published

Question: how do you feel about pressing charges against a patient that hits you?

Plenty of experience with mentally ill PTs and those frequent flyers with ETOH abuse ... The drug seeking patients that get angry when they are cleared and don't get what they want. That seems part of the ER to me ..

However here is the situation. Pt arrives via EMS screaming and yelling. She gets off the stretcher and tries to bolt.. Assist the pt in a room start a IV then she tries to swing at me and misses then I explain ..." Hey you made some choices and its not going well I'm your nurse and I'm going to try and make this go as smooth as possible ... However you can't hit me or the other nurses .. Labeling blood other nurse leaves to finish triage .. Pt comes to the end of the bed I turn and say "no you can't get up you will fall" boom slapped in the face .., PT has blood alcohol level above 400 driver in MVA ..

Question: would you press charges? If not why? If yes why? I did press charges.. Close to a 14 hour shift. Hitting the hay !! Curious to see how other ER nurses view this!

7 BA52, 2 Marchman Acts today .. Tomorrow will better!!!!!!!

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
That's just stupid. I am not a RN. I left RN school and did not complete it. This crap about nurses should just take abuse boggled my mind. If a patient hit me, I'd have pressed charges, no hesitation whatsoever.

I fail to see why the hospital would object to police coming there. As a customer, I want to see police there. I may not have a clue what is going on at that hospital or whether or not actual police are employed there all the time. But I would much rather see them than a lone hospital security guard. You know, like if there were some POLICE standing around Good Shepherd Ambulatory Surgical Center on that day, maybe Gail Sandidge would not be dead. With today's violent people, hospitals need cops and need a zero tolerance policy. If they don't, I would not want to be working at that facility anyway.

It is stupid...hospitals look upon it as bad PR.... that the public views the environment isn't "safe". Until recent laws in certain states nurses had little recourse. Check out my post on page 2 post 17...it's a true story.

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Specializes in ER/Trauma.

Inebiration and intoxication is no excuse for violent behaviour. Do you think the DA declines to prosecute an MVA because the driver was drunk?! People need to be held responsible for their actions. I know we're trained it school to empathise with the patient, to understand their current situation and to not 'personalise' their responses because they are in pain or they are ill or under a lot of stress etc.

But this isn't a confused 90 year old who swung at you. This isn't a patient who is mentally 'challenged' who tried to hit you because "you're hurting my arm!" as you were drawing blood.

No, this was an otherwise healthy adult who is there in the ED because they were intoxicated - on alcohol, on benzos, whatever. In other words, someone who ought to know better, can do better, but chose to get so inebriated that they were brought into the ED...

The more such charges are placed, maybe more such future patients would think twice about their behaviour. Maybe it might serve as a "warning sign" that they need to look at their lifestyle and make some changes...

cheers,

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Hell yes! If someone hits me, I hope they get the electric chair!

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