Today I read in the newspaper about a nurse, who while working in a Massachusetts hospital,called a waiting patients name to see the ER. doctor, the man was so angry he tried to pick up the computer and throw it at the her when he could not he jumped over the desk and began punching her in the face,the ER staff came to her rescue and security had the man in hand cuffs by the time the police arrived.When asked why he did this he said because he was tired of waiting.
Tell me when did it become alright to abuse the people trying to help you because you feel inconvenienced?
On Christmas day one of my patients brother called to say he was picking him up for lunch,when he arrived I had every thing ready for him to take his brother out.About 15 minutes later the brother stormed back on to the floor swearing at the top of his lungs about having to wait for the elevator.He wanted all the kitchen staff fired for tying up the elevator to serve the meal trays.He threatened to walk his brother down the stairs.I ran to the next floor to get the elevator and send it to our floor all the while the man continued his profanity.when i got the elevator to our floor,the man had already started walking his brother down the stairs,cane and all.I ran to assisted the patient while his brother continued to tell me about his rights and how he was being jerked around.
Why, you may ask ,did i let this man take his brother to the car? because i was afraid to be pushed down the stairs by the brother and hit with a metal cane by the 63 year old patient, who insisted he was going,I had no supervisor to call for help nor did i have any security to back me up.yes i could have called the police but the man was so out of control i feared for my safety while waiting for their arrival.
This sort of stuff is just not right no one should have to be afraid to be hurt by someone who is out of control and may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.I am a nurse not a security guard my job is to help people not defend myself.How have we come to the point were we think it is alright to verbally or physically abuse those we feel are putting us out of our way and making us wait.No medical person deserves to be abused for doing their jobs.its very hard to get and keep good medical professionals if these people feel threatened they will move on to other jobs,if you think the wait to see a doctor or nurse practitioner is long now imagine how long your wait will be when their are fewer of them.
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2 comments:
You should be allowed to carry pepper spray. No, the abuse is not right, people are abused just about everywhere. Because you can't expect all people to be nice, you have got to prepare yourself. My grandmother used to tell me to carry a big hat pin. I did.
we are not allowed has nurses to carry anything like that but one of the nurses i work with holds a brown belt in karate and she was with me that day,so it made me feel better.
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