The Traumatized Nurse
I didn’t see it coming. Walking in his room the first thing I noticed was how poorly his IV was secured to his arm. I instinctively went to fix it. It caught me by surprise when he hurled his cup of ice water at me with a string of curses. He was a big man and his hand swung back like it was ready to follow with a direct hit. I dodged both and ran out of the room. I don’t remember his story. I don’t remember exactly what I did next. Did I call security? I do remember sitting at the desk watching my hands shake and feeling my heart pound as adrenaline dissipated. I do remember feeling vulnerable.
95% of healthcare workers have been verbally or physically assaulted.
There were two harrowing accounts recently of assault on nurses. One was held hostage and raped by a patient who was an inmate from the jail. The other was stabbed while triaging a patient in the ER. While both were terrible in their own right, the second has been on my mind as I spend a considerable amount of my time as a triage nurse in the ER- mere feet away from people that are unstable at best, at times outright dangerous. Recently I was with a man, rambling and sweating, moving impulsively and randomly trying to drink out of the sink, sloshing water everywhere. The male tech I was working with took his vital signs and left the room sliding the door shut with a thud. I looked at this paranoid man with his darting eyes and thought, this isn’t really that safe.
Vulnerable.
A friend from nursing school recently confessed to me that she quit. A teenager had died, possibly gang violence. His family was distraught. They became unruly. The security guard got her to come talk to them as the charge nurse. A family member punched her in the face. She walked out of that ER and she never walked back in. I think back on sitting in nursing school with our ideals and our bright eyes learning about ‘therapeutic communication’. Well, that class didn’t prepare us for assault.
Studies show the rates of PTSD in critical care staff is similar to that found in combat veterans.
Fucking bitch. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been called a fucking bitch. Falling on the ears of the naive Christian girl that never cursed so often that the shock quickly wore off. Every female I work with could say the same thing. Kicked at, scratched at, spit at, cursed at, lunged at. How thick can your skin get before it cracks? Or hardens into a kind of emotional scleroderma? I’ve had the failure of the American healthcare system placed squarely onto my shoulders by a red faced shouting man, who considering his vigor could probably have marched himself out the door to a date with his primary care doc. Studies have shown that when nurses are treated rudely by family members they perform worse. I believe every word of that. Want your nurse to miss your IV? Be super intimidating and warn them that they better get it “the first time“.
It wears us down. Just as disrespect and contempt in any and all settings wears people down. But then there are the thankful few. Those rare shining lights that help you remember what you got into it all for. So the next time you’re in the hospital, be polite. It can be overwhelming and scary, but we’re are on your side. And if you’re nice we will go all the extra miles for you. And if we are short or distant or robotic… just remember that we’re probably part of the 95%.
You are definitely a light in the dark places of those situations and the ER. Thank you for all you do!! Keep yourself safe!
I was threatened, and I will never be right again. I am homecare nurse and my patient had over 200 guns and 100,000 rounds of ammo in his home. I was forced to see him. One day while doing care he decides to tell me he is going to shoot me and that he had a loaded gun in his hand. I ran as fast as I could in a hoarders home. I will never be able to do homecare again I am suffering from PTSD and it’s not fair!!
Laura, that would do it for me. You poor thing. That is terrifying.
Or we have been pulled into a closet by some really important doctor or administrator and groped and kissed against our will. Knowing if we reported it, he stayed and we went. Then we put our happy face on and go answer the next call light when we feel like weeping!
Oh that’s never ok. I’m so sorry you endured that.
No job is ever worth that. I had a job at the hospital as a housekeeper before I became an aide. I had a Dr stick a note in my pocket, I was in shock honestly that’s the only reason I even let him slip it in my pocket. When I got it out & read it he was flirting with me. I had no idea what his intentions were & I knew if it escalated they would believe him over me in a heart beat.. So I reported it. And my manager didn’t believe me, but lucky for me he wrote the note on a prescription pad. She knew there was no way I had access to that so it had to be true. Surprisingly they actually did something about it. Don’t ever let anyone pressure you into anything, it’s not worth it. I am sorry you had to go through that.
I work with the elderly and believe me there is violence every shift The violence includes kicking, pinching, hitting, spitting, and the list is large with name calling and the list goes on. It unfortunately becomes expected which violence is not part of the job! Period
And the abuse by the physicians which paralyzes us from critical thinking in the moments we need it most. Add to that the lack of care or concern by the very leaders who say they’re “protecting us”. I couldn’t run a code last week after the surgeon was screaming at me and telling everyone it was my fault the patient was coding “f**king stupid nurses”. I quit. No more for me. Between patient and physician abuse and the lack of care by administrators I wouldn’t wish this career choice on anyone. Oh…and I’ve won multiple awards and accolades, so I know I was a damn good nurse.
I am so sorry this has happened to you. I have been in healthcare for 29 years. I have been threatened by family members, verbally assaulted by patients, physically assaulted by a physician, and watched numerous cases of verbal assaults from patients and providers alike toward other nurses. We go in to nursing to help others, and while I know we see people on their worst days, but to be treated like dirt when we are working hard to help them is frustrating and depressing. I want to help them feel better, assist them through their worst times, and i truest want to help them recover. I have spent time in PTSD counseling, on antidepressants, and with more sleepless nights than I can count, yet I can’t imagine doing anything else- I am not sure what that says about me.
You have captured how I feel on any given workday. Thank you for a poignant and articulate article. Be safe.
Dear Nursing in MA…Please continue to do your jobs the best possible. I’ve seen first hand,multiple times,how difficult the ER nursing job has become due to staffing and how overloaded the facilities have become. I also remember saying to some nursing that it was insane to work in those conditions. They agreed and stated how it was like that “All the time”…I also remember that the Nurses staff doing an “Excellent”job under very,very, difficult and dangerous situations. That is not the only area…The actual floor nurses have a difficult and overloaded jobs as well. Not being able to have a conversation about care or conditions with nursing with a loved one within a reasonable amount of time was impossible. I do understand how difficult the conditions have become, because of under staffing. All the nursing would continue to say is… “I be right with you” . I giving Nursing a extreme amount of credit in performing there jobs under unbelievable conditions….”Always with a smile, even though it maybe difficult and stressful to achieve…” So PLEASE Vote yes on question for your healthcare and mine.”
Abused MANY times by pts, but most of the time they were not responsible for their behavior because they were altered. Just learned to accept it over time.
What I cannot get used to is the verbal abuse and threats by family members of patients and bullying by doctors.
I switched from inpatient child psych to school nursing in an elementary school. In inpatient had a visibly irate drunk father try to get on our unit. He called the unit threatening to kill me. Went on until he described my car and license plate #. Called the police. He was arrested for something unrelated. In psych, threats and physical ‘stuff’ and verbal abuse is expected. In school nursing, nurses are still vulnerable and with no ‘security’ to call. Was threatened by a parent when I reported visible belt buckle bruises on a child’s legs and buttocks. Police were called. So disturbing that we’re concidered fair game.
I am not a nurse however having been a hospital patient a time or two or more there is no doubt it is nurses that stand on the front line. They deal, up close and personal, with all issues medically, physically, emotionally and beyond. From a patient perspective the doctor or PA breeze in, review the chart, see the patient and update the chart with notes and instructions for the nurse to implement and follow. I realize that’s a very simplistic description but my point is doctors & PAs don’t always have the same patient experience , wtherefore they often do not see or understand from a nurses perspective. With all of that said it seems it is time to address and enhance hospital security from every level. Any professional, nurses, lab & X-ray techs, must be protected. How can they provide good medical care if their #1 thought is “am I safe”? Security for patients must be a high priority as well. Have you ever lain in a hospital bed, recovering from surgery or injury, knowing that the only safety between you and the family, friends and enmities of the gang banger in the next room is the few nurses and aids in the night shift? Or waited in the empty surgical lounge in the middle of the night while your loved one under goes emergency surgery? And while waiting watched a person, obviously high on something, scrounge through the trash, pull out used coffee grounds and eat them? Yet during the entire 4 hours never once seeing another person (security?). With all my words and descriptions, what I am saying is adding better security and protection for all, including nurses, will go a long way in keeping quality talent and medical care. Come on hospitals stop spending money on stupid stuff like fancy barbeque equipment for executive gatherings (true example!) and put it where it belongs . . . SECURITY !!!
Being an ICU nurse, I completely agree with you, but unfortunately, it will never change, because Hospitals are now turning into Marriotts. The whole focus is HCAP scores, which dictates the funding hospitals receive based on the “customers” ratings during their stay. We are saving a person’s life, not making sure they have a mint placed under their pillow! The things we see in a 12 hour shift, and do to help our patients, most people can not even fathom. So why are we treated so poorly? It is extremely disheartening…..thank you for your support, we need more people like you to advocate for us!
Thank you for this reply. It means a lot to hear your perspective and your perspective on what we go through. You are absolutely correct we need more security. We now have robot sitters, i.e. cameras on a stick to “babysit” patients to keep them safe (no doubt 10s of thousands if not 100’s went into these technologies), but we don’t care to put any safeguards up for staff like that even after serious injury after serious injury occurs by patient on staff violence. But a fall or accident with a patient costs money. A debilitating injury to staff most likely costs very little and they can be replaced. It’s always about the bottom line.
This is so true unfortunately. I worked in neurosciences for many years and people who have injuries can be be combative, verbally abusive and the families as well. Restraining patients became a big issue. There seemed like nothing was being done to protect us. Nursing is a very emotional and physically job. Trying to avoid physical damage and emotional damage is hard to do. More education about violence and when to have back up is necessary for nurses safety. I feel ER is not the place for young inexperience nurses as they have not had time to deal with the publics expectations from them. Life experiences help you read people who are pretty unpredictable in the situation they have no control over. It’s sad to say more nurse leave and do other jobs that are less stressful.
F&$# yes. This is 1000% true. No sugar coating. I’m a guy who has had feces shoved in his mouth. Which totally sucked. But not knowing where, when or how you will be physically battered or verbally assaulted is definitely not covered in therapeutic communication. This was a good, honest read. Certainly isn’t glorious. Probably never was. Being told by those that apparently know better to always make sure the patient doesn’t get between you and the door, or word things differently so as not to offend or set them off doesn’t cut it. But these external stressors are going to push people away, then who will do the care? It’s not far off… already seeing it for health care aides, PSW’s, RPN’s and RN’s in my neck of the woods.
As a corrections nurse I’ve been verbally abused and called every nasty name under the sun. I have also been standing right next to an officer when they were assaulted by an irate inmate. It’s terrifying to be so close to violence and craziness on a daily basis. It definitely takes a toll on a nurse’s mental health.
I am so sorry you’re going through this. Please be sure to get the support you need. At The Silent No More Foundation, we can help.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthcareworkersprotectionact/
We have been silent for so long about the prevalence of healthcare workplace violence that most people don’t realize how much this happens. We have decided we will be #silentnomore. #JoinUs to be part of the solution!! Healthcare workplace violence effects every one!!
https://m.facebook.com/SilentNoMoreFoundationInc/
I was stabbed in the chest by a patient 6 years ago. I spent 5 days on the surgical unit with a chest tube. I’m still fighting anxiety and PTSD. I have constant anxiety that flairs for no apparent reason. I never thought I would look for other avenues to practice nursing.
Nurses are not just assaulted in the ER andhospitals. It happens EVERYWHERE. I can’t begin to tell to how many horrible names I’ve been called and how many times I’ve been hurt by a patient or one of their family members. I am so tired of it that I’m seriously considering a career change after 20 years of committing my life to the safety and care of others. Another thing I’m tired of is lay people saying it’s just a part of our job. No. It. Isn’t.
LeAnn I agree with you 100%! NO ONE should expect to be physically assaulted at their job. I have also heard laypeople shrug this off like its no big deal. They have no clue what we have to go through.
We are valuable people too .
Stand strong. You chose an occupation to help. I’ve been on the other side of the fist. You are a strong woman. Seen me deal with black magic. Dropped to the ground to let evil slide off my shoulder and get up and continue on. Dig deep you are a valued woman. Strength comes from within. You have it.
I am retired but when i was working as a nurse I used to call the thankful few you mentioned my psychological paychecks. Thank goodness I never encountered any of the above but feel horrible for those who did and do.
I am a retired nurse who spent many years of my 35 year career in charge of a busy ICU. An integral part of that role included my presence on the hospital-wide Code Blue team – sometimes spending hours of my shift in the ever-so-aptly named ‘Trauma Room’. Last year, following a personal trauma, a cascade of professional ‘traumas’ came flooding back and I found myself navigating the murky waters of PTSD. I have written a soon to be published book describing my healing journey – highlighting the fact that nurses, with the exception of one Canadian province, are still not acknowledged as first responders to trauma !!!
Please share the name of your book
I am a retired nurse who spent over 30 of my 40 years in the ER. I do know the abuse verbally and emotionally took its toll and was one of the main reasons that I retired at age 62. The physical abuse seemed to be escalating and I felt that we were ” fair game” for anyone who walked in the door. The security we had, which at the most was 2 or 3 guys for the entire place, never wanted to touch anyone or assist with restraints. Never felt safe and found knives and guns on several patients and families while they were in the ER. Personally I got out before anything happened to me and have empathy for those dealing with all this.
I retired from Nursing at 63 … loved my career, loved the challenges, different personalities of my patients. Every one had their own way of dealing with a hospitalization. The ones striking out …they seemed to be the ones feeling most out of control, and afraid. When I realized that .. I was able to reassure many of these patients. Giving them time to air their real fears, educating them on what, when, and where all would take place made a difference. How we would manage their pain was also a big issue, safety was actually second. Horror stories told to me about family members surgeries , decades ago had to be quelled.
Many say that patients cannot be held responsible for their aggressive behavior because they are altered in some way. When a police officer is faced with an “altered individual” who is threatening them, they are able to use force to control the individual and don’t just blow it off as altered behavior.
I wonder, too, if a nurse hurts a patient while protecting him or herself, how will the nurse be treated? Many of us have this question. One colleague I was speaking with just last week said that when she was assaulted on her way into the unit she kept thinking, even as she was on the ground under the person, that she couldn’t hurt him or she would be fired.
I know an RN who was fired for quote unquote excessive force against a combative or. The patient was not harmed it was an instinctual reaction. The ban him from any of their corporate hospitals and were trying to go after his license.
Totally! I am an ER nurse and have had all that happen. Derogatory comments from docs(not in my er, but on the floor), patients hitting on me (old, so it was ok?), urine thrown at me, scratched, bitten, kicked, cussed at, a couple of my co-workers are permanently on disability due to psych pts, our ERs are now filled with psych pts that we have to deal with for 3 days,without proper protection or safety for us. They say just call a code grey and call the cops….ok really…what do we do with the person while we wait for the cops??? The job is hard enough emotionally and physically, now throw psych pts in on top of it……ugh!! They are more challenging than some ICU pts I’ve had…the mental game they play for 12 hrs…..ugh! Is anything being done by our government or the states???? NO!!!! I’M OVER IT!!! moving on to another career.
So glateful I found a job that allowed me to walk away from the bedside. I will never go back.
I retired at the age 57 just because I was able financially even though I liked what I was doing but the abuse from some patients and their families was just too much. I worked the nursery, mother-baby, a few years of med-surg and then psych. We do have supportive security and even trained people with dogs, but there where times that we couldn’t touch a patient until they became violent. The day that I retired, which it was planned and anticipated I saw a patient stricked a physician on the face and then punched another nurse that fell on the floor unconscious for a few seconds. We have a non-locked unit so we don’t supposed to have dangerous patients. The young man had history of assaulting his father, but with only a few hospitals around the area we end up with all kinds of patients. I only retired because of the violence and my own psychological trauma. I documented every single threat, attack or verbal abuse, I hanged up on a woman over the phone when she verbally abuse me because I couldn’t help her to admit her child or that I couldn’t arrange her child’s psych/drug care over the phone, At that point I did not care if they fired me or not. I have three daughters and I encouraged them not to be nurses, two of them are in the health care professions and they too have been abused. It happens everywhere but hospitals are the worst.
This was very good. Thank you for sharing. I have been called f______ b—-! I have been hit in face where glasses fell off my head. I have been bullied by family members and treated with cruelty by coworkers in a Dialysis Clinic. After these episodes, it made me feel poorly about myself and my performance was poor. It is shining and gives me the shakes. I love nursing and have never quit, but I consider the danger in this field frequently.
Wow. Beautifully said. I’ve. Even a nurse for 30 years and the level of violence nurses and care providers has certainly changed.
While it is never OK to be treated with disrespect or to be physically or verbally assaulted I used to justify it as often as I could. I took care of veterans at the VA hospital for over 30 years before I retired and I used to remind myself that these veterans gave so much of themselves and many suffered from PTSD. I reminded myself that they felt poorly and I let them slide with behaviors that I would never have accepted from general population.
For the most part my veterans were kind and appreciative and so easy to love and to care for. Just realizing that they gave so much of themselves was enough to make me continue giving more and more of myself all of the time. I could not do that if I worked in the private sector. I don’t know how people tolerate regular civilians treating you like that .
I worked in corrections for 13 years before my recent retirement at age 68. I have also worked in psych for 20 yeas. All of these descriptions sound all too familiar. I’ve been called every name in the book, experienced feeling threatened and intimidated by physicians unreasonable demands and dealt with threatening patients.
Assaulted once in the prison; had to respond more times than
I can count to inmates, cutting themselves, swallowing or inserting objects and people just out of control. Can’t say how grateful I am to be retired and finally free from the stress.
I love being a nurse, but am only now realizing the toll all of this has taken on me.
Unreal! Nurses are phenomenal people and do so much work and are so kind. It seems like many have a calling to help
Others. To be disrespected is an outrage. What kind of a world are we living in?
I have been off work for almost a year from a wrist fracture/tendon tear while working with an aggressive patient. Nobody cares, not the government, not the employer, not management. Until they start to value the lives of health care workers, this will continue. The abuse from patients/residents and /or their families is allowed to happen with few protocols, policies or supports in place.
These stories are shocking, but to most are simply that. Stories. Working in an institute that demands silence allows the employer/government to hide most of what goes on behind closed doors, leaving the staff vulnerable and with few places to turn to for help. Seeking internal support usually falls on deaf ears, or simply glosses over the issue without implementing anything to ensure such stories cease to happen.
Until we matter, we will continue to suffer.
No one should have to experience that.
Please acknowledge, you are trained to deal with these kinds of patients. If you cannot handle this, leave the profession. The difference between you and the patient is you have a voice, resources and credibility and a union to back you up.
Our system needs a change for more support.
Don’t take it out on the patient
Don’t treat certain patients better because they have the capability to be “nicer” to you. That’s not being a good nurse at all.
I am so sorry you are experiencing this. It doesn’t have to affect your job. There is help and supportive counselling.
Much love.
Nurses are NOT “trained” to handle spontaneous assaults. We “handle it” because we have to. We don’t always have unions to back us, and our voices may not be heard over docs, administrators, etc. Too often, money rules…
FYI we do not “choose” to be assaulted. We “chose” to care for people. There is never a time anyone in the medical field signed up to be physically or verbally attacked. And unions are only in a select few states. We get paid very little to put up with a lot which we do usually with a happy giving heart. But never ever is there a time we should be expected to tolerate violent behavior.
we are not trained “to deal with these kinds of patients.” I do not have a voice, resources, or credibility nor a union. there is no support. I NEVER “take it out on the patient.” I am a good nurse to all my patients. And all of this DOES affect my job, my life, my family. There is no help and supportive counseling. Reporting is made difficult. So keep your “much love” to yourself. I need to go and wash my arm that was mauled by a patient, and do my exercises to strengthen my hand, both of which were injured trying to keep a violent ID patient from hurting themselves and others. Have a great night. Because even though you don’t understand, if you should become my patient, I will serve you to the best of my ability.
Thanks for sharing. Well written article. I have never seen so much horizontal violence anywhere else like that which exists in hospitals. Its shocking. I take my hat off to those who take up nursing as a profession. You should be paid ten times what you are currently being paid. I have been a paramedic for 27 years but never found myself in a situation where I have been physically assaulted or not been able to back out although I have plenty of colleagues who have been assaulted. I think its only now coming to light the traumatic emotional effect that we face in providing emergency medicine. I thinks its awesome that the stories are coming out though and would encourage everyone to share their encounters.
I see this pretty much every day I work. I work in acute care. Long term care and ER. And so true it hardens you. That u unfortunately u start to loose your sympathy or compassion towards people. Sad but true. People come in and think they can say and do what they want to us nurses and we CANT say anything back. Enough of the abuse towards us. We r there to help and that’s why obviously u have come to the hospital. Well hopefully that’s why
I was punched in the face by a Labor patient. I was “ talked to” by management for refusing to continue to care for the patient. 🙄
The saddest part to me is that it didn’t used to be this way! I’ve been a nurse forever and there was a time where patients and families were so appreciative of our care and showed it! The abuse heaped in healthcare providers these days is systemic and part of our deteriorating and highly entitled culture. I sound like an old lady and I’m not. I’ve just had it and look forward to retiring as soon as I can .
Robin, I am an old lady 🙂 and as I was reading the stories being shared I kept thinking about the change in our society and the lack of civility that has been steadily creeping into our interactions. I see it everywhere where people are serving people: the bank, the supermarket, clothing store, toy store, etc…. but nothing compares to the incivility I have seen at the hospital. Patients are in distress, yes, but so are many others in the waiting room at the ER, and they don’t act out in a violent way while they wait their turn! But some patients fly off in rages, and they attack the hospital staff (including the security guards when they intervene) verbally and sometimes even physically. I have witnessed it, and I am amazed by the courage and restrain of the hospital staff in dealing with these situations; especially the nurses, since they are the first ones to come into contact with the abusive patients/families. I feel that the inability to put oneself in the other person’s shoes for a moment (and imagine how the staff member’s day may have been like) on the part of customers and patients leads to the selfish approach that is more and more prevalent in our society, where they feel that only their wishes/needs matter. At the hospital I go to the triage area has glass walls and the security guard sits right in front of it, so he can see/hear right away if something is going on, and quickly intervene. Once you are inside the ER caring area, though, the nurses and doctors are more vulnerable. I think that may be the reason why hospitals are trying to recruit more male nurses?
I am a male nurse and have worked in the ER and ICU and I have had my fair share of patients who were unruly, but being of a size that I can manage myself and I know if needed I can….I have come into a room to see my fellow female nurse picking herself off the floor and the wall behind her had her body imprint in it, and the patient in the bed is a big fella who thinks he can act out like a spoiled child. I grabbed his wrists and forced him down into the bed and then asked the nurse he just tossed to get restraints and call the doctor to put in the order. That patient earned himself a time out…I had another patient who was high on synthetic Marijuana and the nurse who was assigned to him was 7 months pregnant. The patient was out of his bed and needed to get back into bed for his safety he was unstable. As the pregnant nurse escorted him and got him into bed he attempted to kick her in the belly. I rushed in and put myself between her and him as he proceeded to get out of bed again. Told her to call for the hospital police and I stood my ground between him and the door to his room. The patient attempted to ram me with his body at the same time tried to sneak a punch in, but was unsuccessful and bounced off of me and hit the wall, he then proceeded to get in my face and said he could break my neck if he wanted. I stood my ground until I knew the police were there and then allowed him to leave the room. The officers escorted him into his room, but when he tried to sucker punch one of the officers he was immediately placed in his bed and once again I applied restraints and 4 pointed this patient. I had another patient who was getting a dressing change done by the surgeon and the patient did not care for the pain that was associated with the removal of the old dressing and he doubled up a fist and raised it ready to hit the surgeon in the face while he was unaware. I grabbed the patients wrist and held it firm, and told him we do not act this way when the doctor is trying to help you. The patient gave me a look like he wanted to take a shot at me as well. Later on we became friends, but at that moment he was not a happy man. I have always looked out for my fellow nurses and will protect them like family.
This makes me so sad. The only time I personally have been in the hospital was when I recently gave birth. I had a rather traumatic labor and delivery. Every single nurse I encountered during my stay was amazing in their own unique way. They all took care of me at a time where I was scared and vulnerable and I will always be grateful for their hard work. To all you nurses out there, thank you for all the care you give. You have an incredibly hard job that many people, myself included, could not last one day in. Keep your hearts warm but guarded. You are appreciated, maybe not by every person you encounter, but there is likely at least one who will remember your care forever.
Wow…isn’t this the truth…being an RN suffering from severe pain in my shoulder every day of my life. A patient in the ER attacked me/threw me down to the floor because she didn’t want her blood drawn from being arrested from a DUI. Here I am 8 yeas later still dealing with the chronic pain and PTSD from it all. Which I’m now realizing is nothing compared to these nurses being stabbed and raped…when are nurses going to get the protection they need in the ER?!??!!!!
Great story and the sad part is it is VERY VERY TRUE Only working 3 /13 he shifts per wk I am verbally abused on average at least once per shift.I might add I work in a Emergency Room with NO SECURITY at all
How about abuse from fellow nurses that is so bad, you want to vomit and can’t sleep because your anxiety is out of hand knowing you have to work that night? 😢
I am so sorry you have gone through it. Counseling helps me. I too am in a job with spitting, punching, head butting etc. I am a teacher for adolescents who are aggressive and autistic. I am trained to deal with the difficult situations. I have had my nose broken, multiple concussions and my arms have been scratched up. The training is everything. If your heart is in it, take efforts to have similar training. Know you do a job that many cannot. You make a difference. You clearly care and are extraordinarily. I have been teaching for 20 years and love it. I love to reach the unreachable. I have seen many come and go burnt out. If you are burnt out, I encourage you to switch positions. It gets worse not better. Know you will make a difference in a different way. Educate the public. Be strong regardless.
Social Worker Mental health home check on a months old baby. There were pit bulls and a huge boa constrictor in the home. The best we could do was get a promise the door to where the baby was would be kept closed. Leaving that baby and walking away was hard.
My best friend and mentor who was a seasoned nurse was assaulted in a drug situation. Her c-spine was injured and during surgery she had a stroke. She now has left side weakness, short term memory loss, and she is just not the person she used to be. I have seen doctors look to her for advice on sick patients . She will never be able to be a nurse again. She has to hang index cards throughout her home just to remind her how to do things such as use the microwave. Guess what Comp doesn’t feel like the stroke is their problem. This incident has made no change in our hospital. I now have a friend that is 58 years old and we are unable to do all of the fun things that we used to do together. She is 58 going on 78. She isn’t even able to have her grandchildren with her when she is alone. It is possible that she may forget to turn an oven off. She is unable to drive any longer. Her whole
Life has changed. And there have been no changes anywhere else!!! Makes you think twice about being a nurse!
We don’t have security, he was laid off to save a buck. We have a panic button, press and wait for police to show up😳
Very sad state we are in and what has happened to civility and courtesy? Basically thrown out the window. I stayed in nursing almost 40 years but not in a hospital environment the last 30.
Sadly, I left ICU shortly after a physician yelled at me in rage and then hit me. I left because the ICU supervisor and hospital admin did not support me or my complaint against the dr.
As bad as that was, can’t imagine taking it now from patients and families on a regular basis.
My heart is with all of you serving still!
I feel for you. Unfortunately all too common. I have only been nursing 5 years but although i do cop abuse from people when they are unwell it is nothing near this. I wouldnt do ER for this and other reasons, public ward is enough stress. I consider myself very lucky the majority of the time at work i feel supported and paid relatively well. It sounds like nursing in America would be a lot worse than Australia. I hope you receive the support you deserve and if not,vote and fight for a government that will improve the system
Reading this is so sad and scary. I do not understand people who demand respect and the best care by being disrespectful, rude, threatening, and violent. It makes me worry about my daughter, Sandra, who’s a nurse. Also my granddaughter who is in nursing school now. I was a nurseaid for yrs and saw enough bad behavior. I’ve been cussed at, kicked, hit, pinched, scratched, had food and drinks thrown at me. But thank goodness I had more nice appreciative patients. Thank you to all the hard working healthcare staff. I wish you the best.