Nurse Practitioner Nancy Masters broke up with her control freak boyfriend, Joe Jerque, after a three-year relationship that was going nowhere but down. Despite her repeated pleas for counseling, he refused help, and his short temper and terrifying tantrums were only getting worse. Fearful of retaliation, she moved out while he was at work, didn’t leave a forwarding address, and changed her phone number and e-mail address. One evening as she walked to her car in the poorly lit parking lot next to the clinic where she worked, Joe showed up and confronted her, begging to be taken back. She told him it was over and to please leave her alone. The following night, Joe appeared again, and again she told him to go away. On the third evening, she asked the security guard to walk her to her car. When she arrived at her vehicle, she found a note under her windshield wiper alongside an envelope: “I will never let you go. You are mine forever, even in death.” Inside the envelope was a .38 caliber bullet. Terrified, she immediately called the police to report the incidents, and the security guard took the matter to his supervisor. The clinic administrator told Nancy and the security guard that it was a personal matter to pursue with the police and the legal system, and that the clinic was not responsible for her safety once she left the premises. Nancy is terrified; she is familiar with the stalking literature. There is a direct association between the number of stalking incidents and the likelihood of violence—including homicide. She petitions the court and obtains a restraining order against Joe, but worries that he will violate it. She is considering getting a permit to carry a concealed weapon for self-protection.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is the clinic’s responsibility in these types of situations?
2. What could the clinic do to help remedy the situation?
3. What do you recommend that Nancy do above and beyond what has already been done?
4. Do you think Nancy is wise in considering carrying a gun to the clinic?
5. What laws in your state are applicable with regard to concealed carry in general and in health care facilities specifically?