Administering Tylenol to a friend

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Hi everyone, I'm a second semester nursing student and today in class my professor said something interesting I had never considered. We are learning about medication administration currently and her question was: "Your best friend is at your house and complains of a headache. She asks you for some of your Tylenol. Do you give it to her?" Almost everyone said yes that it was ok because it was your friend, not in your job setting, and she was a consenting adult capable of making her own decision to take the medication. Our professor said that was wrong and that you can't give any medication to your friend because you are not a licensed prescriber and you could lose your license if something happened your friend. She also said that same applies to your own children. So what are you supposed to do if your kid is sick and needs cough medication? You're always accountable if something bad were to happen?

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I would suspect the instructor was trying to make you think. Consider a similar scenario:

Friend is at your house. He has an acute onset of an intense headache. He knows you are a nurse and asks you for advice. You tell him to take some APAP. He does, goes home after a movie, headache is still bad but he's comforted knowing you gave him advice, calls his mom who is concerned but he tells her you gave him advice, next morning EMS is taking him to the hospital with a SAH. Glasgow score is 8.

Mom is upset and calls the lawyer.

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Boston, do you like Triscuits?

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I would suspect the instructor was trying to make you think. Consider a similar scenario:

Friend is at your house. He has an acute onset of an intense headache. He knows you are a nurse and asks you for advice. You tell him to take some APAP. He does, goes home after a movie, headache is still bad but he's comforted knowing you gave him advice, calls his mom who is concerned but he tells her you gave him advice, next morning EMS is taking him to the hospital with a SAH. Glasgow score is 8.

Mom is upset and calls the lawyer.

Unless the friend paid you for advice then good samaritan laws generally shield you from any liability, so that's not really an example of where the nurse should refuse to talk to their friend about their question. Ideally the nurse would offer better advice, but there's no legal basis for saying they shouldn't comment on it.

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We were told something smilar when I was in school: can't give any medications once we are a nurse. I call BS too. If I have a bottle of tylenol and my friend is looking for some, I give it to them.

We got this lecture too (coincidentally while we were at a nursing board hearing-a field trip of sorts). Cannot hand Tylenol to a friend. They didn't go there with the parent/child thing. If this were enforced many of us wouldn't have a license.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Float Pool Nursing.

Your instructor is an idiot on a power trip. Case closed. Next...

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Boston, do you like Triscuits?

Unless I have PKU and then you just killed me.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Unless the friend paid you for advice then good samaritan laws generally shield you from any liability, so that's not really an example of where the nurse should refuse to talk to their friend about their question. Ideally the nurse would offer better advice, but there's no legal basis for saying they shouldn't comment on it.

I am not a legal expert, but, as I understand it the friend would not need to pay anything. All that is required is: damages, duty, breach, deviation. It could be argued that the nurse established duty by undertaking care by giving advice.

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I am not a legal expert, but, as I understand it the friend would not need to pay anything. All that is required is: damages, duty, breach, deviation. It could be argued that the nurse established duty by undertaking care by giving advice.

By stating as a nurse I suggest...

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
By stating as a nurse I suggest...

I am such a devil's advocate

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I am sure that this instructor was using this example to make you think about other situations where issues could arise, but got the point across poorly. A better example could have been used.

Outside of employment, a nurse will be held to a higher standard than most other members of the public, regardless of good samaritan laws. Your instructor was likely trying to explain that intervening in certain situations isn't as clear cut as you would like it to seem.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I am not a legal expert, but, as I understand it the friend would not need to pay anything. All that is required is: damages, duty, breach, deviation. It could be argued that the nurse established duty by undertaking care by giving advice.

That's generally true; people can sue others for whatever they want, despite having no chance of winning. There are exceptions however the law specifically makes someone not liable, good samaritan laws are one of these exceptions; no pay=no liability.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
That's generally true; people can sue others for whatever they want, despite having no chance of winning. There are exceptions however the law specifically makes someone not liable, good samaritan laws are one of these exceptions; no pay=no liability.

I have never seen Good Sam laws I acted under non-Emergancy situations.

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