You see security running through your emergency department, hear screaming and staff
members talking, and are wondering what has happened now. You later find out that
one of your fellow staff members was attacked and beaten by a patient. Legal charges
are filed against the patient for assault, but the charges are dropped and the patient
is set free. A patient’s family member attacks another staff member. A registered
nurse is sprayed with mace after caring for a small child. Later the assailant is
found to have a pair of scissors in her possession, which she intended to use as well.
Again, charges are filed for assault against the assailant, and the assailant is set
free. Because no law enforcement officers witnessed the assaults, the charges were
either dropped or the assailants paid minimal fines.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Emergency NursingAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- A stance against violence.Emerg Nurse. 2007; 15: 6-7
- Position on violence in the emergency care setting.(Available at:) (Accessed May 25, 2008)
- Ensuring nurses’ safety in violent workplaces.AAOHN J. 2008; 56: 51-52
- An evaluation of an aggression management training program to cope with workplace violence in the healthcare sector.Res Nurs Health. 2008; 31: 320-328
Biography
Kathy Lopez-Bushnell is Clinical Nurse Researcher, University of New Mexico Hospitals, Albuquerque, NM.
Biography
Jodie Martinez is Follow Up Nurse, Emergency Department, University of New Mexico Hospitals, Albuquerque, NM.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 09, 2008
Footnotes
Section Editor: Angela Hackenschmidt, RN, MS, CEN, and Maureen Harrahill, RN, MS, ACNP-CS
Earn Up to 8.5 CE Hours. See page 594.
Submissions to this column are welcomed and encouraged. Submissions may be sent to:
Angela Hackenschmidt, RN, MS, CEN
Emergency Services, San Francisco General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110
415 206-6763 •
or
Maureen Harrahill, RN, MS, ACNP-CS
1404 SE Malden
Portland, OR 97202
503 494-6007 •
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
