I was working for a catholic
based hospital that had mandatory education for the treatment of
"difficult patients" , one of the charge nurses on the medical floor was
lecturing about a patient that they had on the floor for a number of
months and she was telling us about how he was a diabetic who was alert
and oriented and as the nurses would enter his room he would throw the
insulin syringes at them like darts. She went into this elaborate plan
that include behavior modification and positive rewards for good
behavior. After about 15 minutes of being totally dumbfounded I had to
speak up. I explained to her that if that behavior occurred outside the
4 walls of the hospital that it would be considered assault, the police
would be involved and an arrest would be made, and why would we ever
accept that kind of behavior from anyone whether they are in the
hospital or not! I say hold them responsible for their actions. What
the world do we pay security for anyway? If we are not safe to enter a
patients room then that patient needs to be held accountable and placed
in the appropriate facility, which may not be their first choice.
Here's a petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/the-governor-of-ca-tougher-penalties-for-nurse-assaults
Hello Rene,
ReplyDeleteI am just trying to figure this blogging out. I have a hard enough time on Facebook. Will try again tomorrow. Been a long day!!!
Rene,
ReplyDeleteI worked in a psychiatric facility where we were just suppose to accept being hit, kicked, spit at and bit by the children. Since the children were under the age of 12 we were not allowed to press charges since they were minors. If we wanted we could press charges against the parents but the facility would not assist us. The only time the facility accepted responsibility was when the child drew blood when they bit us. We got to have free HIV testing. To this day I have problems with my neck from being kicked by a child. We should hold patients, even children, responsible for their actions. Donna B. RN