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Aristus

(66,094 posts)
Fri Jun 22, 2018, 03:36 PM Jun 2018

I 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...

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I just had to face down an enraged patient in the waiting room of the clinic. (Original Post) Aristus Jun 2018 OP
My dear Aristus! CaliforniaPeggy Jun 2018 #1
what was the final outcome, if you don't mind saying ? steve2470 Jun 2018 #2
He left and didn't come back. Aristus Jun 2018 #5
Why was he enraged? What happened? Tipperary Jun 2018 #3
It had nothing to do with us. Aristus Jun 2018 #6
You have a rough job. Tipperary Jun 2018 #9
Good thinking. CanSocDem Jun 2018 #4
Can anger be a side effect of Kenalog? irisblue Jun 2018 #7
I've never had it happen before. Aristus Jun 2018 #8
Friend of mine was a parish priest... malthaussen Jun 2018 #10

steve2470

(37,457 posts)
2. what was the final outcome, if you don't mind saying ?
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 05:52 AM
Jun 2018

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

(66,094 posts)
5. He left and didn't come back.
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 10:12 AM
Jun 2018

The rest of the afternoon, I worried that he would return with a gun...

Aristus

(66,094 posts)
6. It had nothing to do with us.
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 10:20 AM
Jun 2018

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)
9. You have a rough job.
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 03:25 PM
Jun 2018

Rewarding, I am sure, but dealing with patients like that must take a toll sometimes.

 

CanSocDem

(3,286 posts)
4. Good thinking.
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 09:04 AM
Jun 2018


Clearly the final solution to disruptive behaviour in the USA is a cop with a gun. And no...it's not about mental health.


.

Aristus

(66,094 posts)
8. I've never had it happen before.
Sat Jun 23, 2018, 02:51 PM
Jun 2018

Irritation is listed among the side effects, but that refers to a skin reaction at the site of inoculation.

malthaussen

(17,066 posts)
10. Friend of mine was a parish priest...
Sun Jun 24, 2018, 12:28 PM
Jun 2018

... 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

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