Thanks NH,

We have code "cheat sheets" as well that folks wear on their armbands, and since I work on a medical/psychiatric hybrid unit, I get to respond to the violent individual codes paged overhead.

In recent years, we had a hospital in the area that had one of it's nurses go in and kill his soon to be ex-wife before suiciding.

Fortunately, there were only two deaths with that incident.

I just worry that in any hospital there is this huge population of vulnerable people in a contained area and I'm wanting to have some mechanism in place for dealing with that.

I sit on the Emergency Team as a bedside nurse so I'm limited in what info I'm privy to and what effect I can have.

Also as the newbie on the team, I'm very aware of not wanting to step on too many toes in the process.

But I figured I'd stick my neck out see what info I could offer them.

My 2c....I deliver patients to hospitals all the time. I'd say about 75% of the time, the 'securtiy guards' are a joke. The few that actually have the physical ability to 'do something' are so few in number that it would be like trying to take on a mob on your own. When the ER staff are in the midst of 'hand to hand' (be it 'real H2H or just trying to put down the very strong and beligerant drunk), they are very happy to see the 'streetwise' medics who can help them as compared to the 'security team'.

If anything real DID happen in a hospital/institution.....I'd figure you are on your own. There are so many doors to be able to exit that they could never really lock them all down. Even if there were the 'electronic lockdown' capability....human (I'm too lazy) nature would have people doing things to bypass the locks for their normal everyday activities that when the real thing happened....many of the locks probably wouldn't work.....be prepared to take care of you and yours.....

That's what I like about my buddy the ER doctor. He used to be an active Seal before becoming a doctor, and is a firm believer in going to work everyday well armed, and fully capable.

He has a great, calming disposition normally. What I like is he doesn't get violent in a confrontaion. When he decides that something has to be done, he is thorough, quick, and usually pretty quiet about the whole thing, the end result being the beligerent is usually subdued and the authorities contacted to come deal with them.