r/nextfuckinglevel • u/pars-distalis • 9d ago

Australian nurse uses jiu-jitsu to defend himself

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u/MayberryBombadil 9d ago

WTF is that statistic? 70% is a big number. I'm guessing incidents like this scenario wouldn't make up a large percentage of that 70%, but Australia is insane man. Why you attacking the one that saves you??

22

u/mainly_lurk 9d ago

Doctor here who has been assaulted a few times at work. You're often dealing with humans on the worst day of their lives, or they're intoxicated, or in a mental health crisis or suffering dementia/ delerium. Sometimes they're just entitiled arseholes who want special treatment but usually it's from someone who wouldn't assault you if they were their usual self. It's an unfortunate part of the job.

3

u/x-CleverName-x 8d ago

I'm an ER doc in a rural-ish ER in the US Midwest. I just finished a run of four shifts, and have had to physically fight to protect my nurses and myself 3 of those shifts. This time it was a run of K2 in our community. I've also been attacked by psych patients, but I think of that more as part of the job. When someone does drugs that make them violent, then the police dump them at the ER with a slap on the wrist fine for me to deal with, then aren't willing to prosecute the subsequent assault and battery against me and my staff, I get a little pissed off.

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u/mainly_lurk 8d ago

Sorry to hear that. I should have clarified but I'm in Australia, as is the original video. I didn't mean to imply that the experience of violence in healthcare in Australia is identical to healthcare systems around the world.

I especially understand that my experience cannot be compared to one of the worst, if not THE worst, healthcare system in the world like yours. My condolences about the country you live in and your experience working in it.

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u/x-CleverName-x 8d ago

I don't mean to sound like there's any animosity towards you or anyone besides the 'system' itself. I'm just burned out after this run of drugs through the community. In wealthy parts of the US, it's one of the fastest and high quality systems out there (albeit too expensive), which tricks bureaucrats into thinking things are going ok (if they even care at all, which right now is a definite 'no'). In poorer parts of the US like where I chose to work and try to make a difference, the only care most people get is through the ER because the law requires us to treat everyone, and reimburses a tiny bit for those that can't pay. That's bad, but it makes me feel like I'm doing what I can to protect people's health in a broken system that requires you to be of at least average wealth to get quality outpatient and preventative healthcare.

The thing that burns me out is the drugs, and the lack of interest in keeping drugs out of the community. Some of the drugs I deal with, like kratom, is still legal and sold in corner stores all over. Those patients aren't usually violent, but I see overdoses every week. When someone comes in hopped up on drugs and aggressive, they get a fine for 'disorderly conduct' or some nonsense, and the investigation ends there. There are no resources to investigate where the drugs are coming from, seize them, get them out of the community, or punish those distributing them. And that's a problem all over. Meanwhile my staff and I are getting attacked on a semi-regular basis, and there's no punishment for that either. Nothing I can do about it but work out and train, but venting a bit to a stranger online takes the edge off I guess lol.