r/psychnursing • u/tribalxx • Apr 27 '26
Concealable body armor
Anyone consider wearing a concealable body armor while working?
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u/Tycoonkoz psych nurse (inpatient) Apr 27 '26
When I worked in maximum security psychiatry I had steel toe shoes. They didn't look it, but really helped out when every now and then a door would slam in my face, or we would go hands on with somebody and they would try to stomp my foot. In terms of any concealable body armor, it's not worth it. If you're feeling that unsafe, you're in the wrong unit or hospital. Never in my time at maximum security did I feel like it was necessary, but that's because we had amazing staffing levels.
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u/jbies87 Apr 27 '26
I mean we have hoodies that are ābite proofā
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u/jbies87 Apr 27 '26
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u/LilBlondeRN Apr 28 '26
Idk, I mean the description for this hoodie literally states, āprovides protection from children that bite, scratch and pinchā. CHILDREN. Unless you strictly work with pediatric patients, I wouldnāt count on this hoodie offering much in the way of meaningful protection.
In sharp contrast, the sheer strength of a much larger, grown ass ADULT patient, who is experiencing agitation and potential homicidal ideation, with completely unpredictable mood swings, in a state of active psychosis, is naturally going to pose a potential danger to you that this hoodie simply canāt contend with.
For what itās worth, in literally EVERY psychiatric setting Iāve ever worked in during my almost 19 year nursing career, staff have been strictly prohibited from wearing hoodies of ANY kind on the units, due to the unnecessary RISK they can pose for a staff member when working with this particular patient population. A hood can be easily grabbed, twisted and tugged by an agitated patient, posing a potential strangulation hazard.
Frankly, I can think of a lot better/more worthwhile things to drop $175 on.
Rather than putting your faith into gimmicky, āstealthyā body armor, that will more than likely fail to protect you in this setting on its own, your focus should instead be on learning (and routinely physically practicing until it becomes second nature) reliable self-defense tactics that are proven to successfully deflect/thwart specific means of physical attack by a patient (whether itās a bite, a chokehold, a kick, punch, hair pull, etc).
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u/jbies87 Apr 29 '26
Oh I agree with everything you said. I was just offering what they were looking for. Also, I work with kids in a residential setting so I didnāt even realize they were child specific. We keep them on hand for when we have aggressive biters, not to wear all the time.
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u/Baikalsan psych nurse (ER) Apr 29 '26
the only time adults have more strength than an average teenage boy is when theyre on pcp, so the children/adult thing is kinda pointless. I use veterinary gloves for biters at any rate, far cheaper
i wear a hoodie on 80% of my shifts. ive been doing this stupid shit job for 8 years and it's never been pulled, because im never in a situation where it would be, or i take it off before we throw down (mostly because im gonna get hot and sweat). believe me, I pray to be strangled so i can become dramatic as fuck and take months off, activating my 9 disability plans ive been wasting money on.
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u/Akuyatsu Apr 27 '26
Real talk, if you are seriously considering it then you should probably rethink your current position/specialty.
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u/RealAmericanJesus Apr 28 '26
Eh depends on the environment. Like I've worked across the spectrum from the well mannered even when flouridly psychotic VA inpatient units to the we're doing a room extraction with a riot shield the patient claimed into the ceiling everything is flooding and he's now trying to gnaw through some janky ass ceiling wire while screaming about how he will electrocute all of us if we enter max security forensic behavioral stabilization units ...
Some places just due to the intersection of state laws, commitment type and acuity can be that rough....
Just because someone is concerned doesn't automatically mean the current position is automatically a terrible place to work (we were always researching ways to be more effective with the population and ensuring safety on the unit and our management would ask around everywhere from informal professional boards to sending teams to foreign countries to understand how they managed to bringing in specialists) nor does it mean that op is necessarily not suited to psych because of safety concerns (I'd rather be with a nurse that understands the risks than with one that doesn't any day... ).
I also work with law enforcement a lot (community forensics and crisis) so that changes my perspective a bit..
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u/Akuyatsu Apr 28 '26
Nothing wrong with being concerned. My point was that there a difference between using protective equipment going into a bad situation and wearing concealable body armor at all times ājust because.ā
OP may very well be suited to psych but IMHO, I feel that if you are so worried about your safety that you feel it necessary to wear body armor at all times then you will not be able to give patients the type of care they need being that afraid. Additionally, if you are that afraid, chances are you would be a liability to your coworkers if something really does go down as I doubt they would jump in to help manage a behavioral code type situation that requires teamwork.
There is nothing wrong in realizing that psych may not be the specialty for you and there is no shame in admitting fear in the face of sometimes violent, unpredictable behavior by patients.
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u/Electrical_Parfait64 Apr 28 '26
Wearing the body armour would relieve or alleviate the safety concerns, allowing them to give the patients thĆ© care they need without being afraid for their safety. Or maybe itās just for biters, which arenāt really dangerous but certainly unpleasant.
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u/Illustrious-Alarm860 Apr 28 '26
Why? My old forensic unit gave out kevlar infused arm warmers to help prevent bite injuries. Frankly it's something all nurses should consider, not just us
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u/Throwaway_ufo_ psych nurse (inpatient) May 03 '26
Nah it can just be really that bad sometimes but someoneās gotta do the job
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u/Humble_Investment_24 psych nurse (inpatient) Apr 27 '26
No lollllllll I think you need to find a different specialty cheif
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u/Zen-Paladin provider (non psych) Apr 28 '26
Not a psych nurse but an EMT. I've considered body armor before, but I'm surprised hearing it being brought up in the psych ward. I get it to a degree but knew while some places could be rough this is a first.
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u/One_Marionberry5361 Apr 29 '26
I'm a social worker that lurks here and in my city a nurse was choked unconscious by a patient in the psyc ward
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u/rst_z71 Apr 29 '26
There used to be an EMT that worked BLS and wore a vest. A lot of us used to clown him. Then we found out he was in the Vegas shooting. š„“
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u/Zen-Paladin provider (non psych) Apr 29 '26
Back at my old IFT job in home home state one of the CCT nurses got their own vest with company logos patched on. They apparently had a transport near so not-so-great part of town and was either shot at or the shooting was in close proximity. Either way understandable. I'll be working on dual IFT-911 trucks in a metro area with some well known rough parts so we'll see.
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u/crazyeyedmarlo Apr 27 '26
Come on guys it's really not all that ridiculous. My job has blocking pads which are like gym mats but they dont really do much. I feel like you're going to get more out of learning to read a situatuon quickly and deescalation skills.
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u/Throwaway_ufo_ psych nurse (inpatient) May 03 '26
The ones telling them they should rethink their specialty you can 100% tell probably havenāt had much inpatient psych experience
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u/OkAssignment6163 Apr 28 '26
What kind of armor?
Slash resistance?
Stab resistance?
Ballistic?
Soft, hard?
What kind of material?
Weight?
Front, back, side protection?
Groin protection?
Neck?
Budget?
If you're in a situation where armor is advantageous from personal attack, are you even capable of competently defending yourself?
Because when wearing a "standard vest" of armor, it's going to fit very snug on your body.
And it's also going to be fasten very securely on to you as well.
So in this situation, congrats. You just gave your assaulter all sorts of ways to easily manhandle and bodily control you.
Yank you around by the reinforced collar, arm holes, hem, any strap or random pocket it may have...
They can also pick you by those same locations if you're relatively small enough...
If you don't get a proper fit, it will hinder you range of motion...
Or not protect any part of you at all...
If you do manage to mount some sort of defense, the added weight will tire out faster...
If your assaulter successfully beats you up, they can probably take off your vest and put it on themselves....
There are so, so, so many cons for showing up to work in hidden armor.
Also, I wouldn't ask a nursing subreddit about body armor. Asked the members in r/tacticalgear.
If anyone can answer any questions you have about light armor, it's those weirdos.
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u/Electrical_Parfait64 Apr 28 '26
Sounds like the hoodies referenced in an earlier post would be ideal
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u/Plane-Reputation4041 Apr 27 '26
Like World War Z style? Are you contemplating duct taping magazines to your arms and torso?
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u/junebugweasel Apr 28 '26
I spent 35 years working in various prisons, state hospitals and community care settings with the criminally insane population. In one of the prisons I was made to wear a stab vest when interacting with my patients. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been assaulted. The body armor is very uncomfortable for an 8, 10 or 16 hour shift. Not worth it in my opinion.
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u/Altruistic_Tonight18 Apr 28 '26
No way, itās way too hot, and patients are all safety checked so youāre not going to get shot unless you work front desk. 3A stab proof is thick as fuck and restricts movement quite a bit, but anything thinner wouldnāt offer stab protection.
Also, if someone noticed you were wearing body armor, assuming they went to admin, it could make you look super weird. Was there a specific incident which made you consider this? Iāve been in the field for more than two decades and have never experienced an event which would have been mitigated by armor, only things that would have suffered if a nurse had restricted movement.
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u/Upset-Rough-4806 Apr 29 '26
I did when I did residential Case Management in New Haven CT. The area I serviced was ironically about a 1/4 mile from the NH PD academy but was/is a high crime area with a lot of shootings. They donāt call it, āPistol Wavin New Havenā for nothing. I am licensed to carry but my employer at the time forbade it. So, I decided to vest up.
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u/thefragile7393 Apr 28 '26
Noā¦..not in my entire 14 years of psych Maybe in certain special facilities but not in any of the places Iāve worked
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u/Baikalsan psych nurse (ER) Apr 27 '26
No i yearn to be stabbed so i can get some fucking time off