3 ms·

Stabbed. Kicked. Spit On. Violence in American Hospitals Is Out of Control

11 points by rawgabbit 3y ago

rawgabbit 3y ago
In a 2022 American College of Emergency Physicians survey of E.R. doctors, 55 percent said they had been physically assaulted, almost all by patients, with a third of those resulting in injuries.
- NickC25 3y ago
  Yikes. That's terrifying. Not putting on my "conspiracy" hat, but I'm sure the rise of pseudo medical ~~professionals~~ (read: "influencers") on social media has contributed to this in an indirect way. I know someone who got physical with their doctor back during COVID because the doctor wouldn't prescribe ivermectin to them. (That person who did the assault is an asshole with zero professional medial knowledge, for the record) I can only imagine this was not a one-off never-to-happen-anywhere-else-ever-again case. I'm sure plenty of doctors in middle America or in more right-wing dominated areas have some horrifying war stories. Probably a fair amount in some left-wing areas too.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - juliangoldsmith 3y ago
    >Not putting on my "conspiracy" hat, but I'm sure the rise of pseudo medical ~~professionals~~ (read: "influencers") on social media has contributed to this in an indirect way. This was already a problem long before COVID, and influencers have nothing to do with it. Patients regularly assault medical professionals, and rarely face any type of consequences (beyond being temporarily restrained, if it happens repeatedly). It's also worth noting that the incident with the HIV-positive patient I mentioned in a sibling comment happened in an inner-city hospital in Columbus, OH. That was the hospital where one of my wife's coworkers was harassed by the other nurses for supporting (then-President) Trump. Not exactly a "right-wing dominated" area, but plenty of horror stories nonetheless.
- juliangoldsmith 3y ago
  This has happened to my wife, an ICU nurse, a number of times. The best was when an HIV-positive patient spit in her eye, requiring her to get checked out later on. (This could also have endangered our then 1-year-old daughter, if my wife had been infected.)
stevenicr 3y ago
imho, the 'bounce back' effect (would it be called something else?) - is creating terrible problems for those who need help in even larger numbers. Especially in the hospitals that have signs like 'abuse is zero tolerance here blah blah' (3 out of 4 in my current city) - I've noticed that anyone who speaks in a language that differs from the accepted class of medical pros.. (I don't mean spanglish / vs whatever, I mean words used, descriptors. It's class warfare basically) you get treated like an adversary, liability, and they are practically hoping and definitely looking for an option to provide less care. The war on drugs (along with pandemic related untreated trauma) imho, has created a class of 'professionals' who are more concerned with their own status than they are with providing care. Yet all of the pain relief is kept behind locked doors guarded by a small faction who are more worried about being on "a list" than being compassionate and helping to relieve suffering. Not surprised people in pain that are not getting treatment are lashing out at the one group that holds the keys to lessen suffering. Did not read the paywalled article - maybe it's described some things that are vastly different than what I have been witnessing, not all places are the same I would think.
- rawgabbit 3y ago
  Here is the actual report they were referencing. The last page lists the reasons the doctors believe are the causal factors. https://www.emergencyphysicians.org/siteassets/emphysicians/all-pdfs/acep-emergency-department-violence-report-2022-abridged.pdf https://www.emergencyphysicians.org/siteassets/emphysicians/...
pauldenton 3y ago
I wonder if there is any difference between Northern hospitals and Southern border state hospitals. I could imagine the latter has a lot more strain from people crossing the border.

11 points by rawgabbit 3y ago

In a 2022 American College of Emergency Physicians survey of E.R. doctors, 55 percent said they had been physically assaulted, almost all by patients, with a third of those resulting in injuries.

NickC25 3y ago
Yikes. That's terrifying. Not putting on my "conspiracy" hat, but I'm sure the rise of pseudo medical ~~professionals~~ (read: "influencers") on social media has contributed to this in an indirect way. I know someone who got physical with their doctor back during COVID because the doctor wouldn't prescribe ivermectin to them. (That person who did the assault is an asshole with zero professional medial knowledge, for the record) I can only imagine this was not a one-off never-to-happen-anywhere-else-ever-again case. I'm sure plenty of doctors in middle America or in more right-wing dominated areas have some horrifying war stories. Probably a fair amount in some left-wing areas too.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- juliangoldsmith 3y ago
  >Not putting on my "conspiracy" hat, but I'm sure the rise of pseudo medical ~~professionals~~ (read: "influencers") on social media has contributed to this in an indirect way. This was already a problem long before COVID, and influencers have nothing to do with it. Patients regularly assault medical professionals, and rarely face any type of consequences (beyond being temporarily restrained, if it happens repeatedly). It's also worth noting that the incident with the HIV-positive patient I mentioned in a sibling comment happened in an inner-city hospital in Columbus, OH. That was the hospital where one of my wife's coworkers was harassed by the other nurses for supporting (then-President) Trump. Not exactly a "right-wing dominated" area, but plenty of horror stories nonetheless.
juliangoldsmith 3y ago
This has happened to my wife, an ICU nurse, a number of times. The best was when an HIV-positive patient spit in her eye, requiring her to get checked out later on. (This could also have endangered our then 1-year-old daughter, if my wife had been infected.)

stevenicr 3y ago

imho, the 'bounce back' effect (would it be called something else?) - is creating terrible problems for those who need help in even larger numbers. Especially in the hospitals that have signs like 'abuse is zero tolerance here blah blah' (3 out of 4 in my current city) - I've noticed that anyone who speaks in a language that differs from the accepted class of medical pros.. (I don't mean spanglish / vs whatever, I mean words used, descriptors. It's class warfare basically) you get treated like an adversary, liability, and they are practically hoping and definitely looking for an option to provide less care. The war on drugs (along with pandemic related untreated trauma) imho, has created a class of 'professionals' who are more concerned with their own status than they are with providing care. Yet all of the pain relief is kept behind locked doors guarded by a small faction who are more worried about being on "a list" than being compassionate and helping to relieve suffering. Not surprised people in pain that are not getting treatment are lashing out at the one group that holds the keys to lessen suffering. Did not read the paywalled article - maybe it's described some things that are vastly different than what I have been witnessing, not all places are the same I would think.

rawgabbit 3y ago
Here is the actual report they were referencing. The last page lists the reasons the doctors believe are the causal factors. https://www.emergencyphysicians.org/siteassets/emphysicians/all-pdfs/acep-emergency-department-violence-report-2022-abridged.pdf https://www.emergencyphysicians.org/siteassets/emphysicians/...

pauldenton 3y ago

I wonder if there is any difference between Northern hospitals and Southern border state hospitals. I could imagine the latter has a lot more strain from people crossing the border.