helping a friend

Nurses Relations

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Ok so this may be a very dumb question.

A friend of my mothers husband is dying of cancer. He is coming home from the hospital soon on hospice. He is very ill, and from the sounds of it does not have much time left. His wife is a very close friend of my mothers. My mother is organizing, friends to come help the wife take care of him, and of course offered my help.

Not that i don't mind helping! but I have taken care of many family members who has since passed on from cancer. However in the past, i have been family and not a licensed nurse. So I didn't know if i'm allowed to give him his meds?

I know my mother's friend, but not all that well.

As a now RN helping a friend, am I allowed to give him his perscribed medications?

She is not paying me, so I'm not the hired RN. But it's not like they are family either. I just wasn't sure since now I'm an RN, where the legal standpoint is on this type of thing.

I am not saying that, as nurses, we should refuse to help out neighbors and friends, esp. in a situation like this, but I would encourage you to check what you are saying above with your state BON. RN licensure is 24/7, and we can't "turn it off" and stop being an RN just because we are not being paid. There is a lot more to whether one has entered into a nurse-patient relationship with someone than whether money is changing hands. If someone chooses to sit with a sick friend to help a family out, we are still legally responsible for acting within our legal scope of practice, and, if something went wrong while the nurse was present, the nurse would be legally responsible for her/his actions -- as an RN, not as a friend or neighbor.

This is the same kind of situation as someone stopping to help out at the scene of an accident -- you're legally accountable for your actions (and, although all states (I think) now have some kind of "Good Samaritan" law, they don't protect you if something goes wrong and you didn't do everything you should have within your professional scope of practice).

Again, I'm not saying that the OP shouldn't help out a friend or neighbor, just that people should be aware of their professional responsibilities in these kinds of situations. Professional licensure (of any kind) is serious business. Also, this is another example, as someone else already mentioned, of why it's a good idea to carry one's own, individual liability insurance. Your own insurance covers you in situations like this, while your employer's insurance only covers you while you're at work for your employer.

You make it sound that if anything goes wrong with anyone, anywhere, as long as a nurse is present, the RN will be legally held responsible within her scope of practice. Maybe that's true but that's quite a burden. In that case, one should never leave the house or have anyone come over to visit, just in case you come across someone who needs help. Just go to work and come home, and hope nothing happens in between.

Or, you could just live your life as you would and do your best as a human being and a nurse.

I don't recomment acting like a nurse outside of work (giving meds, doing treatments for friends), but sitting there giving support? It's pretty sad that you can't even do that.

You make it sound that if anything goes wrong with anyone, anywhere, as long as a nurse is present, the RN will be legally held responsible within her scope of practice. Maybe that's true but that's quite a burden. In that case, one should never leave the house or have anyone come over to visit, just in case you come across someone who needs help. Just go to work and come home, and hope nothing happens in between.

Or, you could just live your life as you would and do your best as a human being and a nurse.

I don't recomment acting like a nurse outside of work (giving meds, doing treatments for friends), but sitting there giving support? It's pretty sad that you can't even do that.

We can do that (I don't even have a particular problem with giving meds or doing treatments, under the right circumstances) -- we just need to be aware, IMO, of the accountability we are choosing to accept if we do so. Again, the key issue in my comment is that part just above what you bolded -- whether or not we have entered into a "nurse-patient relationship" with another individual. If I'm out grocery shopping and someone happens to slip, fall, and crack her/his head open in the next aisle, it's entirely up to me whether I respond and offer assistance or not. I'm under no responsibility to do so (at least, not in any state in which I've ever practiced. There have been individuals here who have posted that, in some states, nurses and other healthcare professionals are legally obligated by state law to respond in any situation out in public where someone needs medical assistance -- but I don't have any experience or particular knowledge about that), and I don't owe that individual anything. However, if I do (choose to) respond and offer assistance, then I have voluntarily accepted a "duty to care," and I am legally obligated to provide the same level of care that any prudent, responsible person with my same level of education and licensure would under the same circumstances. If I do something screwy, or miss something significant I should have noticed, etc., etc., etc. and the situation turns out badly, I can be held responsible for that.

If your neighbor comes over to your house and says Oh my gosh, Harry's had a terrible accident, can you please come over right away, you are legally perfectly welcome to tell your neighbor that she needs to call 911, or that you'll call for her, and leave it at that. If you're on an airplane and a flight attendant announces We have a medical emergency, is there a doctor or nurse on board?, you're perfectly welcome to sit there and keep your mouth shut. If you choose to go next door and assist Harry, or speak up on the plane and offer to help, you are accountable for your actions, and, if Mr. and Mrs. Harry or Mr. MI on the plane (or his survivors) end up angry about how things turn out and feel like it's your fault, they can sue you. Or, if you screwed up in a really big way, your license could be in trouble.

Again, I'm not saying the OP shouldn't help her acquaintances -- I was just responding to the comments on this thread (and similar comments frequently turn up on other threads on this site) suggesting that, as long as we're not at work and we're not being paid by a neighbor or friend to help them, we are somehow not "acting as an RN" and therefore don't need to think about any professional or legal responsibility. It's not that simple, and I just think it's important for nurses to understand that. Professional licensure is a big responsibility, a "burden," if you like, and the whole point of licensing members of particular occupations and professions is that these individuals carry an additional level of responsibility and accountability to the larger public above and beyond that of the average citizen. Once you're a licensed RN/LPN/MD/whatever, it's 24/7/365; your license doesn't "turn off" just because you're not at your paying job, and we can't say to a friend or neighbor, "I'll be glad to help out, but not as a nurse, just as a friend." If we're choosing to help out, it is as a nurse.

Thanks for clarifying, elkpark. I guess the best thing is to get . I can't go through life worrying about every encounter I have and what might go wrong - and constantly worry about my license. But you raise some good points that I (and other RNs) need to think about - thanks ;)

Elkpark: Thank you for clarifying!

I thought this was the case, but i was not completely certain. I am very glad I posted this, so at least I now know and so do others.

honestly even though it is a liability to help, I will help (however, we found out today, his condition has deteriorated, and will not be coming home). i fully accept responsibilty for my education and training. but after knowing this I will be looking into personal asap!

for me, i became a nurse because this is my passon/ calling. and sometimes we are called to do our work in random places. i do not want to fear loosing my house because i helped someone in a store or other random place, out of the kindness of my heart, to turn around and be sued because someone is out for money. not that i'm saying most people are like that, however in today's world it happens everyday. i'm again very glad to have made this post so we can all be aware!

And Thanks again for all your comments, advice and knowledge!

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