07 Apr Emergency Medical Service Personnel’s Risk from Violence

Violence is on the rise. However, emergency medical service personnel are at the highest risk of experiencing violence because of the nature of their jobs. They frequently encounter patients with gunshot wounds who are still carrying weapons on their bodies.

They see patients who are strung out on illegal street drugs and who are acting out. Then there are just the really angry patients who lose their cool and start swinging and fighting. These professionals have to be on constant alert to avoid being injured themselves, but Creation World Safety offers training and preventive measures that can help.

Dealing with Drug-Induced Violence

Perhaps the most common and most dangerous risk of violence to medical emergency professionals is patients who are out of their rational minds as a result of excessive illegal drug use. These patients experience very real hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and rage. It causes them to find a way to lash out at what they think they see to protect themselves.

Narcan can help if it’s delivered to the patient in time and can effectively calm the patient. It is administered in the form of either a shot or nasal spray. The trick is getting close enough to the patient to administer it. This is when many medical emergency personnel get hurt as a result.

Rage

Rage comes up as the result of adrenaline-fused fights. The trick is to be on the scene and use de-escalation techniques to defuse the situation before it escalates to physical violence. It takes a lot of practice to learn, and not everyone has the skill to do it.

However, there are training courses in this very subject. Someone who is about to rage and catapult into a physical altercation can be talked down in the early stages of the incident. Once adrenaline kicks in, it becomes almost impossible to talk them down.

At that point, they need to be removed from the scene and sedated, if necessary. Personnel is frequently injured when things reach this level of rage.

Patient Carrying Concealed Weapons

Guns, knives, police batons, etc., can all be concealed on the human body under or in clothing. Patients carrying these weapons who are either injured or feel threatened may decide to attack, with or without provocation. The best preventive measure is for police officers to thoroughly pat down and remove weapons before these patients can receive medical care.

If there is a language barrier, then a translator is needed. Personnel should not interact physically unless someone else is in danger. Creation World Safety teaches many courses on how to reduce your risk of injury from violence while working as an EMT, doctor, nurse, etc. Request training or course materials today!