What do you do when a patient threatens harm?

[OrganizedChaos]

So far in my short few months on the floor I've already had a bunch of patients threaten to hit me. Every time I get threatened or yelled at by the public all I can think of is that I'm not getting paid enough to put up with this ****.

What do you do when someone just threatens violence? If I just called security on my ascom who knows when they would show up. But I don't feel the need to call a code since nothing is actually happening & I don't want to make the patient more irate.

Yesterday I was trying to remove a patient's IV (she was being D/C'd). She had paper thin skin & lots of tape. I was trying to go as slow as possible & use ETOH pads & then hand sanitizer. She wasn't good with pain & at one point she said she was going to punch me in the face. What do you do in a situation like that? I just quickly changed the conversation & de-escalated her, then she was fine.

[Have Nurse, ADN, RN]

If you have patients that are prone to violence, have someone in the room with you when you are needed.

If the patient is not confused, and just being a bully, you can threaten to call law enforcement. I had to do that when a young man (very big and strong) literally tossed me against the wall in his bathroom after I answered his call light. He had been smoking and we spoke a few times about it because he had been caught smoking in his bathroom. I told him I would have no problem alerting the Fire Marshall as it is prohibited here in MN.

He got angry and called me names, taunting me and then assaulted me. When I tried to hit the Emergency Light, he kept resetting it. It was late at night and I didn't want to alarm others, so I managed to get out of his room by his shoving me out the door. I called the Police in addition to the House Supervisor and my Charge.

He left AMA down the back stairs but the Police picked him up. I had to give a statement to them the next day at Police HQ. I did not lose my job, although the House Super was a bit annoyed that she wasn't notified first. I didn't care. Time was of the essence and he was dangerous. I did not lose my job. Your safety comes first in a situation like that. Document it, report it and follow up.

[JBudd, MSN]

Wait, how am I a nurse and did not know that hitting a nurse is considered a felony?

Is that in all 50 states?.. I am in CA.

unfortunately, no not all 50. Last time I looked it up it was over 30 states though.

Verbal (assault) is a misdemeanor here, threat to kill goes up to felony, battery itself is a felony. Every state has it's own definitions.