It landed directly in my left eyeball.
With a squidgy pop
My eyeball is starting to fill with blood.
Hazards of the job, we nurses say
All too common hazards.
In 36 years nursing I have been threatened with violence hundreds of times.
I have been thumped, kicked, and slapped
I have had my hair pulled out by a patient who also managed to rip my epaulets off and I have been throttled by a drunk in A&E .
I have been hit by a vase, a full bag of urine and once had a turd lobbed at the back of my head so hard it splattered over a a group of nurses I was sharing a tea break with
( the rest of it slid down the back collar of my uniform)
I have been spat upon by an angry hepatitis patient, knocked down a fire escape and had my glasses smashed by a crazy relative of one of my staff as I sat on a date in Sheffields All Bar One
Never a dull moment
You shouldn't have had to put up with it, but I bet they were vastly outnumbered by people who still remember you gratefully, Hope there is no lasting damage to your eye.
ReplyDeleteConfused patients lash out occasionally , it happens
DeleteOh gosh John... I'm not sure what to say.. I only hope they didn't realise what they were doing.. My mum's in aged care and her mental state is rapidly deteriorating. Hope I never have to confront her attacking the very people dedicated to her wellbeing. Hugs x
ReplyDeleteOf course they didn't, I wasn't complaining, just saying
DeleteOuch. I hope that any damage is minor and repairable. Sadly front line staff in toooo many important professions are attacked.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry this happened to you John. I hope your new job will be without these kind of incidents! x
ReplyDeleteLol, it happens to nurses, but so more often to police, paramedics, firemen , even retail staff
DeleteDo you get combat pay? Can you get special insurance to cover things?
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteDo you want a caption for this one too?
ReplyDeleteGorgeous John ?? Lol
DeleteOuch, do take care.
ReplyDeleteGood lord. And I thought tube workers had it bad! I hope you are adequately compensated (financially, emotionally, spiritually) to make up for all that chaos.
ReplyDeleteI forgot how bad transport staff have it
DeleteWorkplace health and safety should be the top priority. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be anymore. Hope your sore eye heals quickly.
ReplyDeletePerhaps an armour plated HazMat suit could be proposed as a new uniform for health professionals. Hope your eye feels better today.
ReplyDeleteOh, god! So sorry. Hope you're not in too much pain and hope you recover quickly... and get out of there! What a list of misadventures. But the worst by far is having your epaulets ripped off. How traumatic.
ReplyDeleteNo pain
DeleteThe ripping of the the epaulets reminded me of that tv series BRANDED when the arm captain ( chuck ?) gets them ripped off by the general after being court marshalled
I had completely forgotten the show Branded, but the moment i saw your reply the theme song popped back into my head. The ripped off his buttons, too. Chuck Connors with his jacket open, walking out of the fort was forever branded on my memory. Thanks for rekindling!
DeleteWhoa! You should get Hazardous Duty pay for your job.
ReplyDeleteYou are either the most dedicated nurse I have ever heard of , you are an angel or you are just crazy!
ReplyDeleteI think you are a crazy dedicated angel💕
Get real lol
DeleteIt happens to 1000s of nurses daily
One of my nephews ended up in Casualty several times when he worked as a carer in a home for disturbed young adults - once, he even had a broken arm. His attitude was "The resident couldn't help it.". I suspect many nurses feel like that, with patients whose minds aren't what they were, but drunks in A&E are a different matter altogether. You need danger money!
ReplyDeleteI need better eyesight and reflexes lol
DeleteHopefully hospice care will be less dangerous! You have certainly been put through enough! 😊
ReplyDeleteHope you have a peaceful and quiet Sunday!
Dying patients can suffer delerium
DeleteYes, that is so true! Well, being a good scout ... be prepared! 😊
DeleteHugs from hot Colorado!
You should get hazard pay.
ReplyDeleteMy first day doing a clinical at the county facility for the mentally ill when I was in nursing school, a young woman actually jumped on my back. I was a bit terrified. Trial by fire but she turned out to become quite dear to me. I still think of her.
I was once saved from a beating by a very poorly psychiatric patient by another patient who seeing the drama unfold hit him with achair
DeleteAwww John. You didn't deserve that. Feel better.
ReplyDeleteIt happens , and is part of the job, in my case
DeleteSo sorry to see this John but I am very aware of the abuse that nurses go through. I can understand a little regarding people with dementia or mental illness but unforgivable regarding everyone else. Makes me so angry that I would love to show up in a dog catchers truck, put that collar on a long pole around their neck and drag them out in a humiliating way. Dump them in a cage and tell them to stay there if they want to act like a rabid animal. Sorry for the rant but nurses are there to help us and should be treated with absolute gratitude and respect. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteThe worst area is in ER , those guys need a medal xx
DeleteWe can't wait for you to start the new job!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a pain free day today.
BTW it seems your cottage is not listed for sale, a good sign - I think?
Watch this space
DeleteOuch! Hope your eye recovers quickly so you're not bothered with it for very long.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a petite woman, so perhaps that is why I was spared those kinds of trauma during my nursing career. The worse thing that happened to me was a patient who had been bitten by a rattlesnake threw up on me. Ick! The patient couldn't help it and he felt worse about it than I did.
Hugs!
I worked psychriatry which had its fair number of incidents but the most by far have been hypoxic patients on itu and drug patients either coming round after OD
DeleteI know it's always been an issue, but i think it's much more common today. As you know I've spent a fair amount of time in the hospital (big medical centers), and on both cardiac and GI floors one of the most common pages is "Code Grey", the code for unruly patient.
ReplyDeleteGreat code Brown for a bed full of poo
DeleteWas it one of the Randa girls or more likely Cameron The Teenage Boffin throwing his weight around again?
ReplyDeleteConfused 88 year old great grand mother !
DeleteDamn, that girl can pack a punch!!
DeleteYou should get danger pay!
ReplyDeleteHope your eye isn't badly damaged.
ReplyDeleteGod no, I didnt know it was Ben blood blistered until the handover nurse noticed it lol
DeleteHope you get that looked at. Eye injuries are not a joke. Been there!
ReplyDeleteOuch ... just ouch!!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness you are a forgiving soul, our eyes are so precious,I hope you have no lasting harm xxx
ReplyDeleteHope your new job will have less troubles
ReplyDeleteWow, too bad you couldn't collect combat pay as well. Like I have said to you before, I could NEVER be a nurse. I have the greatest respect for what you do.
ReplyDeleteSafety glasses, maybe? Take care of your eye. Ow.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, get better. I wonder, do FEMALE nurses also get beat up like that? Or do patients feel because you're a guy you take it (sorry ladies if that question sounds a bit sexist. It probably is but I have to wonder.)
ReplyDeleteOf course they do kirk
DeleteWorking with psych patients has its risks. I had to restrain a 12 year old boy who was in the process of wrecking the classroom (in a hospital ward). I pinned him down but with his face up! Couldn't get him turned over! You can only imagine the rest. I hope your days of receiving these attacks are almost over, John.
ReplyDeleteAttack isn't the right word David. Violence stems not only from aggression but, through fear and disorientation, hypoxia , confusion I guess.... these all are always nursing problems
DeleteTake care John. The sooner your new job starts the better by the sound of things.
ReplyDeleteand you still come back caring xx
ReplyDeleteIt sounds worse than it is
DeleteAll I can say is, thank goodness you aren't deterred by such atrocious behaviour and you continue to do your job to the best of your ability. If every NHS worker who encountered violence handed in their notice, the NHS would be in an even worse state than it is already.
DeleteI have not been on line in over a week.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see you are surrounded by Love here in the comments.
Security guards are everywhere in hospitals now, in my day they were unheard of, we were expected to handle everything.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly came the right place for sympathy--and us for an education.
ReplyDeleteOh dear sad you had to tale the brunt of this, so many confused people out there not only in care but on the street as well I got hit by a confused person who basically just walked on as if nothing had happened.
ReplyDeleteTake care it's hard to be prepared for the unexpected.
My daughter is in the third year of her nursing degree and has just found out she's contracted TB from a stint on one of the more contagious wards.Joys of the job and she isn't even being paid for it yet .
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought it was from Albert!
ReplyDeleteWell, nothing left to say except...ouch! Poor you!
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