[NRSKarenRN]

From ANA Smart Briefs:

New U.K. guidelines will allow nurses to decide on resuscitation
Experienced nurses may now decide whether to resuscitate patients when their hearts stop or when they stop breathing, according to new guidelines issued by the British Medical Association. "The majority of the time it will be doctors that make the decision, but sometimes the person in charge of a patient's care is a very senior nurse," said Dr. Vivienne Nathanson of the BMA. "We feel it's daft if the advice of a nurse, who knows the patient best, should be second guessed." Reuters (10/27)

[leslymill]

I love it. I don't think we should be the deciding factor because of the liability. I think we should be a consulting factor because we tend to know the factors.

[Silverdragon102]

have been discussing this in the UK forum

[chocokitten]

I know that here at the VA (in the USA) there are many instances in which my patient and/or his family members (and sometimes even the advanced directive ON CHART) state pt is DNR/DNI and yet the MD fails to write DNR/DNI orders which can lead to a patient being resucitated against their will. As a nurse I try to avoid this by notifying the MD as soon as I see the discrepancy, but it can be a very tricky situation if the patient codes >_> And a liability concern. I think nurses should at least have a voice in a code.