Have you ever had a patient be combative toward you? If so, how did you handle the situation?

"I think anyone who has worked very long in the medical field will tell you that, at one time or another, he/she has had a patient who was not very cooperative. Before I became a medical laboratory tech, I worked as a nursing assistant. During that time, I had a patient throw his food tray at me once. While I was not happy about having oatmeal all over my outfit, I took a minute and talked to the patient to find out what was really going on. I found out that the patient had reported an allergy to oatmeal and had asked the nurse the day before to make sure that dietary knew of the allergy. When he received his breakfast tray, he became upset and threw it at the first person he saw. I cleaned the mess, ordered him a new tray, and asked his nurse to make a note on his chart of the allergy. He was later apologetic."

"In this situation, communicating to the patient the steps that I needed to take is extremely important so they understand if they have to wait for a bit before being able to perform the draw. By understanding the situation and what needed to be done, that would put the patient's mind at ease. I would contact the physicians office directly to try and expedite the lab order and wouldn't hesitate to ask for help from my teammates to take care of the other patients as well."

"In my years of experience as a lab tech, my calm demeanor and ability to communicate with patients is extremely important in helping solve the issue quickly and efficiently. When we have a packed waiting room, teamwork is of the utmost importance. For the patient that didn't have an official lab request, I would contact the physician's office immediately to see if an order was in fact supposed to occur and then ask that it be entered into our system quickly. I would be sure to communicate to the patient any waiting period that would be expected as well."

"I have not had a patient become combative toward me yet. I would like to think that, if/when I am faced with a situation like that, I will remain calm and try to get to the source of the aggression. Many times people act out in fear and if I can be patient enough to find out what is really going on, perhaps I can help my patient overcome that fear and be more at ease, not only with me, but with all of the care team."

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