Man injured in fight punches nurse at Lehigh Valley Hospital

[Rainman]

If you were a nurse and the person you were treating punched in the face, what would your reaction be?

A man who'd been brought into a hospital with a head injury sustained in a fight, while being attended to by nurses declared that he wanted to use the restroom. The nurses told thought it would be better for him to use a bedpan and this angered the man. He punched the nurse in the face then threatened to kill the other one.

Man injured in fight punches nurse at Lehigh Valley Hospital, cops say | lehighvalleylive.com

He is to be charged with assault, making terroristic threats, etc.

 

[Whitewolf2578]

Well as a Nurse I have actually been kicked in the face, punched, spit on, slapped. You really just get used to dealing with people that don't want to be helped or who are too confused to understand where they are. A lot of dementia patients are like that where I work. My reaction would be to try to calm to person down, I would lose my job if I tried to fight someone who was injured.

 

[lushlala]

That's bang out of order! It looks like the nasty piece of work deserved the beating he got that put him in hospital to start with. He was probably mouthing off at the wrong person. He didn't have dementia as far as we can tell, so what was his excuse? This is why I don't like being around drunks, so unpredictable.

 

[Gabe]

I hope he gets all the charges against him upheld. There was no reason for an unprovoked attack and people like that need to be locked up and made an example of for their inappropriate behavior. Nurses shouldn't have to be afraid or deal with any such behavior and those people need to be held accountable and their actions made public.

 

[Josie]

He could have been blacked out too.. I've seen worse from people I'd expect it from least. Either way, he should at least be charged with assault.. more than that, I don't know. He's an A**hole, not a terrorist. Maybe he'll learn not to drink so much and tick off the wrong people.

 

[Diane Lane]

I've worked with brain injury patients in the past, and their behavior can be unpredictable. His behavior might be attributable to his injury, or, as @lushlala said, he could have been belligerent to start with, and that's how he became injured. It's hard to say without more information, but I do believe this has probably happened to many ER employees, unfortunately, due to the nature of their work.

 

[JoanMcWench]

If I were the nurse? It would be really difficult not to shoot him up with something & maybe hit him in the face once as he's passing out. Not the nicest thing a nurse can do but I'd have a tough time getting hit in the face at any place I'm employed ever.

 

[Diane Lane]

I understand that sentiment, @JoanMcWench. It's extremely difficult to work in a job where this type of incidents occur. My hat is off to those dealing with issues such as this. I have a lot of respect for those who can cope with this type of treatment, and still continue to perform their duties to the best of their abilities.

 

[Patrick]

I've worked in the health sector before, and people at the front lines (doctors and especially nurses) do take quite a lot of abuse from unreasonable patients sometimes. I think that there needs to be more laws and protection for them.

 

[dyanmarie25]

I think being a nurse, it's already expected that you will be treated harshly by some stubborn patients. That's why nurses should also be very patient and understanding. Actually, I really have huge respect for nurses because their job is somehow demanding. Anyway, the man shouldn't have done that in the first place. The nurses are just doing their jobs which is to make him better.

 

[lushlala]

@JoanMcWench, that's exactly what I thought when I first read the piece; I thought that it would be so easy to have a knee jerk reaction and respond in kind, obviously going into survival mode, something that you don't take time to think about because it's instinct. Someone attacks you, you hit back. So I really respect and admire these people who are subjected to this nasty treatment from the very people they're trying to help, but who are able to turn the other cheek and carry on with their job. Yet if they did defend themselves, chances are there'd be a disciplinary hearing, which could lead to their dismissal. It's just sad

 

[missbishi]

Whilst nurses shouldn't have to put up with incidents like this, the truth is that they are all too frequent. Healthcare staff are trained in dealing with violent patients as it is recognized that issues such as menatal illness and brain injuries can cause people to act in an unacceptable manner.