Can an RN travel on an airplane with detox patient?

[heather8228]

I am a fairly new RN who was just offered a side job. I would be traveling on airplanes with patients who are traveling from one private drug rehab/detox to another. The patient would be traveling with a counselor. The patient is not allowed to hold the medication themselves (as part of the treatment), and the counselor is not licensed to administer medication. They want an RN to travel with the patient and the counselor to monitor the patient's need for detox medication, and administer appropriately throughout the flight. Is this legal? Anyone have information that would be helpful to me being able to do this safely and legally?

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

Just check with the state you are licensed in and make sure it is Kosher with them.

[miss81, BSN, RN]

I'm not involved in this area of work but I wouldn't think that the counsellor should be the one to assess and tell you when the pt needs meds! That's a nursing judgement, based on YOUR assessment and the YOU following standing orders or having contact with the attending MD that can give you a telephone order based on your assessment findings. I would think that for this line of work they would be looking for a nurse with some Psych/rehab/ER experience.

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

Oh hell, IME detox pts are the best people to tell you when they need meds, lol. This seems like easy peasy low maintainence work to me.

[flyingchange]

I saw an episode of Intervention where they showed the RN who would travel with the client and dispense narcs to prevent withdrawal en route to the treatment center. They travelled by plane.

[thehipcrip]

I was just going to ask if I'm the only one who watches the A&E network's show "Intervention". They often contract with an RN to travel with the addict from the intervention to the detox facility.

Got to agree that the counselor should stick to his/her scope of practice and let the RN do his/her job: assessing the patient's condition and administering the available meds accordingly.

Personally, I wouldn't take the job unless that was the arrangement -- there's no way you should defer the authority to make those decisions about care when it will be your license at risk if anything goes wrong.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Oh hell, IME detox pts are the best people to tell you when they need meds, lol. This seems like easy peasy low maintainence work to me.

So funny and so true.

[kakamegamama]

Are there guidelines/rules by the airlines that you need to consider?

[criticalRN10]

Wow that actually sounds like a pretty cool job! where did you come across something like that?

[StarryEyed, RN]

That sounds like an awesome job! Just make sure you get all the info on how medication administration typically is handled. Obviously you have an md order and probably some sort of parameters. Just make sure it's something YOU are comfortable doing and exercising judgement in. :)

[Five&Two Will Do]

That sounds like an awesome job! Just make sure you get all the info on how medication administration typically is handled. Obviously you have an md order and probably some sort of parameters. Just make sure it's something YOU are comfortable doing and exercising judgement in. :)

I agree that sounds like a great job. I escorted a psychiatric patient to Tampa one time. It was super cool until he did not like the facility where I was taking him and decided to take off. I ran down the road in a not so great part of Tampa following this guy all the while talking on my cell phone to the nurse manager where i worked. They told me to just leave him and go back to the facility, but I would not. In the end it all worked out ok, and it is a pretty funny story too:D

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

Is this interstate? Would you need to licensed in both states? Would you need a special authority from the physician to carry benzos or narcotics on board a aircraft?