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Elaine Thompson / AP
Jeaux Rinehart, president of the Washington State Emergency Nurses Association, said he's not surprised by a new survey that shows violence in the ER remains high, with more than half of nurses reporting verbal assaults and more than 1 in 10 experiencing physical attacks.
Rinehart was beaten in the head by a patient in 2007.
Tammy Mathews was working a late-night Sunday shift in an Alabama emergency department when a patient, drunk and high on drugs, grabbed her around the neck, choked her until she couldn’t breathe -- and then spat in her face.
Jeaux Rinehart was staffing a Seattle emergency room when a patient in a triage room, upset that he couldn’t get methadone, pulled a billy club out of a backpack and beat Rinehart in the back of the head and across the face, breaking his cheekbone.
So neither Mathews nor Rinehart was surprised to learn that an ongoing poll of nearly 7,200 emergency nurses finds that violence in the ER remains high, despite increased attention to a problem that leaves some health workers worried about danger every day.
“It’s so global,” said Rinehart, 51, president of the Washington State Emergency Nurses Association. “It’s actually getting worse.”
According to latest figures from the national Emergency Nurses Association, between January 2010 and January 2011, more than half of nurses in the ER -- 53.4 percent -- reported experiencing verbal abuse and about 13 percent said they had encountered physical violence at work in the previous week.
Being grabbed or pulled was the most common physical assault, while yelling and swearing were the most common kinds of verbal attack.
That’s about the same rate previously detected by the ongoing survey conducted by the ENA starting in May 2009. The Des Plaines, Ill., association surveys nurses at three-month intervals, partly to determine if the problem is getting any better, said AnnMarie Papa, the group’s president.
Frustrated, she admitted that it isn't.
“It’s upsetting to me that we can’t change the culture,” Papa said. “What is this with society that says it’s OK to do this to people who are trying to help them?”
Nurses on the front lines, like Mathews, 49, of Auburn, Ala., say that long waits, crowded conditions and growing numbers of mentally disturbed patients all exacerbate the stress of emergency department visits.
“Tempers kind of flare up and it just happens,” said Mathews, who was assaulted in 2005.
Both Mathews and Rinehart have worked in emergency departments for decades and they say they’ve come to expect vile treatment by patients and their families.
“I’ve been called things that, honestly, I have never even thought about putting those words together,” said Rinehart, who was attacked with the club in 2007.
The problem has received serious attention in recent years. At least 25 states have strengthened penalties for attacking health care workers and a growing number of hospitals have bolstered both physical security measures and staff training, according to the American Hospital Association.
At Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, the hospital where Rinehart works, a new emergency department opened just last week with greatly enhanced security features, among other amenities, according to spokesman John Gillespie.
But that progress hasn’t curbed the crisis, said Papa, who advocates a zero-tolerance policy to stop ER violence. Only about a third of nurses actually submit formal reports about physical violence and less than 15 percent report verbal assaults, the survey found. That might be because in almost half of cases of physical violence -- 46.7 percent -- no action was taken against the perpetrators. In nearly three-quarters of cases -- 71.8 percent -- nurses received no response from hospital officials about the assaults.
In Mathews’ case, she said the hospital wanted her to drop assault charges against her attacker, and that officials fired her when she refused. She works in the emergency department of a different hospital now and she says she's still wary of erratic patients. Rinehart said he has transferred out of the emergency department to focus instead on patient safety.
“I miss it, but I don’t miss being called every name in the book," said Rinehart, who worked in ERs for 32 years. "I miss it, but I’m not going back.”
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I was an ER nurse in Detroit in the late '80's and getting slapped, grabbed, sworn at, choked, spat upon was an everyday occurrence. I was better than Mike Tyson in terms of ducking and avoiding punches.....Our triage nurses were behind bullet-proof glass to protect them from patients with guns, knives, etc..... Sad but true and sorry to hear things are not much better today.
I couldn't imagine how frustrating that most likely was for you and all the other ER nurses. It takes a special person to do jobs like these. I've been in the hospital quite a lot in my days due to injury from sports and cancer. I commend you all for your duties and soft manners!
Too bad this article doesn't mention that some "crazy" or violent patients are actually suffering from violent delirium, a medical condition unrelated to illegal street drugs or mental illness.
Severe illness or a head injury can cause these patients to yell, strike out atstaff, and pull out their I.V.'s. It's not their fault, and they won't understand threats or consequences. It's okay to periodically use soft restraints and give them a sedative to reduce mayhem and harm to themselves or others.
Hospital staff need to have compassion for patients who are scared, in severe pain, having a drug reaction (even from drugs prescribed for the patient), mentally ill, or are suffering from violent delirium. That's just part of their job and training.
Those patients your are referring are a VERY small percentage and it is NEVER "part of the job" to be assaulted as a healthcare worker anymore than it is part of the job for a police officer to be assaulted... and how about the many cases where it is a patient's (sane?) family member that threatens and intimidates? Sedating and restraining a patient is fraught with so much "legal danger" that most ER staff loath to have to do it ... dammed if you do dammed if you don't.
ttmadison-
I agree with the statement about delerium, but those are few and far between for what a lot of healthcare workers are subjected to. These also aren't the cases that staff site when choosing to leave the facility or field. More often than not, the patients is being a 'squeeky wheel' hoping for some grease. They're just being being a jerk, because their needs are more important than what's going on beyond their room. If they want to be angry about the speed in which they are getting their pain meds or what have you, they need to tell administrators that staffing needs to be better AND be williing to pay for the better staff.
Attitudes like "it's part of the job, part of the training" are BS and why violence is such an endemic problem. That's enabling and it's STILL WRONG!
@TTMadison, you are misdirecting your comments. Assaults by delirious patients are the MINORITY according to the statistics. I have been assaulted many times as a Physician, and compassion wasn't part of the equation.
Sorry, most of the time IT IS 'their fault'.
it's not just the nurses that this happens to, but the techs, and doctors too. I'm a tech and have been punched, kicked, spit on, peed on and shot at.
Welcome to the Health care field. It doesn't take long to start hating people. You just have to remind yourself of why your doing it in the first place. It is about that 1 person in 1000, that you truly help that makes the difference. That is what keeps you going.
It should be mandatory that charges are filed against any patient who physically assaults hospital staff. Funny how even at the DMV they have signs all over the place that let you know that even threatening a "state employee" can result in prosecution.
While yes, a lot of these patients are the problem, I have seen some antagonizing done by hospital staff before. Just saying.
However, ERs have been like this for decades. If you work in an ER, you should know that you're on the front lines. If you're too soft to handle that, then go to ICU.
I'm not trying to say that this behavior is acceptable - it's not. For example, it would be silly to say that it's okay to assault police officers because police officers should expect it. But you do know in your job description as a police officer that it is going to happen and will happen repeatedly. This applies equally to the ER.
And why is that nurse wearing a white coat? lol *friendly/professional jabbing*
Sorry ICU is better but when I was an ICU nurse in six months we had a broken collar bone from a patient, a broken hip and a broken finger, all patients attacking nurses. I had a prison inmate the doctor refused to allow them to restrain with cuffs who attacked me. A nurse in hospital I worked at had been pinned into a room with and by family and attacked, beaten severely before the other staff could break through. Trust me, there is no intentional antagonizing of patients but your working under difficult and high pressure situations.
And that's in a reasonably "controlled/secure environment". I was a paramedic in the 80's. If you think it's bad in the ER (and it is), try going to their turf. The absolute worst were the domestic violence calls. The victim is as likely to attack you as the perp.
This article is proof enough that not all Americans deserve free health care. What a sorry lot we are.
compassion - schmompassion. We are humans. The DBL Doc is right . Compassion has nothing to do with it. I can have all the compassion in the world, but so what? What does that have to do with a patient going off on me?
That's what happens when people appoint themselves as god in other peoples lives. The policies, procedures, and guidelines of the AMA, hospitals, pharma, etc serve THEMSELVES far better than the rank in file person sifting through this exorbitantly overpriced health care system.
Why can't I go to Wal Mart and buy my Oxycontin right off the shelf? Why do I have to pay an ER $1,000 dollars and beg for pain meds because I couldn't get into the dentist (which is the ONLY one who can legally pull teeth) to pull my impacted tooth that makes it feel like some one is hitting me on the head with a hammer? DO you think you would be mad if some one was hitting you with a hammer and the only person who could stop them is screwing around with anti lawsuit protocols, profit making tests, and chit chat about their love life to the other nurses? In the old days, the barber would have pulled it in 5 minutes for a couple bucks and all would have been fine. But government (at the behest of all of the industries making a profit from health care) decided it needed to "take care of us". Now, people are dying all of the time because they refuse to give their kids inheritance to the hospitals, but nobody is counting that. And the only government answer (TO THE PROBLEM THEY MADE) is to FORCE everyone to buy health insurance. I am beginning to wish that government hated me. At least then, all they would do is kill me; not insult my intelligence, torture me, take my freedoms and dignity, kill my soul, yet leave my body walking around. That's worse then Stalin. We did not defeat the evil empire as Reagan said, we BECAME it.
I can not even imagine doing any of these things to the person I am hoping to receive medical care from for my family member or myself. This is totally unacceptable.
Bob-1255448 I disagree with you, I think this is why Americans should have access to health care--affordable if not necessarily free. If people have regular health care, they would be less likely to end up in the ER. Fewer people in the ER = fewer violent incidents. Lack of health care certainly does not excuse violent behavior, but does somewhat explain it.
My husband is a nurse and has worked in Psych as well as on a regular floor. You can have compassion for these people and feel bad for their issues but that doesn't mean you allow yourself to be verbally and/or physically abused because of it. The fact that the patient may be pissed off at the administration, gov't healthcare, etc, gives them NO RIGHT to attack these nurses and doctors who are trying to help them.
If you believe that, does that mean a spouse who is being abused should just stay and take it because their husband/wife is mentally ill, a drug addict, alcoholic, etc?
My husband has been attacked before and luckily he has martial arts training that allows him to protect himself while subdueing the patient without harming them. He's had people get violent with him because they want drugs. He's had family members get violent with him. He got cussed out while applying pressure to save someone's life in an emergency situation because another patient walked into the room yelling at him that he hadn't brought their jello yet! He caught family members with garbage bags cleaning out all of the juice, boxed milks, etc that they had in a fridge on their floor. These particular people also stole towels & washcloths off the utility cart and a peice of medical equptment as well. This same man who has been attacked, cussed out, and threatened by patients and their families will come home with tears in his eyes telling me about a patient who died, or this poor little old lady who has dementia and doesn't recognize her husband, and so many other things. These people have so much compassion or they wouldn't be in this field.
I have been assaulted by a slap in the face on many occasions for saying to a date, "trust me, I'm a doctor".
Working aircraft electronics in the back shop and on the flightline can be a nightmare as it is. At least the jets/electronic units don't scream in pain. Things work well unless you 'let the magic smoke' out... ;)
Working with patients is something I couldn't do. A big thumbs up to those who can. The job is difficult enough when a patient works with you (especially in complex situations-or are they all complex situations?).
You know you're in deep kimchee when two multi-specialists with many years in service tell you; "Yours is an interesting case". YIKES.
It is not just the ER that gets these violent and aggressive patients, they get shipped to the ICU because they are not able to go to the regular floors due to there high needs. I have attempted to be compassionate regarding patients going through DT's or coming out of an ETOH coma, but I have been out of work for a year and fighting with the state of Oregon's workers compensation division to be reimbursed and receive the care I needed when my patient tried to kick my head in causing a herniated disc in my neck and almost no use of my arms above my chest for a year, followed by a surgery and a long recovery. Everyone thinks "oh sue the guy" well I can't due that because he's homeless, and I can't even press charges. IF these patients are dangerous in the ER and just continue to be dangerous as the get moved to the ICU, they should be shipped to a jail INSTEAD with hospital beds where they won't attempt to harm the staff because they have a security system in place. We have begged at our unit to get a security system, especially when families threaten the staff, but so far we only have one of the "most beautiful, serene lodge like hospitals in the northwest". Gee, I think I would give up some ornate detailing for better staffing, security, and a better workers compensation insurance.
Perhaps the perpetrators should be subjected to a good old fashioned beat-down, and then sent to another ER, about 50 miles away, wrapped naked in duct tape from head to toe. That should give it time enough to really stick well.
Hmmm...
Kinky.
Send them to another ER? Then what? Let them beatup some other unsuspecting staff? Kick them to the curb and let them figure out how to fix their own health problems.
Unfortunately the ability to remove a patient in that situation can be seen as an EMTALA violation and cost the hospital a large fine and possible loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding which would shut the hospital down. This threat is not a minority threat but a major, real and frequent concern. Emergency departments are the only business in the US that are not allowed to say "no" to a customer. The problem is that the hospital administration will not support the protection of the nurses. As an ED nurse, it was not unusual to pull patients off of police officers, disarm patients at triage and keep their guns until they left, step between patients beating up other patients and then get in trouble with administration because we deprived an assaulting patient of their "freedom". The decision makers have NO experience other than an idealistic dream of human behavior.
Don't forget the note that states "No narcotics"!
Then keep moving them to the back of the triage list until they pass out.
as a police officer, i always bring drunks or 302's (suicidal people) to the hospital and it's shameful that some of these people are just down right nasty to nurses. They are down right nasty to me too but I have my ways of dealing w/ those scummers. There should be laws (offering higher grading of crime) regarding assaulting nurses and other medical personnel along the same guidelines as the laws that are out there for assaulting police officers. My hats off to you nurses! Thanks for helping me out when I bring someone in and i'll always be there if you need help w/ a POS punk who treats you like dirt.
Thank heaven for people like you Jeff. You really are a hero to America and to those of us in the ER who are incredibly grateful every time we see a cop walk in. Sure you bring us not-so-fun patients, but just knowing you're there makes the situation a whole lot better. So thank you for you service to the community and your hard work every day. We appreciate it.
302? We may have seen each other I started my ER career in that state! Part of the problem was ID'ed in the article. Hospitals don't want these people prosecuted because they think it will have a bad effect on their bottom line. Until states are willing to mandate reports and prosecution the violence will continue.
Thank you Jeff, Unfortunately there are few like you. After a colleague had her wrist shattered by a patient assault she was told by an officer "well, it's not like you were shot" when she wanted to know why the patient wasn't arrested. If ANY person acted the way they act in the Emergency Department on the street, in the bank, at the fast food drive through, they would be, at the very minimum, "escorted" off the property. After 35 years in the ED I have had a finger fractured, multiple physical attacks and nearly daily threats. But hospital administration is much much more interested in "Press Ganey Scores" than in the safety of the professionals who work there. I too have no interest in working in that environment any more.
When I had a hospital nightable broken in half over my head at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in North Carolina in 2004 (ED Psychiatry consult), I pressed charges. The Judge (Robeson County District Court) told the guy "We take violence against our hospital staff seriously. You have the choice of six months in jail or agree to go with the deputy to the bus station and have him witness you leave on a bus today...and agree to never set foot in the State of North Carolina again or I will impose sentence.
The guy chose to leave town. Not sure if that order really was enforceable, but I'm sure the guy got the message.
I agree with Jeff. As a retired (California police officer (31+ years), I had my share of encounters with suspects who attacked the ER personnel. I would apply the necessary force to subdue the suspect and make him/her wish they had never attacked the ER personnel. The ER personnel should have the same laws protecting them that apply to police/fire personnel. The (the ER personnel) have my highest regard. After being attacked by a suspect during a car stop, I was brought to the ER and the care I received was outstanding.
My ex-husband is an ED RN as well as a PHRN with the local ambulance, and he has been hit, verbally abused, had his sexuality questioned, and on and on...yet he is required to remain professional in return...not really fair in my opinion.
Ex-Sniper-As a nurse, I think you know cops look after nurses and nurses look after cops. We love you all, I am glad this is coming forward, maybe they will start looking more seriously at it.
I cannot count the times I have been written up because I have spoken my mind to an unruly patient. "They're our customers. We can't treat them like that." If I wanted a job at Macy's, I would have applied there. Press Ganey scores! Auuuugggh!
I agree with the increased severity of crime with assaults against medical personnel. Hospital administrators also need to back up the doctor's and nurses against assaults. If they don't back them up then fine them several thousand dollars.
I had a friend who worked at a hospital. Along with administrators who didn't care about his safety, this was a major reason he quit.
This is nothing new. I have removed knives, guns, and various other weapons, including a bomb made from a full stick of dynamite wired to a thumb button from patients over the years. My nose, most of my fingers, and a good number of ribs have been casualties over the years as well.
And no, administration doesn't care.
I never would have expected ER personnel to need EOD training.
Could it possibly be that nurses are treated the way they are because Hollywood has managed to portray them in such a way that the public does not think we deserve respect? I agree with the police officer- there needs to be stiff ramifications for those that assault health care workers. Now imagine if a nurse defends themselves against these kind of people...they would lose their job. End of story!!
To add to your thoughts, another reason could be that when we receive pts who are angry/drunk/high etc, they know that we are people here to help them, not harm, and perhaps they feel that they can get away with it knowing we likely will not retaliate. I work in a mental health receiving facility and we see this stuff all the time. I've been spit on, kicked, and hit numerous times.
@Wakehead, our hospital administration doesn't care a bit either.
This is part of my intial response to this thread, but it has been buried in another page:
"
Part of the problem is that nursing's history is rooted in religion. It was nuns and monks that started nursing and there was this religious glamour to being a martyr to your patients (like catching TB or or leprosy from them). Dying while caing for the sick and infirm was like your insta-ticket to heaven and it's very clearly carried on to this day.
I know a lot of nurses have spoken up on this board today, but when you talk among collegues about institutional violence the common refrain is, "yeah, but they wouldn't do it if they weren't sick". That's enabling BS! Being sick only lowers a person's inhibitions enough to make them comfortable doing it. Meaning it's still a part of who they are and how they operate."
As an nurse working in EDs and other units, I've taken my share of physical and verbal abuse from patients and even family members. We know the difference between a patient with mental deficiencies and the just plain jerks. My worst injury was from a little old lady with dementia. She could swing a mean walker.
Yes, you are exactly correct.
Most just think it means nothing when they portray nurses on television or the movies as "easy", but it definitely demeans the real nurses whom are out there in the real world helping people.
Nurses have one of the hardest jobs - as they need to know medical knowledge and skills, as well as being compassionate and helpful at the same time, no matter what the situation.
I have not met one nurse that did not go out of their way, or beyond what is expected, to help their patients - medically and all the way to just getting the patient water and speaking with them.
As someone who has a friend that WAS A nurse in three different nursing homes and while this is not the E/R department, she too, had to deal with patients who became combative when having to move them to perfrom personal care, dressing changes, many who had needed to be moved to avoid bed sores and in general to encourage them to try and walk some to get some physical movement during the day who COULD but simply would not want to. She told me she got slapped, hollered at-(often with obscenity laced rants), and yes even though many of the patients were elderly, not all, as man in the SNF's were there for rehab after accidents, she was punched in the face where her glasses were broken-she did defend herslef against someone and WAS fired.
The person filed charges against HER for abuse and she lost her license which took a court hearing/costs-(all of which she had to pay for to clear herself of the allegations about the incident to practice again). My friend left the nursing profession a couple of years later/went into respiratory therapy and then became a computer programer several years later as she just had had enough of the stress.
Sad...a sign of the times
Both my wife and her friend were seriously assaulted in separate incidents working in the ER. My wife left while her friend is still out on disability after a couple of surgeries.
Here in MA, after many attempts, our packed with defense lawyer legislature finally passed a law classifying assault on health care workers on a similar level as that on police officers.
make it legal for ER personel to carry and use tassers while at work. and make it a felony to assault a healtcare worker... it's already on the books in some states...
I don't know about tazers. But it should be a felony to assault a healthcare worker, definetely.
In many states it is. However as long as hospital administrators are allowed to fire people who prosecute and discourage prosecution it won't matter. States and the Feds must mandate that violence against a healthcare worker must be reported or the violence will continue.
I've been there myself. It is not a positive situation.
If you're lucky enough to work in a state that does allow it, the facility may not be so accomodating. I've never even bothered to check in my state because most facilities in my area fire staff for "bringing in" weapons, pocket knives/multi-tools included. Someone at my facility was fired for having a pocket knife in thier posession while at work.
I agree with tazers... that's a protection much needed.
Changing the charge to a felony does NOTHING to stop the attacks. People will fight you when you try to help them, no matter what. Even God gets bashed everyday all day long for trying to help humanity.
Thank you for your patience, and Don't Taze me Bro! :-D
I am a retired ER RN and this is nothing new! I have been assaulted numerous times, spit on and in one case had an AIDS patient squirt bodily fluids on me and my wife, who is also an ER RN. All the hospitals that we've worked will not let you defend yourself. If you are hurt a lot of the supervisors want to make it your fault! In most hospitals, the won't back up their nurses and if you are experienced they will get rid of you to get aninexperienced nurse, because they make a lot less money! I have been called everything but a child of God. It appears its only going to get worse. There doesn't seem to be any punishment for these people that attack nurses! Red
And they'll drug test and otherwise put you through the wringer looking for some reason to make it your fault. If you happen to be unlucky or persistent enough to keep caring for the combative folks, they take a look at your record and decide you cause too many problems and fire you.
As an EMT, i can attest that patients do some really horrible things. We can't do anything about it becuase they are the patient, and it's like, being sick or hurt is an excuse to be complete arse. Even worse is the ones who aren't really sick or hurt and are awful. I don't mind a patient who keeps asking for things or needs lots of attention, but when they start being super rude, physically or verbally violent, or being dangerous, that's when I start minding, a lot.
I hate to say it, because there's a fear among health professionals that saying things can make us lose our licenses, but some patients shouldn't come to a hospital, they should go to a veterinarian, becuase they behave like wild animals.
someone "in the know" needs to put information on the internet rating hospitals & their responsiveness to these incidents....hospital administrators who fail to take reasonable steps to protect their staff can then be exposed for all to see....abominable situation!
I work in a level one trauma center.Yeah,it's bad.We are to treat all people like they're gold.Many people are pos,worthless unfortunately.Js husband
Most patients are going to assume that their emergency is more important than another. It's not possible to treat everyone that comes in instantly so if someone is in there with a mild injury it may be awhile before they are able to see a doctor. Triage is a good thing but may cause some discomfort for people with milder ailments may have to wait awhile. Something needs to be done to keep the medical staff safe and people need to understand that the longer you wait the better you have it than those not waiting.
Perhaps many people do understand about the longer you wait. A factor could be feeling like 'terminal hold'. Perhaps letting the inquirer have an idea where they are on the que list and a swag on time. All this, of course, is subject to change.
Also, at what point does your waiting time trump a person coming in who's a little worse off than you but in no danger of dying?
Yes, things are terminally fluid and 'depends on', but if those waiting can get some inkling of where they are in the que it might ease things.
More "Occupiers" going to the ER these days.
No. Most of these people are mentally ill or have drug problems. But with the "starve the government" no tax increase policies pushed by heartless, greedy conservatives, they are on the street. When they are in crisis, the ER is where they end up.
Personally, I'd like for my taxes to give these people the help they really need. But I guess tax cuts for the wealthy, wars started on lies, and fleets of unneeded strategic bombers is more important.
Wakehead, you obviously know NOTHING of the history of mental health treatment in the US. Prior to the 60s, each state had a vast array of mental health facilities to house and treat the mentally ill. Some were better than others.....In the 60s, a wave of liberal, do good for the patient, let's free them to be themselves attitudes began to prevail and these people were "set free" to live their lives out of bondage. What happened, instead, was that this was the beginning of the mentally ill homeless epidemic that we see today. So...trying to pin this on greedy, heartless conservatives is a lie, at best.....and shows you don't know what you're talking about. I've been a mental health professional for 30 years....and I DO!!!!
areo, are you honestly defending some of the horrible, inhumane things that used to go on in the asylums of yesteryear? Sexual abuse, medical experimentation, torture, slavery?
I seriously hope you don't consider yourself religious.
Not only E.R. nurses are treated this way, but med/surg nurses also!! Especially the verbal abuse, swearing, treating nurses less than human. I congratulate the states that are taking stiffer penalties to protect their medical people, like the police are.
Thank you! But not only those 2 areas of hospitals! It is ALL over the hospital, and not from patients. Families think this type of treatment of nurses and other hospital staff is ok. IT IS NOT! At my hospital, we are allowed to say to verbally abusive patients/family members that we will not put up with disrespectful behaviors and leave the room, and are given self defense classes from security. It is not perfect, but as a larger hospital in St. Paul, we have little violence towards staff (that and we have really good security gaurds!). But the general public does need to be educated about how it is never ok to treat anyone like that at any time. How would they feel if we walked into their offices and spit on them and swore at them for 8 hours?
You must work at United.
This doesn't just happen in Emergency Rooms. Direct care staff (especially those who work with the developmentally-disabled, mentally-retarded, etc.) are especially vulnerable. And, what makes it worse, is that there is no recourse for staff injured in a sheltered workshop. There are no repercussions for the attacker - after all, he/she is 'mentally retarded', etc. The direct care staff is trained to 'block' the attacks (lot of good that does) and attempt to break away. Never mind that the perpetrator is enraged, out-of-control, etc. We can't hit back - after all, they have their 'rights' and we have none. I should know, I was attacked in a sheltered workshop. Guess what, I couldn't even confront the person who attacked me. Oh, yeah, worker's comp covered all my injuries, etc. but the person who did this didn't even get a reprimand. I was the one who suffered, not him.
As a result, FOR MY PROTECTION, I will never work again in this field. I saw how the agencies protect their 'client' and not their staff. We, the staff, get attacked; slapped; spit on; kicked; hair pulled; get objects thrown at them; suffer verbal abuse from these clients; scratched; punched, etc. and your know what, I used to care about them, I no longer care. It's strange, I don't 'hate' the agency I worked for; I hate what I became because of that agency and that client. I see a 'client' of one of these agencies out in public, and I will do my best to avoid being near any of them because I will never be attacked by one of them again. Because, this time, if it ever happened again, I will hit back and kick and scream......
"Retard Rage" is an absolutely horrible thing. People who deal with these people know what I am talking about. To the outside world, anyone with a developmental disability is like one of those always smiling Down Syndrome kids who just wants to hug you all day. THEY ARE NOT ALL LIKE THAT. They can be violent, cruel, and do serious physical harm. Not to mention they learn that they have 'rights' and that you aren't allowed to fight back and anytime they do anything wrong, they can blame you and you will be in huge trouble, while they manipulate the little system which they are in. These people can be frighteningly strong, like think of someone on PCP strong. They can be vicious, brutal, and horrible. They are not all sunshine and rainbows!
I, to this day, will not see my sister. My parents know that they have to pick one of us to come home (she is now in assisted living due to her attacks on the family), because I will not come home if she will be there. I cannot tell you the amount of pain and agony that she causes my family, her case worker, her psychologist, her house manager- it's like the devil incarnate, on PCP. And yet, we can't do anything, because she has rights and "the poor dear is disabled, be kind". Outsiders just don't know
togspled - You are right, "Outsiders don't know." Hospitals and agencies, etc. do all they can to 'project' the positive image of how wonderful the place is; how happy and kind and caring their staff is; how pleasant the patients and/'clients' are...... They hide behind their 'newsletters', mailings; Christmas luncheons; annual 'dinners' (where everyone can see and hear just how wonderful everything is....ad naseum.......) If the public really knew - and I am glad that articles such as this get online - there would be an uproar. Staff turn-around is high in all these places and I wonder why? Could it be because staff is truly 'expendable'? Maybe the states should start looking into just where the money they send to these places is really going and what is really going on.
Many of us who worked in these jobs started out thinking that we were going to really make a difference in the life of someone else - that we are kind and caring enough to do just that. Well, REALITY is a rude 'wake-up' call in all of these situations. How many times does one have to be a 'punching bag' before they wake up and realize that the administration in these places doesn't give a damn about staff? In fact, I would bet that each time a staff member quits, the bottom line for these 'companies' improves because it costs less to hire someone new (especially in this economy). Oh, and I don't want to hear the crap about how much it costs to train a new person....I don't buy that for one second. Maybe the worker's comp insurance companies should start questioning all the reported injuries and treatments that are now required to repair the damage that has been done to staff.
I am forever grateful to the doctors and nurses that I have seen (and who have taken care of me in the hospital emergency). They deserve my thanks, praise and respect. They do not deserve to be hit, punched, stabbed, cursed at, threatened.... Yet, when these things happen, their hands are tied. Someone here mentioned that they should turn and walk away? - Yeah, right, they would be fired on the spot because that 'animal' that was just brought into the ER has more rights than they do.
Wow, I am really glad you do not work with the developmentally disabled anymore. There is a function to every behavior and it's probably because your are a CNA which means you have no education besides a 6-week class and you use terms like "retard rage." You really think it would be okay to fight a mentally handicapped person? I would love to show you some rage!
People with disabilities such as learning disorders have a right to be in a public place such as Newsvine without being subjected to crude,derogatory slurs , such as "retard."
@ tofspled and Mary-793387--You're preaching to the choir, here. Outsiders just have no idea. I once worked in a "group home". One of the residents was a retired police officer. Who had been allowed to keep his service revolver. One night, one of the other residents told me he had been talking "crazy". After talking with him, and ascertaining that he not only planned to kill me, but as many other residents as he could, before taking his own life, I removed, took away, stole (pick one), his weapon. Boy, did the S*** hit the fan the next morning. I was heavily reprimanded for my action. Just short of being dismissed. I was told my actions were wrong because he was a resident and had rights. And his weapon was returned to him. Amazing !!! Needless to say, I quit on the spot, and left the caregiving field forever. That was 30 years ago. I am greatly saddened to find that things have not changed.
Dude and kcstrawberryblonde, you just proved you are outsiders. "Retard Rage" is a real thing, and it's not derogatory to use the term mentally retarded. The word retarded means "slowed", as in, to retard one's gait means to walk slower. Retarded does not mean 'stupid' as the public has twisted it into meaning. Psychological tests measure level of mental retaration into things like Mild Mental Retardation, Moderate Mental Retardation, Severe Mental Retardation, and Profound Mental Retardation. Again, the word "retard" is not offensive in itself. The general public has twisted it into this 'derogatory term'.
Retard, from the Latin retardare, meaning to slow, to delay, to loiter, from the word tardus, meaning to be tardy, delayed, or slowed. The actual pronounciation is re-TARD, not REE-tard as the public has decided to change it to.
Dude and kcstrawberryblonde, I used to think just like you. The others are right; you don't get it. Try doing our job for even just a year and then come back and let us know how self-righteous you still feel.
P.S. You REALLY want to put down CNA's, dude? If you're ever a patient, you'll see them more than you see any of the rest of your healthcare team; you'd better hope you never say something like that to their faces...
ER personnel should learn wing chun kung fu (an internal style and great for women) and hospitals should pay for the classes.
The first useful idea on this thread.
I'd love to see Santorum and Gingrich and Cain spend an HOUR with an ER nurse... yet to them, these folks are overpaid, they are the problem with our economy. These folks are remarkable, to me they are heroes, and should be treated as such. It's a shame that y'all TeaBaggers see them as the enemy of the country, literally.
No amount of money compensates for the abuse suffered every day at the hands of patients
And, togspled, no amount of money compensates for the brutal murder of a visiting nurse in the home, and at the hands, of a mentally ill patient.
Dear Lord Tess, that's horrible! That's absolutely horrible! My heart goes out to that nurse's family!
What in your miniscule brain allows you to make such a conclusion that Tea Party individuals have this concept? Many Tea Party members are RNs...so you're just saying something stupid to bolster your opinion in the hopes that some other moron will accept it as gospel truth. You have NOTHING to back up such a statement......which makes you a liberal liar....something we all recognize as too familiar these days.
They, just like all the so called action heroes that support them, do not have the courage or compassion to do what we do. Doesn't matter which end of the politcal spectrum they are on.
please delete
Aereo,
Forgive them they are Liberals and know not what they do. Think of the suffering and abuse the Legal American Citizens have put up with since January 2009 under the Obama administration
ER persons should just turn around and walk away. Let the rude dude or hag suffer......"no tickey, no washy" "You be nice tom, I will be nice to you, otherwise, It sucks to be you."
You really think it's that easy?
Jim, you honestly think a healthcare worker should do that? The healthcare worker would be charged with abandonment and fired.
Abadonment is such a beeyatch. grrrr. there's a few i'd like to say AMF, YOYO to
Jim, as a nurse of 37 years and an ER nurse for many of those years, you have no idea what you are saying. Picture an inner city ED, small, crowded with people on stretchers everywhere and a drunk or mentally ill person comes in. It is a full moon, the guy is in four point restraints, which took many men to do, and when the nurse goes to take his vital signs or give him something to drink, he spits in her face. When she undoes his restraints to let him urinate, he urinates on her. Where would you suggest we go? He has to be cared for, it is the law and he is a human being. The issue is the administration will not put in a metal detector, so every gun shot is a threat to the nurses. They won't put in police to protect the nurses and we cannot carry weapons!
An animal pees on the kind person coming into help. A human being says, "thank you". Yeah many folks (but not nearly enough) apologize afterwards, but to me it's like a 'wife beater' [I am using this term as a general description for perpetrator of domestic violence] saying they'll never do 'it' again. Nothing more than false promises, and someone showing thier true colors. Just like wife beater's, without firm consquences and treatment they will always fall back on that behavior when things get tough.
Administrative cheap-skating is a problem, but so is minimizing bad patient behavior. When we settle for sh**, we get treated like sh**.
I think every emergency room should have a red back door that leads to an alley. When a nurse is assaulted just throw his azz out the back door. Either that or give them a band aid and off to jail you go! I have the greatest appreciation for hospital employee's,hats off to ya!
Take them straight to jail, put straight jackets on the head cases. No tax payer funded medical care for those with less than respectful behavior. The word will get out on the street and this behavior will stop. Simple, reward good behavior, punish bad behavior.
Consequences, a concept not so popular in the mommy state.
A nurse or hospital worker has the right to be protected from assults such as described in this article...and there should be no protection from Hospital administrators who ignore such violence...they should be sued for not protecting their workers or backing them up when they press charges against a patient.
Clearly you have not spent any "quality" time observing what goes on in hospitals.
Here's a scenario with which every ER nurse is well familiar:
EMS hauls butt in the door with an overdose....an OD who is not breathing, of course. ER staff sink a line and shoot said patient full of Narcan, and 45 seconds later the "grateful patient whose life they have just saved is swinging from the light fixtures and trying to kick the staff's butt because they have just ruined a (by the patient's standards) perfectly good high and put them into instant withdrawal.
What? You thought they would appreciate your efforts to preserve their life so they can go out and do it again tomorrow and AGAIN get a free shot at you?
Nurses face this and worse every single day and accept it as a matter of course. If they didn't, you would be going in and starting your own IV and mixing and giving your own life-saving treatment. And generally speaking, they don't make as much or enjoy the same level of benefits as the guy who drives the truck that collects your garbage.
I hate the narcan ones. they always get so pissed at us for ruining their "high". I say propofol to all of them!
Haha had a trauma surgeon in a bad mood one night, a drunk driver told him to suck his- um male parts- anyway the surgeon intubated him with no sedation and pulled it the next morning, told the guy next time to learn some manners. Of course he had killed a couple of people in that accident, sigh.
Ah...narcan...junkie liquid jesus. Back in the day we didn't even titrate the stuff. Just hit a vein, give a bolus and jump back. There's a great scene in the Nicholas Cage move "bringing out the dead". Not terribly accurate but taken from one of my calls. The real story was actually much funnier.
Well, there's always succinylcholine LOL. I mean, if all else fails......
Of course, it's not used to subdue a violent patient (it's a paralytic most often used during general anesthesia) but just the thought has brought a smile to my face more than once.
It sucks when adults can't behave like adults and it happens everyday. There is a HUGE lack of respect in people these days. It saddens me.
My hat's off to the EMT's and ER Nurses and Docs (Docs get assaulted too). They have saved my life more than more three times in the past 4 years. They are kind, caring, and efficient. The fact that they get assaulted is just horrible, and in some cases worse, is just appalling.. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that the hospitals should be putting these caregivers first.. Can you imagine going to work everyday knowing that today might be the day I get assualted? Being a police officer is different, they know what can happen - but a nurse? All they want to do is help you stay alive!!! Something needs to be done to protect these "angels"..
I've developed anxiety problems since recognizing what you're talking about and have had to adopt the mentality that any given shift I might just have so say, "nope... just not doing it. I quit." Job security is a distant second to personal security in this line of work. I'm so disillusioned and jaded by internal and external forces in healthCARE that I feel stupid for having gone into this line of work in the first place. Making a difference? pppfff, it's about not losing your license or getting fired.
There's a billboard for a healthcare group in my area that reads "If it's suppose to be healthcare, how come it feels like nobody cares?" The problems you hear sited in this thread is why.
Yarralumla, yep docs sure do get assaulted. One of our docs and I had a knife pulled on us while taking care of an ETOHer...