For So Long, I Put Up With the Abuse

It was not until I had a gun pulled on me during a routine home care visit that my tolerance for the abuse I faced almost daily as a nurse was gone.

A few years ago, I was scheduled to change a wound dressing on a homeless patient that lived in a local homeless camp by the city dump. The agency gave me written instructions on finding his tent since the location was not on any map. My first thought was, “Why would the agency send anyone out here?” Nevertheless, I continued to follow the directions until I found the “green tent with the blue towel hanging outside” and parked my car by a large trash pile. I got out of my car and started grabbing my nursing bag when I saw a disheveled man in his late 50s standing outside the tent.

As I was exiting my vehicle, I asked the man if he was Mr. Jackson, and he replied, “Yeah, sure.” It was not until I was about to close my car door, I noticed the gun in his right hand. I calmly stated that I was a nurse sent from the hospital to change a dressing and that I did not come to bother anyone. At that moment, the man pointed the gun at me.

“Move away from your car and come here,” he said.

I freaked out. I was trembling and shaking and knew not to leave my car.

I quickly jumped into my vehicle and backed up as fast as I could, but the giant garbage piles made it impossible to navigate out of the area. As I was leaving, the man started chasing me. He then pulled a box cutter from his pocket and began slashing my tires and running the razor blade across my car. When I was eventually able to put enough distance between us, I called 911. The police met me, and I filed a police report. Unfortunately, they couldn’t locate the man again.

This was not the first or last time I experienced abuse during my 26 years as a nurse. It was not unusual for a patient to throw food at me because their meal was cold, or to hear a physician yell at us nurses trying to take a few minutes for ourselves at the nurses’ station. “Professional white noise” is what I called it to get through my long 12-hour days. It became something we just had to get used to while on the job.

Countless nurses are subjected to physical assault, the threat of assault, and verbal abuse daily. This abuse can come in many forms, usually from patient-related abuse as well as consumer-related abuse. Hospital staff abuse can leave many healthcare professionals suffering from post-traumatic stress and causes many to leave their profession. Many nurses have had experiences with patients demanding to leave and refusing care, on top of other incidents of abuse. Every nurse typically has a story, some more serious than others. There are multiple scenarios where nurses are at high risk for violence.

Violence against nurses is a serious health and safety issue that affects facilities across the country. Hospitals may see lower worker morale, increased job stress, high worker turnover, and a hostile work environment because of this high incidence of violence against nursing staff. Nurses should feel safe in their hospitals and should be able to rely on their agency to do proper background checks before sending them on assignments.

Yet, for so long, I, like countless others, put up with the abuse.

But the gun incident changed me. It made me realize I had to speak up for myself and avoid situations where I could end up in harm’s way. What bothered me most was knowing that the home care agency knew the visit was going to be unsafe and potentially dangerous — but they sent me anyway. To this day, I do not know if the man who pulled the gun on me was Mr. Jackson or not because I never went back to work at this agency. No registered nurse should have to feel frightened over their job assignments.

Healthcare executives need to address serious issues within the nursing profession to protect their hospital staff. If violence continues to go unnoticed, not only will the facility suffer, but so will healthcare staff. It is on healthcare executives and leaders to put staff safety at the forefront and create policies that will make their team feel acknowledged and respected. Proper staffing levels will be a massive relief for hospitals and help ensure nurse and patient safety.

Brenda Reinert, MSN, RN, has been a nurse for over 26 years with experience in home health, acute care, and international nurse staffing. She is currently the Assistant Vice President of Clinical Education at Avant Healthcare Professionals.