Hi everyone, just posting this to vent really. I'm a first year adult student nurse and started my second placement (which is 7 weeks) 2 weeks ago. I'm on a dementia ward, which I thought I would be able to manage because I've worked with people with dementia before, but I really can't cope with the ward anymore because of the level of aggression.
There was an incident today where a patient got in my face and threatened to punch me, which really shook me up. This patient has assaulted staff before, and he is very unwell and can be very aggressive. My practice assessor told me to get some air and when I came back she changed me to another corridor so I wasn't taking care of him, but he was pacing around the ward so I couldn't avoid him.
One of the practice educators came to see me and witnessed him kicking doors and shouting and asked me if I was okay, and I told her that I was really struggling to cope. She said she was concerned about the level of aggression on the ward which I shouldn't be exposed to (he's not the only aggressive patient), and advised that I email my university about this and ask if it's possible to change placements. I've done this and I honestly don't think I can go back there. I'm not sure if it's even possible to change placements now, but I can't do 5 more weeks of this.
I'm feeling pretty disappointed with myself for not being able to cope with this and embarrassed for getting so upset, but I also agree with the practice educator that I shouldn't be exposed to this level of aggression and quite frankly it is unsafe. I know in my career I will be taking care of people who are aggressive (and I have before) and I need to learn to deal with it, but I've had a really difficult few months and my mental health is already poor.
Update: my academic assessor spoke to the placement team leader who's put some recommendations in place, and I spoke to my practice assessor today and she was so lovely and supportive. Going back on Friday, fingers crossed things go smoothly! Thank you all for your kind words and advice.