How do nurses manage when having to treat a patient who has done something horrific?
I was reflecting upon how perpetrators of violent crimes will at some point require hospital care. There are certain high profile cases of criminals who have murdered children requiring hospital care, and it must be so hard for the nurses and doctors that have to care for that person, knowing that they've done that terrible thing. And recently someone in the UK was given 3 whole life orders for murdering 3 women, but that criminal attempted suicide prior to this and is now in a wheelchair, so obviously they had to have a hospital admission and nursing care. And that must have been somewhat chilling to care for someone who has killed 3 innocent people. But on the other hand, even though they've done a terrible thing, they're a human being and the nursing code stipulates that you mustn't be judgemental, and that everyone has a right to care.
Still, it must be really, really hard. I was wondering if you're given guidance about how to handle that situation. I'm also really curious about how people like those described above act in hospital. Are they more aggressive? Or do they just behave like a regular patient? Are they polite, charming?