Some Days You're The Pigeon...(Part I)

Quote from VivaLasViejasI sometimes wonder whether he would have been dealt with more harshly had he threatened a group of physicians.

Some very terrific articles being written for spot lately. Kudos to the talented authors!

i'll 2nd. that emotion~

Could you anonymously have tried to call 911 (pretend you're going to the bathroom) and get him arrested for death threats?Has anyone been in a similar situation where they called outside police (not the hospital police) because they felt like hospital police wouldn't do much and can't make any arrests (they can't, right? ), and then have management try to find out who it was? Or it turned out fine? Sadly, there is the worry that management would then go after the staff member who called the outside police, even though it was in the interest of everyone's safety. Any input on this? Thanks!

I don't know, because things never went that far. I couldn't dial 911 because he was waving a pistol around and I was standing there with my hands in the air, trying desperately to talk some sense into him. Thankfully the Code 5 (violent patient/visitor) button was right there and I hit it when the guy turned away to yell at a nurse to go get his baby. Anyway, the campus police and Security were there within a minute. I always wondered how I'd handle it if anyone ever pointed a firearm at me; I figured they wouldn't have to shoot because I'd drop dead from fright. But I didn't, and life went on. We made the late news, though.....

Yet another awesome article, this is something that is always on my mind; especially after a staff meeting where we got yet another lecture on our HCAPS surveys...or whatever they are called. I am very sorry that the patient did not perceive their room as "clean," despite housekeeping making rounds several times a day. Now they have to tell the patient "your room has now been sanitized" every time they mop the floor. I ask patients about their pain every time I walk into the room, yet according to the surveys, our patient's pain control is inadequate.Commuter has an excellent point. Can you imagine waving a gun at a bank teller? You would be arrested on the spot, with every news channel on the scene within the hour.

Viva, wonderful work, as usual. Can't wait for the next installment.

Quote from RDRN5Could you anonymously have tried to call 911 (pretend you're going to the bathroom) and get him arrested for death threats?Has anyone been in a similar situation where they called outside police (not the hospital police) because they felt like hospital police wouldn't do much and can't make any arrests (they can't, right? ), and then have management try to find out who it was? Or it turned out fine? Sadly, there is the worry that management would then go after the staff member who called the outside police, even though it was in the interest of everyone's safety. Any input on this? Thanks!

years ago, i had a patient's husband threaten to "fix everyone's problem with one of these" as he held up a 9mm semi-automatic hand gun. campus security was called, they called the police and the guy was taken into custody. he had a trunk full of long guns and the coffee mug that he carried around all day contained straight jack daniels. he was arrested at midnight and was back visiting by 0600 because "he says he won't do anything, and we have his guns." interestingly, he had a revolver when he came back to visit. our manager said, and i'm paraphrasing here, "it's different because he's from montana. everyone in montana carries guns." my friend ernie was a nursing supervisor, and was called to the med/surg floor to talk to a patient who was upset about his insurance coverage. when ernie got shot in the posterior, it rated a half paragraph in an inside page of the newspaper. when a physician was shot at johns hopkins a couple of years ago, it was "breaking news". regular programming was interrupted and it was all over the internet, radio and television. it was front page news in national newspapers. ernie was an rn. look how different it is when an md gets shot.

waitaminnit...hunky doctors, long coffee breaks, big bucks? where? where? sheesh, i knew i shoulda interviewed at more hospitals. though i did get to make out with a hot xray transport guy when i was a cna one summer. does that count?

So true. And if you say anything to administration, like maybe this resident needs a psych ward and not a nursing home, well..."it's all in your approach." Until they smack the social services person and then they end up placed elsewhere. Makes you kinda feel like the nursing staff doesn't matter.

our alarm system in our facility along with our call bells have been down for about a month, so much for safety being first priority. If the employees aren't safe how are we supposed to protect our residents and do our regular duties?