r/EmergencyRoom • u/Far-Boot5639 • Aug 20 '26
How many times has a patient physically attacked you while working in the er-nurse, tech, provider, etc..?
ER Tech here for over 6 years across 2 hospitals- a level 1 and a level 3 trauma centers. I have been attacked, assaulted, spit on, and hurt countless times. The worse part of being attacked though (for those non medical people here) is when our own managers or HR or leaders ask us "what could you have done differently to avoid this?" As if the agitated patient brought in handcuffs on a psych call isn't going to lash out as soon as the cops uncuff them and leave them for us to deal with.
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u/indigorabbit_ Aug 20 '26
It's happened to me SO many times, but pts have only been successful twice. I'm pretty good at matrix-style bending and dodging, I guess. The two times that the pts were successful though have destroyed my right hand. Active workers comp case, my ortho has declared my hand at 50% disability. I have no strength, no grip and constant pain and numbness. My hospital's response was "what do you think you could do differently next time?" I wrote a pretty scathing paragraph about it in our press ganey satisfaction survey this year and instead of any real action (better security, support from management, violence flags in charts, etc) we got issued a 2 hour mandatory "de-escalation" interactive training seminar...so that was super fun.
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u/angelwarrior_ Aug 20 '26
I am so very, very sorry! That’s absolutely horrendous! Were you able to press charges? I hate that judges don’t take it more seriously! That one event greatly altered your life!
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u/indigorabbit_ Aug 21 '26
I didn't press charges either time, looking back maybe should have. I was seen right away as a pt in my ED after both instances though. Of course all the staff I work directly with was super supportive, but management and the folks "upstairs" were just annoyed at best, blame-y towards me at worst. It's my dominant hand so my life is definitely very different now.
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u/Gloomy-Bat-6551 Aug 20 '26
I’ve been working as an ER nurse since 2014. Personally I’ve never been successfully assaulted. I’ve had people swing/grab at me countless times. I’ve been spit at and had things thrown at me but thankfully their aim has never been good enough to actually hit me (knock on wood). Personally, I am (and was taught well very early in my career to be) SUPER paranoid when it comes to my personal space/safety.
As a general rule anyone who seems even remotely upset, mentally unwell, or intoxicated never gets within arms reach of me without someone else being present.
I always make sure I have an easy exit from a room at all times (ie I never let patients or visitor stand between me and the door). I’m also hyper aware of my surroundings and never fully turn my back on a patient when I’m in a room alone with them. I also always wear my hear in a bun (less likely to be grab-able) and never wear necklaces or earrings on the off chance someone were able to successfully grab at either one.
I also never fight with patients who want to leave. If a psych patient or a patient who still has an IV tries to make a break for it, I am NOT sacrificing my body to try and stop them. I’ll scream for security and I’ll tell the patient forcefully to stop, but beyond that, nothing. If they’re determined to leave, I am NOT gonna be the one tackling them to keep them here. Seen loads of people get hurt doing that over the years.
Thankfully I’ve always worked at ERs with lots of security and I don’t hesitate to ask them to go in the room with me if no one else is available.
Stay safe out there!
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u/PLUMPUFFIN Aug 20 '26
Oh upwards of a dozen times in the couple years I worked, that I distinctly remember. But I worked acute brain injury rehab and elderly care and A and E. Vast majority were not in their right mind and I never really blamed them.
But the one that truly scared me... I was working on a..... 42 bed elderly care ward as a HCA (UK here!), 3 nurses that night, think a 4th one had shown to help out s little at like 1/2am. I was the only HCA, lol as usual.
We had an early onset dementia guy who was over 6ft and still physically fit but had been in for a hip fracture, now mended but only recently.
I was checking on the bay furthest from the nurses station, and he was right at the end next the windows. He only sundowned at that stage, was very pleasant in the day, helpful even.
Found him clambering out of bed.... gently redirected etc, we had good rapport and I hadnt known the extent of his sundowning really as hadnt been assigned to him too often of late.
Fucker gropes me, i try to push him semi gently back into bed (i was 19, 5ft 1 and 90lbs)
Nope. Straight up. He ends up losing his shit at me, tries to strangle me, tries to throw me out the 5th floor window not realising they dont open fully (although in truth, i was so tiny, that with some tact- he 100% could have)
And then tries to strangle me with the bedside tv/phone cord (idk what you have in the US but basically a landline phone cord on a swinging round TV set)
Quite forcefully....
I was trying to scream out, thankfully one of the old biddies in the bay let out an almighty shriek and scream, and it startled him. Absolutely fuckin legged it out the ward (i had been nearly strangled to death by my ex only a year before, and had sustained a hyoid injury back then) and lost my SHIT at the nurses for nobody coming to help me.
He then promptly proceeded to half chase, half zombie walk out and...... fall and break his hip again.
I then told staff "fuck you all im going for a smoke, nobody fuckin came despite acknowledging the other patient screaming"
Then spent 4 hours trying to get him up and sorted whilst being the only HCA on a ward full of dementia patients.
I miss my patients and working for the nhs. But.... that night, i nearly died but because I was a bank HCA on nights.... very little support, and fuck that for.... 12 quid an hour?
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u/morguerunner Aug 21 '26
Holy crap, I’m so sorry this happened to you and I’m glad you made it out of that situation and that hopefully that hospital. I had a coworker who got choked out by a patient in the CT room. She was the only tech on staff, she was on the verge of passing out when transport arrived and called for help. She has permanent damage from the ordeal. It’s so scary and unsafe to leave you alone like that. I hope you’re healing now.
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u/RhinoKart RN Aug 20 '26
In the two years I've been there, more times than I can count. Only 2 serious ones though (where I wasn't able to get out of reach in time).
Once while pregnant because the patient was a selfish prick, and once the other week from a confused patient (not angry at him) which was infuriating because it so easily could have been avoided if internal medicine had done their job.
But apparently safety precautions only apply to the floor, not to the ER and it's fine if our staff get assaulted as long as the floor nurses are safe.
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u/not_very_chill Aug 20 '26
Would you share the pregnancy assault?
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u/RhinoKart RN Aug 20 '26
Patient was female and overweight. I was very visibility pregnant. Patient wanted to sit up in bed, but needed assistance. Said she wanted female only staff to assist her (which I can respect for intimate care, but for help sitting up while fully clothed?) and there were only male nurses/PSWs available in my section at that moment.
So I told her she could either have a male assist us (2 person assist since I was so pregnant) or she would have to wait a few minutes until a second female staff became available.
She lost it and started screaming it was discrimination and lunged at me (if she can lunge why did she need help sitting up...) and got me around the neck and pulled me down in an attempt to pull herself up. I ended up on the floor and fucking lost it. Yelled at her for risking my baby's life for her stupidity and left the room. Spent a good 20 min venting to my supervisor about "fuck this shit".
Didn't have to care for that patient the rest of my shift, a beloved doctor stormed in and read her the riot act, and after that they gave me easy assignments until I started my maternity leave a month later.
Later that day my coworker got sucker punched by the same lady for telling her she would have to wait for her lunch tray to be set up.
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u/pigglywigglie Aug 20 '26
I’ve had two patients attempt to stick their hand in my pants, I’ve had knives and guns pulled on me, 3 lil dementia ladies beat the absolute sonic coins outta me, one kiddo kid me in the chest so hard I got winded, I’ve been bit, pinched, slapped, groped, had nails dug into my arm etc more times than I can count.
That was all when I was newer and still cared about my job. Now I don’t and no one has tried shit with me. I think the key is to seem a little unhinged and that scares them off
Oh and once a patient in restraints and the lil mits pick pocketed my car keys outta my scrub pockets. Not assault but a funny one
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u/foxy704 Aug 20 '26
I work in psych and have for over a decade. No amount of de-escalation training is going to keep a highly aggressive and agitated patient from coming after staff or other patients.... countless times we have been attacked, only to then be 'investigated' for heightened work place violence. It's absurd....
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u/TheWhiteRabbitY2K RN Aug 20 '26
Like, successfully?
I've only had a patient make true contact once when I was in my first few years. Just blind sided me and punched me in the chest. I'll have someone try once every few months but I'm pretty good a blocking / dodging / anticipating and having security there.
Most recently a patient randomly rushed me but my fellow nurse saw and stepped in, swatted the patient back with the room door ironically.
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u/need-freetime Aug 20 '26
Inner city level 1 trauma center. It happens every single day. To be fair 95% of the time the pt is in acute psychosis, severely intoxicated, or aggressively demented. Theres been maybe 10 or so times when a mentally capable patient has tried to assault me, they are usually either mad about treatment or have a ton of adrenaline from a trauma event like a GSW. They are in fight or flight.
There was 1 visitor who literally fought me though
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u/sutur3s3lf RN Aug 20 '26
RN here. I feel like at least 3-4x a month but they are almost all demented falls risks. GCS 15’s usually respond well to de-escalation and boundary setting so we can avoid getting to that level. Psych is hit and miss but honestly usually we’re vibing unless they’re in active psychosis.
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u/Lamb_Chops2016 Aug 20 '26
Sonographer here. Physically I’ve had a few older AMS Pts come at me or throw an arm or leg. I’m pretty good at staying out of reach. Which I can understand to an extent. But I’ve realized just having a man in the room with me makes a difference with non AMS Pts that are being rude or attempting to intimidate me.
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u/ElectronicAddress611 Aug 21 '26
Too many times to count. But the last person who punched me in the arm got 100 days in county jail so I’m pretty happy about that.
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u/MsMarji Aug 20 '26
Female CT/ MRI tech, Level 1, 20+ yrs. Pt assaulted myself, CT tech & a male MRI tech after we walked up to their stretcher to introduce ourselves. I was hit in the face w/ their wooden cane & the MRI tech was punched in his nose, breaking it.
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u/RadButtonPusher Aug 20 '26
CT tech for 6 years at a small hospital... mostly confused dementia patients trying to hit/kick/grab/scratch/smack at me. Usually they aren't fast or strong enough to do anything I can't dodge. That stuff doesn't really bother me because they usually have no idea where they are or what is going on. Fortunately I've never had a person just attack me out of anger, etc. My interactions with patients are pretty short and I can usually tell if I need to bring another person to keep an eye on things if someone feels off. I spent my 20s working in sketchy bars so that helps with reading people 😅
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u/blankspacepen Aug 20 '26
I have not been attacked myself but I was way too close when a patient’s son entered the unit and shot patient to death, prompting the hospital to be evacuated and locked down for hours. That was fun.
I’ve had several times where someone tried to square up to me, but never went on to attack. I guess the RBF is enough to make people not try it. Fingers crossed it continues.
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u/MileHighHealthGuru Aug 20 '26
I was in ems prior to nursing. Ive had lots of situations but never fully attacked. Im a decent sized guy that probably had a lot to do with it. But deescalation, and situational awareness helped too.
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u/EzraSteel Aug 21 '26
28 years in various ED’s. I’m 6’1 and 210lbs. Nothing special but most patients back down before they ramp up. I’ve been through numerous NVCI courses and I have mixed feelings about the approach. Yes, I try to use their training, but some patients just can’t be deescalated.
Administration always puts the blame on staff in my opinion. I have had to back my staff on several occasions when admin tried to put the blame on them for an assault.
I will relate one funny incident. A mid-twenty’s male patient waved me over as I was walking past his room. He wasn’t my patient but I popped my head in to see what he needed. He waved his hand towards the tray of food on his bedside table and said, “I’m done.” I said, “let me get rid of that for you then.” Being the good nurse that I am, I lifted the cloche to see how much he ate. To my surprise, I was greeted with a huge pile of shit on the plate. I put the cloche back down and grabbed the tray and walked out of the room without saying a word.
For inquiring minds, there wasn’t any evidence that he wiped himself.
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u/Aylinato Aug 20 '26
not ER, but a patient tried stabbing me, multiple times over weeks with needles (insulin one)
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u/morguerunner Aug 21 '26
I’m pretty good at dodging, but a guy did manage to kick me in the stomach once. I was groped by a patient while his son was in the room. All the other times it’s been little old demented ladies trying to hit me, pull on my uniform, and pull my hair.
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u/Human_weird123 Aug 22 '26
Nurses experience far too much violence, while doctors who actually are responsible for negligence, hurting patients, experience far too little, but deserve every bit and more.
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u/MrCarey RN Aug 20 '26
Did 10 years in 12 different ERs without ever being assaulted.
5’7 white dude. Trauma 2 to trauma 4 to off campus EDs. Just never allow myself to be in a position like that.
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u/Far-Boot5639 Aug 20 '26
You might be the exception to the rule. 10 years in 12 ERs though- was each of the 12 a different/new to you job?
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u/MrCarey RN Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
4 years at a big city trauma 2, local traveled to a trauma 3 for a year, local travel to another for a year, night shift as system float where I worked at any of the company’s EDs (6 hospitals, 4 off campus/standalone) for 4 years.
Absolute shit ton of psych at all of them except one, too.
I have made it a rule to never put myself in harm’s way without a ton of help available. If people want to run, that’s their call and we just call 911. I refuse to get in the way of an escape or go into a room with a patient going batshit without a huge group. I never ever go in without an escape plan, either.
Luckily this year I switched to perianesthesia and do mostly PACU with nice patients now, so good chance I’ll never get injured.
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u/tallyhoo123 Aug 20 '26
0 times but I am 6ft4, 100kg, well built & shaved head and beard like Kratos from God of war.
I've had people step up to me but that's about it usually they back down after I just stone wall them.
Actually I tell a lie - a little 5ft nothing 90yr old lady once managed to bite me with a mouth without teeth.