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Patient Abuse by Nursing Assistants

Are you aware of any incidents of nursing assistants abusing patients in any way? If not, then you should be aware of such things as you are jumping into this profession. Sadly, the abuse of patients by nursing assistants can take many forms including physical, sexual and emotional abuse. This is a nationwide problem and most medical facilities many take precautions against the occurrence of such incidents. The first step they take is to perform background checks on new employees and they may be banned from working if they are found to have been involved in activities such as domestic violence, driving under the influence and any form of harassment. Any past record of illicit activities may stop you from working as a nursing assistant.

As the demand of nursing assistants in the market is very high, often the background check for nursing assistants is not taken as seriously as it should be. This sometimes results in employment of people that have been involved in criminal activities in the past. In many of the states the employers are also held responsible for any abuse occurring in their organization. This may help the background check to be carried out more strictly.

Sexual abuse of patients by nursing assistants includes the allegations of inappropriate touching and sexual intercourse. This mainly happens in case of male nursing assistants who are responsible for bathing the patients. It is the duty of the nurses to supervise the nursing assistants. When the nursing assistant is alone with the patient, the nurses may make surprise visits.

There are some cases where the nursing assistants abuse the patients physically. This mainly happens in cases when the nursing assistant is not satisfied with his job or salary. Frustration and other overwhelming circumstances may be the cause of physical abuse. There are some cases where the nursing assistants hit the patient for soiling the clothes and beddings. The elderly people are often afraid of reporting such behavior of the nursing assistant.

Another common type of abuse by the nursing assistants is verbal abuse that can range from teasing to threats. There are some cases where the nursing assistants are accused of stealing the patients’ possessions. They may be reported for the theft of cash, jewelry, foods and sometimes dietary supplements. It is very difficult to prove who did it because there are many people coming in contact with the patient including the doctors and nurses working in the medical facility.

These shameful activities carried out by certain individuals are publicized by the media like television, newspaper and internet and can give the entire profession a bad name. The job of a nursing assistant is a difficult one, and they should do their best to take the responsibility to protect the patients.

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