The next guy is in there for armed robbery. He was strung out on drugs, fresh out of jail, and just out of touch. He is schizophrenic, but normal 99.9% of the time. During that .1% he is totally out of control. He has hit me before during one of these episodes giving me a pretty bad black eye, but I do not hold it against him. It is a sad note, however, that no less than six female staff have been fired due to having boundary issues with him (sexual relations) and he has HIV. He will get out too if HIV doesn’t claim his life first.
What’s the most difficult situation you ever had to deal with? (Physically, emotionally, or otherwise)
That’s… strangely fascinating 
Do women deliberately sign up for these jobs hoping to get it on with the bad-boy types? Are they desperate or stupid, perhaps, or is this guy particularly charming or attractive? And how are the sexual relations uncovered afterward?
People who are diagnosed wit antisocial personality disorder or APD for short are oftentimes very charming; it is known as “false charm.” They use it to manipulate others and get what they want.
I’m assuming the females heard the same stuff in training I did, “DONT HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PATIENTS!” They probably thought they would never, ever have this happen to them. It starts out innocent enough, but then the person is bringing in the patients cigarettes or other contraband. The last female was a co-worker of mine and I discovered she was having the relationship with him after he handed me over a load of letters drowned and her perfume and said, “She’s psycho…I’m done with her.” I had my suspicions before this but could not confirm them. The letters topics ranged from her life at home to the sexual fantasies she has had. There is nothng I can do but report this to a supervisor, as it is considered abuse neglect. I would much rather have approached her and just said WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING??? and had her moved to a different part of the building. The thing is, if I do not report I am fired and will never work in a hospital or care center again; as mentioned before, I am going to be a nurse there.
What’s the most difficult situation you ever had to deal with? (Physically, emotionally, or otherwise)
Being attacked and not being able to fight back is really difficult to deal with. We can only restrain them and this usually means taking them to the floor. Physically, the broken ribs were the worst part as far as lasting pain. Being bitten on the arm all the way to my bone was VERY painful. I was bitten on the neck by a patient who has Hepatitis C, so waiting on the results of the Hep tests for Og knows how long was difficult on me and my girlfriend emotionally and…umm…physically. The worst attack I have ever seen occured about four weeks ago. One patient hit another in the face so hard he smashed his entire orbital lobe and this guy will have vision problems the rest of his life. I have seen patients spike one anothers heads off the wall or stab one another with crude shanks. I have seen patients jumped and had to fight two or three people at a time to make sure the guy doesn’t get killed.
I had a lot of nightmares when I first started working there and it took me awhile to adjust. I am not able to wind down right away after work at all. There is a cooling off period I through which usually takes five or six hours. Also, if we have staffing shortages (which we always do) it is not uncommon to work three 16 hour shifts in a row and then have to do your other two regular 8 hour shifts; being overworked is an issue that all of the security aides and nurses face. Even if you have been hit – you cannot leave if there is not enough staff in the entire building unless it is by ambulance. During the winter when the weather is bad it is normal for staff to have to sleep on an empty ward and live like the patients. Mental and physical exhaustion is all too common and many good people have quit or been fired due to it.
I see behavior and quotes on these boards that would make it into the “delusional” section of a patients chart. I do not believe someone needs hospitilization if the are not a threat to themselves or others. “Checking” people to see if they need help seems rather intrusive; it is usually apparent when someone cannot help themselves anymore and needs someone else to make the decisions for them.
By the way…thanks for the warm welcome to the boards. I was not sure if there would be a lot of interest in the topic. It really is an honor to have such an interesting job and I do enjoy my work. This is not a subject you ever see touched on with television. You see Lockup or programs about prisoners and inmates all the time; even correctional officers have shows dedicated about them and there is even American Jail. Due to privacy laws, cameras never grace the inside of mental hospitals, so the public doesn’t have much imagery to draw upon.
Just wanted to say you’re close to my age (you’re a few years older), and I just wanna say thanks for your efforts. Its the guys out there doing what you guys are doing that keep my Dad safe (even though a few years ago, a patient got him too- nothing too bad, a black eye- but it was the first time in like 20 years he’d be attacked successfully- really shook him and us up).
So thanks again for watching out for the Staff there, and I appreciate it.
And good luck to you on your nursing career in the psych wards. I’ve volunteered there (in the less dangerous wings), and it’s REALLY tough- i full understand that burnout, and I def. know I’m not suited for that environment.
So more power to ya for it.
Kinda related to the death penalty (but not really): What’s your opinion on suicide? Has your job and the interaction with patients changed that opinion at all? The 20-year-old and your comment about unwanted help made me wonder.
Oh, and as I curious as I am, I realize that sometimes there is such a thing as “too many questions”. Let me know if it becomes overbearing 
Thank YOU ro0sh for the thank you. It is not often the doctors get attacked (assuming your dad is one), even crazy people know this is not going to help their cause.
Kinda related to the death penalty (but not really): What’s your opinion on suicide? Has your job and the interaction with patients changed that opinion at all? The 20-year-old and your comment about unwanted help made me wonder.
Oh, and as I curious as I am, I realize that sometimes there is such a thing as “too many questions”. Let me know if it becomes overbearing
You are not being overbearing, just curious. I enjoy answering the questions. My girlfriend is asleep because she works nomal people hours (she is a juvenile officer) and I work evening shift, so I have a lot of alone time when I get home to do things like this.
My opinion on suicide is…well…hard to say. I do not advocate suicide, but I do believe in free will. The guy is 20 years old, for all purposes he is still a kid; I am glad he did not die because he really is a good person who loves his family and watches out for the staff that watches out for him. There are other cases however…
There is one gentlement who must have TWO staff with him at all times. This guy has tried to commit suicide so many times he has to be watched, with full eyes on him, by TWO people at all times. That means taking a shit, showering, and jerking off. The state will seriously not let him die; he even sleeps in a room with a camera so security can make sure staff does not fall asleep during the eight hours they have to watch him sleep. I just really do not have an opinion, but it just seems a bit fucked up that two people, at the cost of the taxpayers, have to make sure one person who WANTS to die stays alive.
First I want to thank you for this topic. Ever since I first saw One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest I’ve been curious about mental hospitals. It’s a fascinating topic.
I understand that Ken Kesey worked briefly at a facility, and I’m wondering if you feel that either the book or the movie offer a fairly accurate depiction? Have things gotten any better than they were 40-50 years ago, either for the staff or the patients?
The movie may have been accurate for the time period it focused on, but it is now outdated. Low functioning patients nowadays are housed with other low functioning patients. High functioning ones, like Jack Nicholson, would be someplace else entirely.
Patients have a lot more rights now. We no longer lobotomize people, as I’m sure you know, and especially for not being quirky, a smartass, or someone the nurse does not like. Back in the day when my dad worked here: 71-91 – the staff had it “better.” There were fewer staff injuries because there was “sideroom” therapy. The staff struck back so patients did not attack nearly as often. We average an emergency room visit a day with our staff. This was not the case when he worked there. I do not advocate violence against the clients - I’m just saying.
Jack Nicholson was also in a lower security environment. Everything we have is bolted down - the chairs are hard plastic filled with sand. We do wear all whites though. I hope I answered the question. If not, ask again and I’ll try to think of other things.
Thank you again, jeredc1983. This is good stuff.
Now, last one for the night. This might be a hard one to answer, but I figured I may never get another chance to ask… and you did say no bullshit, so: Do you ever find yourself enjoying your position of power over the patients? Do you eventually dehumanize some of them to the point that you find yourself wanting to hurt them and enjoying that feeling, however sadistic it might sound?
We occasionally hear about things like the Abu Ghraib incidents and the Stanford Prison Experiment, but rarely do we get to hear it from the guards’ perspectives. Perhaps a mental hospital, as you described it, isn’t the most relevant place for that question – since you did say you’re not allowed to taze them, etc. – but you’re still nonetheless in a position of forceful authority over them. What do you think? Any relevance, or unfair comparison?
And, once more, thanks. Very much.
Interesting question 404. It will take some typing and thought, so I am going to call it tonight. I’ll post tomorrow. Thanks for the conversation!
Everybody in your line of work should read Games Criminals Play. The subject matter of the book is entirely devoted to illustrating exactly how convicts manipulate corrections employees. You’ll be amazed at some of the anecdotes that you’ll read in there. You’ll say to yourself “how could anybody possibly get played like that?” But they do, and pretty soon they’re at the convict’s beck and call. Trust me on this—get a copy, read it, and pass it around to your buddies—particularly the women. It will save you or somebody you work with a lot of grief someday. I’ll even loan you my copy if you’ll reimburse me for the postage.