Oh, the stories I could tell you about my time in the PICU! I often thought about what I would do in my unit if someone pulled a gun out and how I could best protect my fragile little patient from crazy.
One time we had a 250 pound, 16 year-old male that started pulling all of his tubes and lines out and telling us he was leaving. While I was waiting for security (aka Barney Fife)to come, I ran down the hall to another PICU room where there was a little boy whose dad was in the military, I asked him if he would come stand right outside the door and look fierce until the Met team came (all young females working with grandma Mary that day). He did and his military bearing kept the nutty teen from running out of the room until we were able to sedate him.
I liked to keep my body looking the same way when I went home that it did when I got there every morning. I always tried to think outside the box when it came to people behaving badly in the PICU.
Thank you also for telling the truth about administration. They’re so worried about the metrics that they forget that their staff are putting their lives on the line every day and now it doesn’t matter what area you work in. You never know who’s gonna go off the deep end .
Thanks Ed. I have 2 memorable events in my career in the ER. The first was not my patient but I happened to be the closest male (if you don’t count the CEO who stood by and watched me deal with this violent person). He was menacing the nurses and I wound up putting him in a full Nelson to get him under control. We had no security guards and as we all know, when seconds count, the police are minutes away. I can’t imagine that there are too many ER’s that can say that their CEO has been present to witness one of the Docs having to do security work. Despite this, no further mention of the event and no suggestion that they would look into getting security in the department. The second event was a fellow who went from being perfectly calm to taking a swing at my face. I somehow dodged it and had to take him to the ground as I was in a closed room with him. We had many other events. This was in a sleepy ER in a rural community. Admin just doesn’t get it.
I'm auldfag GenX. In my youth I wanted to be a doc; several years volunteering at our big-city hospital ended that incisively (as did the demand that I vivisect animals in college).
One memorable event was the time a PCP-amped large black guy was brought in to the ER after being apprehended by police in the middle of violent attacks and being injured himself. Or I should say having injured himself.
At that time the EMTs could restrain flailing amped-up individuals. He was so gone on the drug that he somehow fought free of some of the restraints (I didn't see this so don't know what the restraints consisted of) and somehow ended up running free in the ER. Among his other activities, he went over to a wall that had those light-admitting panels consisting of corrugated safety glass with metal mesh reinforcement inside.
He proceeded to smash his head into the panel repeatedly till it broke into/shed a bunch of the little blunt bits that that safety glass is designed to break up into. Then he got down on his stomach, swimming across the floor like a fish, and started eating the glass bits.
That's just one of many stories I was told, and many more by EMTs I knew, and a few that I witnessed but not up close. I worked mostly with badly burned patients, for whom any movement caused hellacious pain. But regular outbreaks of violent behavior were part of the ecosystem. (And don't even get me started on how many of the burn patients were deliberately burned by people they knew. Including parents/family members.)
I mentioned, above, the large guy being black because one of the outcomes of this event was a civil rights lawsuit filed against the hospital on his behalf by one of the law firms famous for that sort of thing locally. Nobody had done anything but try to help him after he hurt himself and others...but he was black and a lawyer smelled paydirt. The guy was treated on the public dime for several months, I heard, though I don't remember the exact details.
Great article again Ed. Oh how I remember the Last Chance. There's also a place in Pickens County up Hwy. 178 called Scatter Brains and I'm sure you can figure the rest to that, but it finally burnt to the ground years back. Yes, I heard and witnessed a few back in my early years of Law Enforcement at Oconee. I do definitely agree with Officers that are trained and armed to deal with these possible situations and not to knock on a senior type of guard because he does have his rightful place but just not the primary responder. I myself now at 68 have become a so called senior but feel I could still hopefully do the job if properly equipped and not over run but guess we want ever know LOL. Anyway, watch out for each other especially your 6 and I pray that you and yours always goes home safe. Always enjoy reading your articles!
The country is less respectful of those in authority. When they think they are or should be the boss, we can't be sure what they might do. They don't care what happens.
Oh, the stories I could tell you about my time in the PICU! I often thought about what I would do in my unit if someone pulled a gun out and how I could best protect my fragile little patient from crazy.
One time we had a 250 pound, 16 year-old male that started pulling all of his tubes and lines out and telling us he was leaving. While I was waiting for security (aka Barney Fife)to come, I ran down the hall to another PICU room where there was a little boy whose dad was in the military, I asked him if he would come stand right outside the door and look fierce until the Met team came (all young females working with grandma Mary that day). He did and his military bearing kept the nutty teen from running out of the room until we were able to sedate him.
I liked to keep my body looking the same way when I went home that it did when I got there every morning. I always tried to think outside the box when it came to people behaving badly in the PICU.
Thank you also for telling the truth about administration. They’re so worried about the metrics that they forget that their staff are putting their lives on the line every day and now it doesn’t matter what area you work in. You never know who’s gonna go off the deep end .
Thanks Ed. I have 2 memorable events in my career in the ER. The first was not my patient but I happened to be the closest male (if you don’t count the CEO who stood by and watched me deal with this violent person). He was menacing the nurses and I wound up putting him in a full Nelson to get him under control. We had no security guards and as we all know, when seconds count, the police are minutes away. I can’t imagine that there are too many ER’s that can say that their CEO has been present to witness one of the Docs having to do security work. Despite this, no further mention of the event and no suggestion that they would look into getting security in the department. The second event was a fellow who went from being perfectly calm to taking a swing at my face. I somehow dodged it and had to take him to the ground as I was in a closed room with him. We had many other events. This was in a sleepy ER in a rural community. Admin just doesn’t get it.
I think people forget this is a job first and foremost. The higher ups have zero concern for the employees.
There is no way I'd take a beating to keep scores up. I was in more than a few fights when I ran EMS. I will fight again as a nurse.
Two things happened when I went hands on.
The aggressor quickly stopped and apologized
You earned respect from your fellow combatant.
I'm auldfag GenX. In my youth I wanted to be a doc; several years volunteering at our big-city hospital ended that incisively (as did the demand that I vivisect animals in college).
One memorable event was the time a PCP-amped large black guy was brought in to the ER after being apprehended by police in the middle of violent attacks and being injured himself. Or I should say having injured himself.
At that time the EMTs could restrain flailing amped-up individuals. He was so gone on the drug that he somehow fought free of some of the restraints (I didn't see this so don't know what the restraints consisted of) and somehow ended up running free in the ER. Among his other activities, he went over to a wall that had those light-admitting panels consisting of corrugated safety glass with metal mesh reinforcement inside.
He proceeded to smash his head into the panel repeatedly till it broke into/shed a bunch of the little blunt bits that that safety glass is designed to break up into. Then he got down on his stomach, swimming across the floor like a fish, and started eating the glass bits.
That's just one of many stories I was told, and many more by EMTs I knew, and a few that I witnessed but not up close. I worked mostly with badly burned patients, for whom any movement caused hellacious pain. But regular outbreaks of violent behavior were part of the ecosystem. (And don't even get me started on how many of the burn patients were deliberately burned by people they knew. Including parents/family members.)
I mentioned, above, the large guy being black because one of the outcomes of this event was a civil rights lawsuit filed against the hospital on his behalf by one of the law firms famous for that sort of thing locally. Nobody had done anything but try to help him after he hurt himself and others...but he was black and a lawyer smelled paydirt. The guy was treated on the public dime for several months, I heard, though I don't remember the exact details.
Great article again Ed. Oh how I remember the Last Chance. There's also a place in Pickens County up Hwy. 178 called Scatter Brains and I'm sure you can figure the rest to that, but it finally burnt to the ground years back. Yes, I heard and witnessed a few back in my early years of Law Enforcement at Oconee. I do definitely agree with Officers that are trained and armed to deal with these possible situations and not to knock on a senior type of guard because he does have his rightful place but just not the primary responder. I myself now at 68 have become a so called senior but feel I could still hopefully do the job if properly equipped and not over run but guess we want ever know LOL. Anyway, watch out for each other especially your 6 and I pray that you and yours always goes home safe. Always enjoy reading your articles!
The country is less respectful of those in authority. When they think they are or should be the boss, we can't be sure what they might do. They don't care what happens.