Occasionally, some of your patients will become so agitated or violent that they will need restraints for the safety of themselves and others.

The use of restraints ensures a quick end to any escalation of agitated or aggressive behavior, but restraint-free approaches can also defuse the situation while safeguarding patients’ safety and dignity.

While empathetic listening, validating emotions, and scheduled medications effectively calm many agitated patients, they don’t always succeed. 

When patients become agitated and threatening, we often think first about chemical or physical restraints, particularly if staff safety is at risk. 

Reportable events, also known as safety events, adverse events, near misses, safety intelligence reports, or serious incidents, refer to any occurrence that diverges from standard care or poses a potential threat to the safety of patients, staff, visitors, or the hospital. 

Working on inpatient psychiatric units comes with a significant risk of developing PTSD. 

It’s likely you’ll encounter aggressive or violent situations in psychiatric EDs and inpatient units.

Sexual attraction—and even sexual activity—sometimes occurs among individuals staying together in a psychiatric inpatient unit. Nevertheless, many psychiatric hospitals lack policies on patient-to-patient physical contact. 

Precaution orders help ensure the safety and well-being of patients and staff. 

You may have received that dreaded text first thing in the morning: “The Joint Commission has just arrived for a site visit. Please consult your supervisor for further information.” Suddenly, everyone’s on edge. What should you do? And why is this such a big deal?