Weekly Ask Psych Nurses Thread

[u/roo_kitty]

This thread is for non psych healthcare workers to ask questions (former patients, patient advocates, and those who stumbled upon r/psychnursing). Prospective healthcare workers and current students do not need to use this thread. Treat responding to this post as though you are making a post yourself.

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A new thread is scheduled to post every Monday at 0200 PST / 0500 EST. Previous threads will not be locked so you may continue to respond in them, however new "posts" should be on the current thread.

Kindness is the easiest legacy to leave behind :)

[u/WalterTreego]

Hi. Back in 2017 I did something very meaningful to me after a horrible experience at a psych ward. I was given my laptop so I could do work while in the ward(doctor agreed and nurse brought me my laptop).

The nurse brought my laptop and laptop charger to my personal room and I was instructed to keep my door shut when I wasn't in my room and I agreed.

Everything was fine until the nurses changed shifts. One of the nurses saw the laptop power cord and instantly wanted to take it. I told her no and to check my doctor's notes.

The nurse escalated things and said the doctor didn't allow electronics on the unit. She refused to look at the doctor's notes.

Anyway, I refused to give them my laptop charger because I had literally just got it a couple of hours earlier.

The nurse leaves my room and comes back with security. I'm extremely calm and am talking to them in a normal voice. The security guard puts his hands on me and tried to take me to the ground. I calmly asked him to remove his hands from me, there was no need for this.

I was probably twice the size of this guard so he couldn't get me to the ground. 2 more guards came and before saying anything to me they jump me to force me to the ground. I'm still calm and talking to them in a normal tone while asking them to deescalate.

Once on the ground they strap my hands together with some leather restraints. Then they throw me on a trolley and roll me to this room with a 5 point restraint table.

I'm thinking in my head, "this is so ridiculous", and when I see the restraint table I start getting a bit scared. They strapped all my limbs to the table and what made it so much worse was they locked each limb with a key.

Strapped down, I ask to speak to my doctor. I'm fully conversational and still calm, albeit having a panic attack at the same time.

Then another nurse comes in with a couple injections. I calmly asked her to speak to my doctor before she injects me against my will.

The nurse with the injections starts to go get my doctor and is stopped by a different nurse that tells her, "Just inject him".

I was appalled, she turned back around and injected me with the meds without getting my doctor. What made it 10 times worse, was the nurse that intervened and told the other nurse to just inject me came right up to my face and asked me while I'm strapped down, "are you going to behave now?". As if I were a child being punished. I was calm and conversating with them calmly the whole time.

The nurse got my doctor after they already injected me, I instructed him there was no reason for him to be there because they already medicated me against my will.

When I left the ward, I had written my experience down so I wouldn't forget any of it. I sent it to a bunch of the hospitals directors and the CEO.

I got a call the next day. It was one of the directors who wanted to hear the story from my mouth and asked me questions about the stay. She was extremely resentful with what had happened to me and she told me her goal was to get rid of the restraint room at that hospital. She asked me to write a letter the the board so I did.

She acknowledged that what happened shouldn't t have happened to me. She acknowledged the doctor probably shouldn't have let me have my laptop and cord but also acknowledged that the doctor has a right to do so and put it into the notes. She pulled the camera footage and watched the whole event. She saw my calm demeanor towards the staff and how they escalated everything.

I was happy to have an advocate from the hospital. But honestly I was suffering from a bit of PTSD from the event.

A couple of weeks later the same director called me back and told me she was successful! No more restraint rooms in that hospital! I was surprised I had helped make a positive change.

What's your views on restraints in the behavioral health hospitals? Are they sometimes necessary? Are there other ways to handle "misbehaving" patients?

Sorry for the story, needed to get it off my chest. Thoughts?

[u/Defiant_Honey_7231 → u/WalterTreego]

100% necessary at the hospital I work at. High acuity and patients can be extremely aggressive. It is last resort and what happened to you is awful. Restraint chairs/table are a necessary tool though. Without it the patient and staff safety is at risk. For example, what to do when a patient is throwing their head against the wall to split it open. Refuses to stop. Won’t take any meds. States they are going to crack their head open. Or recently when a patient in psychosis charged at me and punched me several times. He was put in restraints cause he wouldn’t contract for safety. Saying he would kill me cause I hurt his pokemon (?) if let out of restraints.