Remember this one I wrote last week?
Well, there's more to the story.
She wasn't suicidal in the least and I stand by that.
But she sorta did get mad at her husband in the early evening hours and threaten to kill herself if he left with the dog.
(As an aside, people are really attached to their dogs. I mean, REALLY attached to their dogs.)
And she and her hubby were going at it a bit (there was a whole lotta back story that led to this specific point) and her daughter, who happened to be there at the time, became a bit concerned.
That her step-father of God-knows-how-many-years was going to actually leave with the dog,that is, not that her mother was suicidal.
So daughter called the cops.
Who came out, heard the story, and told the woman she needed to be evaluated at the hospital because she threatened to kill herself. Out of anger, mind, not out of depression or an actual need to end her life. But, it was "out there" none-the-less. She said those fateful words and because of this, forces, evil and benign, began to take over.
So daughter took her mother to the hospital instead of having the cops do it. After I heard the story of the long and winding road that brought the women to my doorstep, I told the daughter that this was her first mistake: she should have just put her mother in the car and drove around the block instead of bringing her to an ER.
But daughter wanted to do the right thing for her mother and felt her mother could use some help. Plus, she was afraid the cops were going to call and verify that they actually did go to the ER (suffice it to say the police made no such inquiry), so bring her to an ER she did. For an assessment.
That, come to find out, lasted about two-and-a-half minutes and consisted of exactly three questions.
You read that correctly. A licensed social worker asked this woman three questions in a three minute interview. And based on this "assessment", said social worker* made the decision to ED** this woman. Which, in layman's terms, means she sent this woman to psychiatric facility against her will. This process, by the way, involves the local sheriff--they're the ones who transport patients from point A to point B when an ED is in play. Some deputies, although not all of them, actually place people in handcuffs before putting them in the back of the squad car.
Just want you to be aware of how the process works here.
Three questions.
For the record, most would consider this an incomplete assessment.
For the record, my assessments generally last between 45 minutes and an hour. Even if I know within minutes what I think I want to do, I push forward. I've been known to change my mind with the way a person responds to the very last question they answer (which, I'll have you know, is not the THIRD question.)
I try not to second guess my colleagues even though I don't always agree when people make the decision to ED a patient. I know that when someone threatens to do such a a thing, ultimately it's our profession on the line if we make a "wrong" decisions. That's the art of the assessment and decision making process, after all. But in this situation, my colleague was just down-right lazy. There was much to this story, as there often is. Layers of nuance and complex relationships at play (as is the case with most of us, right?)
The trouble was, my hands were tied. ED paperwork was signed, sealed and delivered. At that point, there was nothing I could do as only a doctor can reverse the ED once it's been initiated. And he wasn't due at the facility for hours.
So I did the only thing I could do: I listened to this woman's story and I wrote the doc a memo. Point by point, I explained why I felt this woman did not need to be hospitalized. it was a long, type-written memo.
Come to find out, not only did the doc read the memo, not only did he release her from the hospital 8 hours later, but he faxed my memo to the organization for whom the other social worker works.
That I was not expecting--thank goodness I used spellcheck before I printed it out. I didn't want anyone to get in trouble (God forbid! She might not like me should we ever meet in person!) I just wanted this woman, who in my professional opinion wasn't suicidal, to be able to go home ASAP.
So what's the moral of the story here? Clearly, it's don't get a dog. ->
*I've never met this particular social worker and as noted, we aren't employed by the same agency. But our organizations work in tandem all the time.
**Emergency Detention
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tXCM/~3/fGIfGUFSt1M/damn-canine.html
Posted
19 May 2009 3:26 PM
by
Trench Warfare
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