don't turn your back

I don't scare easily. After all the years in ER, dealing with all different kinds of people, you almost get used to dealing with nefarious characters.

There are times though when I have been scared of a patient. There are some people who make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. You sense that they aren't like everybody else. Most of the time there is some good left in junkies, drunks, etc., Especially when they sober up.

Then there is the hardened criminal. Somebody who has spent time in prison, in a ruthless environment where it is survival of the fittest. Either that or the person is a sociopath who doesn't know right from wrong and just doesn't care. These people have an edge and you can almost see the violence in them. Its like they are living life on a knifes edge, poised to strike out at a moments notice. Commit violence. You sense that this is not someone you want to piss off, because they wouldn't hesitate to slam you into the ground.

Those are the people that scare you. Those are the people that you immediately call security and don't approach them without them being right there. You never go in the room alone with them. You never turn your back to them. You never allow yourself to be cornered, you always stand near the door, an escape route. Sometimes the people we deal with are really dangerous.