Opinion: Preventing health care violence in the ER requires moving from safety to security
Health care workers facing violence in the ER need more than just safety — they need security.
A slight man falls off his barstool. Now he’s an ER patient, slurring insults and flailing at staff trying to examine him for injuries. When a nurse begs him not to because we don’t know yet whether he has a neck injury, this respectable-looking man in a collared shirt tries to punch her.
What’s responsible for such behavior? Too much alcohol? Other substances? A brain bleed? Low blood sugar or a mental health disorder? A bad day?
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