Jenna Williams
December 2022
Jenna
Williams
,
RN
E7
University of Arkansas for Medical Science
Little Rock
,
AR
United States
Jenna was able to redirect him with direct eye contact, a soft voice, non-threatening body language, and showing him her hands.
I am a Sergeant with the UAMS Police Department. I would like to share with you an incident that involved one of your direct reports (RN) Jenna Williams and the excellent job she did.
One Saturday in September, Officers were dispatched to H7 regarding a disgruntled patient who was becoming aggressive with staff.
On my arrival, I noticed multiple Medical Staff members standing in the hallway with their backs to the wall, appearing to be in fear. I looked across the hallway and noticed a male, 6-1, 300lb, confused, yelling, and with aggressive posture as he stated, “Are you trying to kill me? All of you are trying to kill me!!” As he reached to grab the phone receiver and started waving it about, a nurse (later identified as Jenna Williams) stepped forward, and approached him slowly with a soft voice. I could not hear what she was saying but I noticed he started to flinch. She continued to speak in a low, soft voice and focused his attention on her instead of those surrounding him who clearly looked panicky. She was able to remove the phone receiver from his hands and started to calm him. Once I was closer, I could hear, she was giving him comfort by saying repeatedly, “It’s OK. You’ll be OK. No one will hurt you. I’m here to help you.” When the male would lose focus on her and look at the others, he would become aggravated again. But Jenna would move to stand in front of him so that he would only see her. Again, she would request he only focus on her and she calmed him again. I noticed, he made eye contact with me and smiled slightly while she had him calm. I raised my hand and when he focused on me. I asked him if he trusted me. With her soft voice, she was able to convey that everything would be fine. So, I asked him, if we could go into his room and talk (this was to stop and prevent further disturbance in the hallway to other patients and visitors).
Once inside the room, the male started to panic again and become aggressive, but Jenna was able to redirect him with direct eye contact, a soft voice, non-threatening body language, and showing him her hands. She gained his trust to such an extent that whenever I walked toward her he became protective of her and didn’t want me anywhere near her. She used this to her advantage and convinced him to take his medication. (Note, This man was not even Jenna’s patient, nor her responsibility, but she saw a need, stepped in, and prevented a situation that would have surely ended with someone being harmed. The male was just too massive in size. If officers would’ve had to restrain him, without a shadow of a doubt, we would have had to use an extreme amount of physical contact. Due to Jenna’s experience and professional behavior, this incident ended peacefully.)
With courage, Jenna stepped in where no one else would. I would like to ask if you would commend her for it. Too many times I hear, “That’s not my job!” I’m grateful this was not her mindset even though this was not her patient.
One Saturday in September, Officers were dispatched to H7 regarding a disgruntled patient who was becoming aggressive with staff.
On my arrival, I noticed multiple Medical Staff members standing in the hallway with their backs to the wall, appearing to be in fear. I looked across the hallway and noticed a male, 6-1, 300lb, confused, yelling, and with aggressive posture as he stated, “Are you trying to kill me? All of you are trying to kill me!!” As he reached to grab the phone receiver and started waving it about, a nurse (later identified as Jenna Williams) stepped forward, and approached him slowly with a soft voice. I could not hear what she was saying but I noticed he started to flinch. She continued to speak in a low, soft voice and focused his attention on her instead of those surrounding him who clearly looked panicky. She was able to remove the phone receiver from his hands and started to calm him. Once I was closer, I could hear, she was giving him comfort by saying repeatedly, “It’s OK. You’ll be OK. No one will hurt you. I’m here to help you.” When the male would lose focus on her and look at the others, he would become aggravated again. But Jenna would move to stand in front of him so that he would only see her. Again, she would request he only focus on her and she calmed him again. I noticed, he made eye contact with me and smiled slightly while she had him calm. I raised my hand and when he focused on me. I asked him if he trusted me. With her soft voice, she was able to convey that everything would be fine. So, I asked him, if we could go into his room and talk (this was to stop and prevent further disturbance in the hallway to other patients and visitors).
Once inside the room, the male started to panic again and become aggressive, but Jenna was able to redirect him with direct eye contact, a soft voice, non-threatening body language, and showing him her hands. She gained his trust to such an extent that whenever I walked toward her he became protective of her and didn’t want me anywhere near her. She used this to her advantage and convinced him to take his medication. (Note, This man was not even Jenna’s patient, nor her responsibility, but she saw a need, stepped in, and prevented a situation that would have surely ended with someone being harmed. The male was just too massive in size. If officers would’ve had to restrain him, without a shadow of a doubt, we would have had to use an extreme amount of physical contact. Due to Jenna’s experience and professional behavior, this incident ended peacefully.)
With courage, Jenna stepped in where no one else would. I would like to ask if you would commend her for it. Too many times I hear, “That’s not my job!” I’m grateful this was not her mindset even though this was not her patient.