#look I’m a trained deescalator. one of my main jobs at the hospital is to defuse situations before they become violent.

[andhumanslovedstories]

I assume this ask I just got is about this post in which case I don’t know how to tell you that it’s one thing to think someone is a cunt and another to scream it at them as they work. Like you get that, right? You get that it’s very scary to have someone scream at you? That it instantly changed the feel of the room? People tend to escalate verbally before they escalate physically. When you call someone a cunt, firstly it’s fuckin distressing in and of itself, but it also signals that you are ramped up to a place where you are potentially considering physical violence.

Oh look crazy I found this soapbox just lying on the ground here, lemme just hop up real quick.

Healthcare workers get assaulted more than almost any other profession in America. Every nurse I know has been physically or verbally assaulted by a patient. I have multiple scars from injuries I’ve gotten a patient, I’ve been fondled and groped on shift, I’ve been called a stupid bitch the second I walk into a room, I’ve had patients ask for back rubs and then start masturbating, I’ve had patients angrily describe how women won’t fuck them while I’m holding their penis so they can safely pee, and I’ve continued to care for all these patients because that is the job. Fuck, I’m not even mad at these patients. Mostly I wish they just hadn’t done any of that to me. Some of these people were not in control of their behavior, and some of them were. My patient who broke a nurse’s nose last week was in no way responsible for his behavior in the condition he was in, and also that nurse’s nose was still broken by a violent screaming man who was trying very hard to hurt her. People often receive bad care at hospitals and are understandably furious about how they or their loved ones were treated, and also you shouldn’t threaten to come back to the hospital with guns and shoot anyone you see.

I mean cmon dude. We’re hanging these stupid posters because rampant workplace violence has been driving people out of healthcare like crazy. None of this means you have to like individual healthcare workers or healthcare workers as a whole, it doesn’t excuse bad behavior for healthcare staff, it doesn’t mean you can’t be angry about bad treatment or stand up for yourself or advocate for better care, but like. Please don’t throw a liter of piss at us. Your personal opinion about How Nurses Are doesn’t mean hospital workers deserve to be verbally, physically, and sexually assaulted at work.

It is somewhat distressing how many posters we have to keep plastering up around the hospital that say shit like “Punching a Nurse is a CRIME” “You Can’t Call CNAs a Cunt” “PLEASE Don’t SPIT on Us!!” “If You Throw A Bottle Full of Urine in Our Face, We Will Be Quite Upset”