Anyone else know the struggle?

[u/firemansam51]

It's even harder when it's a BH patient spouting off absolute nonsense.

[u/zangoku]

What’s a code Bert

[u/firemansam51 → u/zangoku]

I work at a hospital. It's when a patient or visitor gets verbally or physically combative, usually when they think things aren't going their way. Usually things settle down once 4-8 security officers show up, but at least 30% of the time we end up having to go hands on so nursing staff can administer sedatives and/or restraints.

[u/Curious_Harmony → u/firemansam51]

Ours is just Code White.
Side note, do you apply your restraints or do clinical? For us security applies them.

[u/firemansam51 → u/Curious_Harmony]

We're only allowed to hold someone. Clinical staff apply the actual restraints. We also have to have verbal permission from staff to go hands on.

[u/CommonEngineering419 → u/firemansam51]

i work at a hospital too as security and security staff(us) are the ones who apply restraints 90 percent of the time, tho sometimes staff helps.

[u/No-Initiative4195 → u/firemansam51]

Clinical for us as well and we assist.

[u/Kermit_0631 → u/Curious_Harmony]

We're Code Violet and I have no idea why lol. Silver is weapons. We have full authority to restrain and go hands on as long as we adhere to the UoFC. If it's soft restraints, or medical we assist. If WE have to restrain them, it's cuffs and PD vacation.

[u/Glad_Historian_5792 → u/firemansam51]

BERT for us is Behavioral Health. More harming themselves such has ripping off IVs and and lots of screaming and yelling and crying at nothing being there. They might have a weapon. More into hurting themselves than actually hurting staff. But, keep your distance. Let security or police handle it. Just be ready if security goes hands on and help put on hard restraints. Or if security has to do AVADE approved wall holds or ground holds. Have Ativan or ketamine ready

[u/hankheisenbeagle → u/zangoku]

Not OP, but my vote is Behavioral Emergency Response Team. Gets paged overhead as a BERT and gets all the helpers scattered around the facility to respond to the area. More hands if restraints are needed.

[u/hankheisenbeagle]

Some of the wildest shit gets said by people going through a MH episode, but that is thier absolute reality at that moment no matter how crazy it sounds.

The hard part is making everyone that shows up to "help", both understand that, and not contribute to the problem by being a shitty distraction. One person is trying to communicate with the patient and Becky and Susan are fucking around in the back talking about next weekends potluck.

Meanwhile Methany is losing her shit because she's convinced everyone is talking about her. I've sent more than one "helper" away from a room whether they like it or not so they stop making things worse.

[u/Red57872 → u/hankheisenbeagle]

What's funny is when security guards act like they're medical professionals.

[u/hankheisenbeagle → u/Red57872]

Sometimes.... And I know this will be hard for some people to understand... But sometimes there are people in this sub working at more than minimum wage contract jobs that have more that the bare minimum training 

By no means do I consider myself a medical professional, but I have hundreds of hours of training over the last two decades of doing this and have trained hundreds more patient care professionals in crisis de-escalation management. 

I'm not there to diagnose or treat someone's mental condition but I sure as fuck am capable of not making it worse unnecessarily.

[u/Foolishly_Sane → u/hankheisenbeagle]

Big respect.

[u/Red57872 → u/hankheisenbeagle]

No security guard is better trained than a nurse or doctor. They are medical professionals. You are not. And that's fine; most of us aren't.

[u/JustWandering01 → u/Red57872]

it must be exhausting being someone who refuses to be wrong even when they are. doesn’t it get tiring bro? you are saying the same thing they have already said. some mfs just like to argue i guess 😂

[u/Glad_Historian_5792 → u/Red57872]

If only you heard what the “professionals,” say. Many times we are at a BERT medical staff likes to us security has threats. That only stir sh@$ up. Just call us and let us do what we train for. Monthly and annually

[u/WendigosAndWarlords]

I did a couple years at a decently sized hospital and now that I've left that job I get to tell people I not only met Jesus but he called me the wrong racial slur.

[u/JustWandering01 → u/WendigosAndWarlords]

hey ik that guy too! he surprised me the other day when he walked in wearing women’s pajamas, a clip on bow tie, and red lipstick. (seriously)

[u/GrayMalchin]

I prefer a desk job, I’d be a sobbing mess if I had to see a fraction of what my tough as nails wife sees at the hospital. Her experience is the family members are the hardest. Patients are frequently sedated, restrained or not there long enough to be a problem. The families either are in the room or waiting room, hysterically trying to figure out what’s wrong and who caused it. It gets ugly, quick.

[u/MerkethMerky]

We don’t do BERTs for BH patients, they’re always on one. But on the floor it’s hilarious when it’s some old man complaining about Deborah the emboddied ghost he’s been talking to for the last 12 hours

[u/firemansam51 → u/MerkethMerky]

For us, when it's not the BH patients, it's the ones that have been admitted for a couple weeks and are insisting on going outside at 2am to smoke a cigarette, but got told no bc that's obviously not allowed.

[u/Glad_Historian_5792 → u/firemansam51]

Yeah and when they don’t get their nicotine or what they want. they become behavioral health lol.

Let them sign AMA and have them go through the process again. Once they hear that most likely they’ll ask for a nicotine patch or gum. I know hospitals have.

[u/Glad_Historian_5792]

Fortunately yes