In the know: Handling a suicide threat
Stressed Out Nurses Weekly, May 5, 2010
It is important to remember that most suicide threat attempts are expressions of extreme distress and not harmless bids for attention. Also, any person who has expressed suicidal ideation should not be left alone and needs immediate treatment.
If a person does tell you that he or she is suicidal, here's what you can do:
- Stay calm and listen.
- Let the person talk about his or her feelings.
- Be accepting and do not judge.
- Ask whether the person has a plan, and if so, what it is.
- Don't swear secrecy.
- Do not leave the patient alone. Take him or her with you if you must, so you can get help.
To read more tips, check out HCPro's book, Stressed Out About Difficult Patients.
Related Products
-
Quick-E Pro: Time Management: A Guide For Nurses
Designed to help you make the most of your time this resource includes proven strategies and techniques as well as charts...
-
Nurse Residency Program Builder
This guide saves you time and money by providing the tools you need to establish a well-structured nursing residency program...
-
Nurse Residency Programs
The IOM report on the Future of Nursing made just eight recommendations, one of which is all new nurses be enrolled a nurse...
-
Onboarding New Graduate Nurses: How to Overcome Hurdles and Retain New Nurses
This 90-minute webcast demonstrates how the onboarding process for new graduate nurses will increase retention and speed up...
-
Quick-E Pro: Evidence-Based Practice: A Guide for Nurses
This one-of-a-kind resource will walk you through how to find evidence, critique literature, and make practice based on...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- CMS puts hospital surveys on limited hold as surge continues
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- The consequences of an incomplete medical record
- Nursing responsibilities for managing pain
- Skills of effective case managers
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- ICD-10-CM coma, stroke codes require more specific documentation
- E-mailed
-
- CMS puts hospital surveys on limited hold as surge continues
- Charge and bill Medicare all pre-operative diagnostic tests
- Know guidelines and subtle differences in code descriptions for laceration repairs
- How to create a safety protocol for emergency department psychiatric patients
- Get the facts on emergency department FAST exams
- Study: Male residents are twice as likely to interrupt
- Q&A: Report separately payable drugs under revenue code 0636
- Q&A: Mechanical room storage, risk assessments, patient rooms
- Long-Term Care Training Solutions
- Capturing start and stop times for infusions
- Searched