Why do people abuse nurses?

mshultz · Mar 14, 2008

I agree with Tweety - it's because we are with the patients more then any other health care professional. So we see the good, bad and the ugly.
That said, I've been doing this a long time and I personally don't think people are any more rude then 20 years ago. In addition, 80 -90% of my patients and families are cooperative, pleasant and thankful for the care that I provide to them. Yes, we have moments when they are resistant to doing post op stuff such as coughing and walking but usually they respond with encouragement, an explanation, and pain meds.
Overall my experience has been that the doctors are better then they used to be related to respect and conduct with the nursing staff - except for the occasional jerk. But you'd find that in any line of work. Just my 2 cents after 20 years.

Perhaps we are kindred spirits, although I am not a healthcare worker. When I presented my elderly person interview to my gerontology class last semester, I stated that I disagreed with the interviewee's assertions that society was less polite and less safe than it used to be.

My teacher said this was because I was such a nice person that other people could not help but be nice to me. I told her that was an interesting remark (I never considered myself as being any nicer than the average person). Whenever I think about this comment, I try to be even nicer!

EmmaG, RN · Mar 14, 2008

They do it because they can. There is no consequence.

Bingo.

MrsCaseyRN · Mar 14, 2008

I know if I post this, I should try to find the case I'm talking about but I don't feel like searching for it...

When I was in nursing school, a little over 2 years ago, we talked about a case wear a pt (alert&oriented) punched a nurse and broke her jaw. The nurse pressed charges & sued for medical bills (I'd have to find the story to get the exact details) but anyway the judge ruled in favor of the pt saying that it was wrong for the nurse to sue and that abuse goes with the job.

I remember this because we were talking about protecting yourself from pts. Now I really have to google that and find it...

MrsCaseyRN · Mar 14, 2008

I'm still looking for that case, but I found this along the way.

http://www.nursinglaw.com/Apr05PageOne.pdf

Nurse sued for talking down to pt.... :no:

MedicalLPN, LPN · Mar 14, 2008

Being the nice little co-dependent I am I always just take the abuse and try to smooth things over. I really have a problem with being assertive hopefully one day I'll get over that problem. I agree that one of the problems is that we're so focused on the "customer service" dogma that it gives our patients and families a free pass to treat us any way they choose.

Riseupandnurse · Mar 14, 2008

At the hospital where I work, I owed a bill for ER. I could not understand the bill, and called Billing to ask about it. I swear I was not abusive at all, but the woman got very huffy and said that the hospital would not allow its employees to be under attack (my questions about the bill) and I must apologize. I about choked.

leslie :-D · Mar 14, 2008

At the hospital where I work, I owed a bill for ER. I could not understand the bill, and called Billing to ask about it. I swear I was not abusive at all, but the woman got very huffy and said that the hospital would not allow its employees to be under attack (my questions about the bill) and I must apologize. I about choked.

wow.

my reaction is mixed.

1. who decides what constitutes an attack? any employee? (evidentally, yes...)

2. i want to work there. :)

leslie

DebRN06 · Mar 14, 2008

I was looking for the case CaseyGirl mentioned...didn't find it, but found this site http://www.stopviolenceagainstnurses.com/4.html

I knew a nurse that had her sternum broken from a pt kicking her. I don't remember exactly what she had told me, but I remember she did not press charges because management pressured her not to.

nyapa, RN · Mar 14, 2008

I know if I post this, I should try to find the case I'm talking about but I don't feel like searching for it...
When I was in nursing school, a little over 2 years ago, we talked about a case wear a pt (alert&oriented) punched a nurse and broke her jaw. The nurse pressed charges & sued for medical bills (I'd have to find the story to get the exact details) but anyway the judge ruled in favor of the pt saying that it was wrong for the nurse to sue and that abuse goes with the job.
I remember this because we were talking about protecting yourself from pts. Now I really have to google that and find it...

I'm sitting here with my mouth gaping!

Nurses are not entitled to sue for abuse? We are punching bags? Heck, what would happen if there were no court sherriffs? Would it be ok for the judge to be hit?

Grace, I haven't heard about the latest in violence towards nurses in the hospitals. It seems to flare up from time to time and then a new media story replaces it for a couple of years. Are you able to find the article or the website for me?

Our hospital has these signs around the place saying 'zero tolerance' with pictures of our staff who have been abused. Huh! Thats all there is! I have been kicked, I have had someone's fist under my chin who was wearing a cast on it, I have been on a ward at night where the powers that be knew a patient had heaps of little Stanley knives, he had threatened the staff, and they did nothing about it. I have been cornered so many times.

I think that it has something to do with power. The doctor has power, other health professionals have power. Even the patient has power. The nurse is in the middle. He/She has no recourse; we can ask for help from the doctor (yeah right, they think we make it up!), we can call security, but even they have to be careful legally.

But I remember one case where a patient had been hitting staff. The doctor didn't believe us. Finally he was the one that was hit! That patient was kicked so fast out of the hospital that his feet didn't touch the ground!!!!

What is good for the goose, is not good for the gander it seems.... :down:

BTW, who remembers being told in nursing school that sick people regress to more childlike behaviour so we should make allowances for them?

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 14, 2008

Maybe it's because I'm getting old and cranky, but I didn't go into nursing to be treated like a pack animal. This "customer service" insanity has GOT TO GO. Anyone with any manners whatsoever knows how to smile, be polite, say "Please" and "Thank you", and treat people according to the Golden Rule---it's not rocket science, and we sure as heck don't need a script! :madface:

Unfortunately, the emphasis on P-G scores and window-dressing in healthcare facilities (e.g., private suites, room service at all hours, no restrictions on visitors, etc., etc.) have fostered disrespect, and even contempt, for nursing professionals on the part of patients, families, and hospital administrators alike. I walked away from such an environment two and a half years ago, and the temptation hasn't been invented that would induce me to go back. I felt more like a slave when I made thirty bucks an hour at a hospital than I ever did when I was scratching out a living on a factory assembly line.

Well, it was a hard lesson, but one well learned, and I don't take abuse from ANYBODY anymore. There's this one fellow who regularly comes to my assisted living facility to see if we have any apartments available, and the administrator's always putting him off because he's such an imperious, volatile, snippy PITA; we've all heard the rough side of his tongue more than once, and the other day he started in on me because the administrator never calls him to "update" him on our availability. He began condescendingly, then started to yell "I want to see her, you get her out of her meeting RIGHT NOW because I want to talk to her!" That's when I held up my hand and told him, "You don't need to yell at me---I don't know what the problem is, and I'm willing to help you, but you don't walk in here and holler at me."

Funny, he backed right down and then told me more about his issue with the administrator's failing to call him. (I didn't mention the fact that I'm the one who decides on admissions.....) After I'd written a note for her and stuck it on her door---with him running right behind me all the way from my office---he actually smiled and said, "You have handled me well. Thank you for your assistance" and left without further ado.

Now I realize that this won't work when you're defending yourself against a meth head who's trying to strangle you with your own stethoscope. But nobody should be allowed to get away with assaulting healthcare professionals---and management has no business discouraging nurses who are injured by patients from pressing charges, ever, ever, EVER. People need to be held accountable for what they do, no matter where they are or who they are. And as far as I'm concerned, health care institutions that don't back up their nurses, don't deserve them. :down:

allnurses Guide · Mar 14, 2008

Reality is, families are under a lot of stress and they do tend to lose control. I'm taking the really freaked out ones, major trauma, sudden death. Doesn't give an excuse to get physical! I believe our education about people's responses under stress are valid.

That said, I have filled out police reports for abusive behavior (nothing came of it, but it was at least on record).

In New Mexico, it is a misdemeanor to verbally assault any health care worker during the performance of their duties. Becomes a fourth degree felony to threaten to kill the worker or their families. Escalates with physical force, in stages up to first degree felony. Unfortunately, few people use that law, but I have copied it from the state statutes and passed it around in the ER.

miko014 · Mar 14, 2008

That "stress" excuse that is used for pts and family members is, i'm sorry, a great big pile of...uh, garbage. I understand completely that they are under stress, but so am I, and them yelling at me only makes things worse for everyone. I am a strictly golden rule girl myself - I will treat you the way I want to be treated. I take it for granted that you will do that as well. Ergo, if you start screaming at me and getting loud, I am going to assume that it is okay for me to tell you how it really is. Now that being said, I take each situation into account. Usually a gentle reminder that I am doing the best I can and your dear auntie Muriel is very important, but not the only patient I am responsible for does the trick. When it doesn't, I do not hesitate to tell the offender in no uncertain terms that I will not take abuse, and I leave and find the charge nurse. When it resorts to that, I have almost always received an apology, even if it was a day or so later. I have had a few threats made, and refused to care for those patients again. IT IS NOT OKAY FOR ANYONE TO YELL AT US!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for the physical side of things, forget it. If you do anything to me, the next person you are going to see is a security guard, followed closely by a cop.

The unfortunate thing is, we are supposed to be angelic little Florence (or, uh...Chuck) Nightengales who should just sit there and take whatever the patients feel like giving. Thankfully, it's usually annoyance at worst, but when it gets bad, we're still not supposed to do anything. And when things do come to court, lawyers are excellent at making their clients look like victims. When that client is an ill, hospitalized pt, it's that much easier to paint us as the big bad nurse who caused the problem.

Can you tell I'm fed up with this??? If I had any ideas for anything that could be done, I would share!!!!!! If anyone else knows, spill it! I'm getting sick of it!