Work place violence, is the ER safe?

[Alexx_xox]

Hey everyone!!

As I have stated before I am a new grad starting in the emergency room. Prior to finishing nursing school, I was working as a nurse apprentice in a pediatric emergency room and NEVER had problems with work violence.

Now, I have read many stories and have seen on Instagram quite a few posts regarding nurses safety in the work place.

In fact, this past week I was doing my PALS certification and the instructor told me how she was beaten up very badly in the ER and had to press charges against some patients.

Is it true that there truly is a lot of work place violence?? I myself NEVER experienced any type of violent situation at the hospital nor have I ever felt threatened or unsafe.

I know working in adults its a completely different environment and I am curious to hear from others.

So, have you ever experienced work place violence? If so, how did you handle it? What did the violence consist of? What can you do to protect yourself?

Let me know.

xox Alex

[AceOfHearts<3]

I work in an ICU and not the ER, but we've had issues with violence. A patient purposely assaulted a nurse before I started. I had another nurse call security stat when they (and I) thought my patient was going to come at me (who could have done a lot of damage due to size and build). I stated on another thread we had a family member state they were getting a gun and my entire unit was put on lock-down. Before working in the ICU we had security sit on my unit one night when it was just 3 female nurses with 2 male family members of a patient behaving very threatening towards us- getting in our faces, staring us down, watching our every move, etc. If a patient's arms are restrained but not their legs, watch out! We've had nurses kicked or attempt to be kicked.

Be aware of your surroundings and if a patient or family member is being threatening make sure you have a clear exit- don't let yourself become trapped in the room. Alert others if you are having an issue so they can help or at least keep an eye out. Make use of security as needed- never be afraid to ask for help. When a patient is being verbally abusive it is ok to tell them that is not acceptable behavior. Good luck!