Nurses provide an invaluable service to the health care industry and its consumers. They nurture and tend to patients in their care while carrying out tasks that are difficult, repetitive and not always pleasant. The numbers of violent attacks on nurses are high, despite the nurturing role these men and women have when working; it doesn’t seem fair that they may have to be subject to such treatment when in a service career.

Nurses who work in hospitals and other facilities often take care of their patients by themselves; the quiet, lonely shifts some nurses face on a regular basis may place these nurses at risk for attack, especially if they work in high-risk facilities like psychiatric units and prisons, or in hospitals that are in high crime risk areas. Emergency rooms

Clearly, nurses need to be able to protect themselves. Some hospitals have asked that nurses carry cell phones to use in the case of an emergency. Other facilities have implemented alarm systems to use when danger arises. These plans are helpful, but the seconds that lapse in between the moment a nurse summons assistance and an attacker pounces are critical. It may be too late by the time help arrives. If nurses could use devices like TASERs, which emit non-fatal electric charges, the attacker could be subdued without sustaining major injuries. It looks like nurses may have to take matters into their own hands and use protective devices like TASERs to subdue assailants safely.

Most attacks on nurses do not cause death but the injuries sustained by nurses can be severe; documentation indicates that patients have used physical strength, knives and guns to hurt nurses but easily accessible objects like scissors and chairs have also proven to be effective weapons. A nurse trained to use a TASER could interrupt the attack successfully and keep him or herself from serious physical and psychological injury.

Physical and psychological recovery from acts of violence by patients and other attackers is slow, especially if an assailant manages to attack a nurse or other healthcare worker within the confines of that workplace. Sometimes, patients are not the only ones who victimize nurses; co-workers and strangers present in healthcare settings have also been known to take advantage of the seemingly secure environments. Psychological and physical damages often keep victims from their jobs and from their much-needed paychecks. It seems that equipping nurses with TASERs and training them thoroughly could prevent a lot of potential difficulty and pain.