Are Nurses Considered "First Responders?"

edmst · Apr 22, 2017

meanmaryjean said:
I never considered myself a first responder- even in the ED.

Really? An ER nurse is not a first responder? At some facilities if there is a rapid response or code blue the ER team are the ones to respond. In the ER where I work, rapid responses aren't paged overhead if there is a decompensating pt in the ER because we are the code team. If a critical situation occurs anywhere on the 1st floor of the hospital--be it the ER, C/T, MRI, Ux, IR, cafeteria, lobby, visiting area, parking lot, valet, or anywhere within 250 yards of hospital property, the ER is the team to respond. Rescue is not called..If we get a code blue/stroke/stemi, ER pages overhead only to notify Cath lab/CT/MRI ready to clear the tables. The pt is first stabilized before taken to radiography which is done by ER because some Rescues are notoriously incompetent. Not every pt is stable when they come through triage. Mind you, this particular hospital I am referring to has 115,000+ ER pts/yr. You may be referring to a lower acuity ER.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Apr 22, 2017

Rocknurse said:
I would consider a flight nurse to be a first responder.

Wuzzie said:
But they aren't. They are not the first to the scene they are called by the first responders!

I would usually consider a flight nurse to be a first responder, however I qualify this response because it depends upon the exact role of the flight nurse. A flight nurse that does only interfacility transports and is not trained to do the initial stabilization is not a first responder. These nurses, while they do deal with patients that are often quite unstable, are retrieving them from a facility that has initiated more advanced stabilization efforts.

There are many flight nurses that are considered first responders, or are trained as first responders, as they may be simultaneously dispatched to an injury or illness by the 911 system. There are flight nurses that respond when summoned by "traditional" first responders to retrieve patients from the field. I also consider these nurses "first responders" as they augment the first responders and may have to spend significant amounts of time participating in rescue efforts or initial stabilization in the field. These flight nurses are specifically trained to assess, begin care, package safely, and transport patients from the field. They can do it on their own if necessary.

Wuzzie · Apr 22, 2017

You make a fine point Akulahawk. I agree there are certainly services that operate in this manner and in that sense could be considered first responders. My experience of the services in the region I live is that they are customarily called after EMS has arrived on the scene and determined they are needed. There are regions of the U.S. where distance and the remote nature of the area calls for a different MO. Still, calling all flight nurses, first responders, is a bit of a stretch.

SunnyPupRN · Apr 22, 2017

Wuzzie said:
In the context of the OP, no, nurses are not first responders. Don't steal their honor.
Signed,
Wuzzie, EMT-P, National Ski Patroller and a nurse too (ex-flight nurse FTR)

"Steal?" Little heavy there!

Wuzzie · Apr 22, 2017

SunnyPupRN said:
"Steal?" Little heavy there!

I don't think so. Running to the lobby isn't anywhere near the same as running into a burning house or taking live rounds. Sorry it just isn't. Again we're talking context. YMMV.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2017

I don't think we qualify for a discount on tickets on "First Responders' Night" at Citizens Bank Park but hey we have a "Nurses' Night," too. I mean, I was never ED or on an RRT despite working in the ICU but I've initiated CPR many times and run a code.

I don't call myself that and never have but I was given a discount at Sleepy's Mattresses for supposedly being one. (Salesperson asked what I did, I told him, he said I would get a 10% discount for being a first responder. I didn't argue.)

Cat365 · Apr 23, 2017

Yeah, I personally wouldn't consider anyone inside the hospital as a first responder. Even if they are the 'first to respond' they still have the personnel and the resources of the hospital backing them.

In my mind a first responder is the first trained person to arrive to an incident outside a hospital without all of the resources of a hospital. If this is within a nurses job duties, i.e. they didn't just happen to be there, and they are trained for this aspect of their job they are a first responder, but most nurses outside of basic CPR and basic first aid are not trained for this.

ps please excuse the huge run on sentence. I'm tired and typing on a phone.

Samdzong · Jun 25, 2017

A first-responder, as defined by the Webster Dictionary, is "THE" person who runs towards those needing help and renders assistance in spite of the possible danger to themselves.

Although EMS crews, Fire Depts, & Law Enforcement are specifically trained in that capacity and put themselves in danger more frequently/severely, many other job titles serve the community in the first responder role. Nobody who fills that role would dare presume to "take the glory" away from those who put themselves in far more danger than non-classical first responders, but the definition still fits. What you're trained to do is all good and well, but if you put yourself in harms way in the field even if you are randomly called upon to do so you are still that first responder.

Check out the National First Responder Organization ( National First Responders Organization | Who Is A First Responder? )

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jun 25, 2017

I'm gonna steer clear from this one. I worked on a rig doing mainly IFT's and then covering 911's for a military base overnight. I considered myself a first responder because I was. This is the NFRO's definition of it and lists who 1st responders are: National First Responders Organization | Who Is A First Responder?