How can anybody think of hurting a nurse? I mean aren t they the good guys. There to help people who are suffering? Unfortunately we live in an aggressive world. People these days arent resolved to holding back their anger and as such who better to take it out on than the innocent looking well meaning nurse. Physical assaults on nurses and paramedics are on the increase. It is a symptom of society. The individual that attacks often feel that society has failed them and the nurse represents society for that moment. Hence the assault. There are also a lot of violent people out there too and have no qualms in throwing a punch or two when angry. But what can the nurse do. In this section I have chosen to break down the violent behavior into three different categories to simplify the matter. And each section will be dealt with individually so that whatever situation you may find yourself in you will be well equipped to deal with it.
These are:
Ÿ Verbal abuse
Ÿ Non-armed physical abuse
Ÿ Armed physical abuse.
Verbal abuse can be extremely upsetting for those unaccustomed to it. It can involve a lot of swearing a lot of name calling (i.e. personal attacks on your physiology, persona. It can be threatening in such you dont know where it is leading to and you dont know how to handle it. But as a nurse you will come across it on a regular basis. So you will have to get used to it. The best way to handle it is DO NOT REACT. The person venting their anger and frustrations upon you want a reaction but if they dont get it then they will usually back off. Keep your voice tone to a low pitched minimum. Do not be confrontative. This is a desired reaction of the aggressor. Do not be passive. This is a desired reaction too of the aggressor. No what you must do is maintain good eye contact. Position yourself at 45 degrees in stance to the aggressor. Speak calmly (not patronisingly as this will only infuriate the aggressor). And then you must try and identify their problem as quickly as possible. Do not bombard the aggressor with questions just make a few statements such as. “I will help you if you let me try and understand whats troubling you?” “You dont have to swear. I am listening and Ill do my best to help you.” If the aggressor persists in hurling abuse then you dont have to take it. Back way from them by saying. “If you refuse to let me help you then I shall ask for assistance in removing you from thebuilding.” Please read all the section in this chapter as it is vitally important that you know your environment fully before pressing home any counter aggressive statements. Once the verbal attack has gone I recommend you have 10 minutes out in a quiet room to relax. Nobody is a robot. And we all have thoughts and feelings. Identify how you feel and deal with it appropriately. Chilling out for a moment helps enormously.
Physical assaults on nurses are on the increase. Particularly in A+E departments. So from being the savior of the moment you quickly become the victim. This can be both shocking and emotionally upsetting for you if you are unlucky enough to be on the receiving end. There might be a million and one reasons why it happened and I could go into great depth as to pre-meditating factors and not picking up the early warning signals verbal and physical (E.g. Raised tone of voice, fists clenched, loss of blood to the face etc.) but that wont be any use to you once youve been physically assaulted. No Im more interested in how to help survive the emotional scar that may want you to question whether or not you are in the right job. First of all you need time out. Explain the situation to your line manager and have as much time as you need to recover. Dont let anyone put pressure on you to return to work. This will be sick pay and you have a right to it. It may be a day or two or a week or two but you will need time to recover (depending on the severity of the injury sustained). You could try and claim compensation but the likelihood is that you will just be reimbursed for a pair of broken glasses. First you must realize that you were unlucky. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. This could have happened to anyone (even the most experienced of nurses at some time have been physically assaulted). Secondly you must realize that„being on the front line means you are exposed and that you should in future make all efforts to protect yourself. This means increased self awareness. Knowing the early warning signs described before. And thirdly talk about your feelings. Dont be ashamed. Your colleagues will be full of admiration for you, and after a while pass this experience on to them so that they will be better equipped. Physical bruises disappear over time. Mental ones dont go that quickly so be nice to yourself, treat yourself to something nice, go on a holiday, throw a party do anything but dont dwell on the occurrence, you will only make yourself ill.
I remember earlier in my career as a psychiatric nurse an incident that happened whilst working as a charge nurse on an all male acute secure unit. This involved me being held hostage in the nurses office by two men with guns in their hands. Threatening to shoot me unless they got what they wanted (they were both highly elated and looked as if it was drug induced). For five minutes I felt as if I would never see my wife or children again. This was my last moment on earth. They wanted to be let off the ward. I had no support only a pregnant fellow nurse and a student female nurse and care assistant. With negotiation they agreed to wait for a doctor, but were still dancing around the office waving their guns. Eventually someone had managed to call for back up and several male nurses entered the ward and managed to get the patients to surrender (with a little restraint). The guns turned out not to be loaded. But I wasnt to know that. For weeks after I replayed the incident over and over in my head. Breaking out in a cold sweat and having vivid nightmares. I didnt take any time off work. I didnt talk to a counselor. I tried to block it out of my mind. All three were wrong actions. I know that now as again this could have been enough to put anyone off nursing. As described before there is a three pronged action programme after any assault. Firstly take time off work. As long as you need. Dont feel bad about this. Nobody else had to go through this. Only you. Only return to work when you are ready. Secondly ask to speak to a counselor. Let out all your thoughts and feelings to this person (this is what they are paid to do.) and thirdly talk to as many people as you can about how you feel. Dont bottle it up. Most people will be full of admiration for you. You survived where most might have crumbled. If you are unlucky enough like I was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people remember to not panic. Ÿ Keep your tone of voice calm and low pitched. Ÿ Look for escape points in the building. These include
doors and even windows.ŸIf you have a panic alarm… USE IT.