Protect yourself against patient assault
When to stop being therapeutic and get out of harm’s way.
Dr. Krahn: Dr. Fenton’s death brings home that we need to be vigilant each day. We meet new patients every week, and any of them may have the disorders and risk factors that can lead to violence.
Dr. Battaglia: That’s true, yet being in a constant state of fear can impair mental health professionals’ ability to do our work. It’s a dynamic balance—we attempt a measured calmness in our work yet pay attention to external and visceral cues of impending danger.
Dr. Krahn: I think some psychiatrists feel patient violence occurs only in correctional settings or emergency rooms—not in their world. But Dr. Fenton’s death shows that it can happen anywhere. You just don’t know.
Related resources
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of HealthCare Organizations (JCAHO). Rules on application of seclusion and restraint. www.jointcommission.org.
Acknowledgment
This article was edited by Lynn Waltz, a medical writer and editor in Norfolk, VA, from the transcript of the September 29, 2006 interview of Dr. Battaglia by Dr. Krahn.
