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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI just had to face down an enraged patient in the waiting room of the clinic.
I'm shaking.
Shit.
This never gets easier.
The manager asked me if she wants me to call the cops. I told her let our mental health guy have a crack at him first. We got him calmed down, but if he blows up again, it's Tacoma PD for him...
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,843 posts)How awful for you. I hope he'll get better before you have to deal with him again.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)That was really kind of you to not call the cops first. The mentally ill tend not to do well in jails, mainly because jails are not set up to handle the mentally ill. However, sometimes jail is necessary, sadly.
Aristus
(66,531 posts)The rest of the afternoon, I worried that he would return with a gun...
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)Aristus
(66,531 posts)I had had a very pleasant clinic visit with him just the day before, treating him for a really bad allergy attack. All of my visits with him have been pleasant. He's always been a very nice guy.
I gave him a shot of Kenalog and told him it should hold him for a while, and would obviate the need for a daily allergy pill. He somehow got the idea that I was going to prescribe an oral medication for him. He went to the pharmacy yesterday and found no scrip waiting. That's when he blew up.
He's had a rough time of it lately. All of his belongings had been stolen, he's having a tough time finding a job, and he really hates living at the shelter. His life is coming apart, and the misunderstanding about his allergy medication was the last straw.
I empathized with him as best I could, and told him I respected the fact that he's having a great deal of trouble, but that coming into the clinic yelling, cursing, and screaming wasn't going to solve anything.
I hope he comes back for treatment, and that I see the nice-guy side of him again.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)Rewarding, I am sure, but dealing with patients like that must take a toll sometimes.
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)Clearly the final solution to disruptive behaviour in the USA is a cop with a gun. And no...it's not about mental health.
.
irisblue
(33,067 posts)When the pt is on other meds?
Aristus
(66,531 posts)Irritation is listed among the side effects, but that refers to a skin reaction at the site of inoculation.
malthaussen
(17,242 posts)... well, was temporarily serving as the old guy had passed on. One day he's sitting in the parsonage having dinner, when one of his parishioners comes in with a bottle in a bag... and a handgun. He says "I promised myself I was going to kill a priest today."
Well, my pal comes back with, "Okay, you gotta do what you gotta do -- but can I have a drink first?" They end up killing the bottle, instead of my buddy.
That's what I think of when I think of "Grace under pressure."
-- Mal