Can’t a nurse be fired?

[Barbara Fouch Lentz]

Can’t a nurse be fired if she didn’t initiate CPR on a full code that looked to have been dead for awhile

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Why would one initiate CPR on someone who has been dead for a while?

[Barbara Fouch Lentz]

Three nurses were suspended because they didn’t start CPR on a woman who was found unresponsive slumped over her chair. She was gray bloated no pulse no respiration’s her neck was stiff and she was cold

[MunoRN, RN]

If by "stiff" you mean rigor mortis was present, then no, CPR is not indicated per ACLS protocol. If anything, termination should be considered if a nurse does CPR on a corpse with rigor-mortis since that could technically be considered a crime.

[JKL33]

Quote

Criteria for Not Starting CPR

Scientific evaluation has shown that there are no clear criteria to predict the futility of CPR accurately. Therefore, it is recommended that all patients in cardiac arrest receive resuscitation unless

The patient has a valid DNAR order.

The patient has signs of irreversible death: rigor mortis, decapitation, or dependent lividity.

No physiological benefit can be expected because the vital functions have deteriorated despite maximal therapy for such conditions as progressive septic or cardiogenic shock.

Withholding attempts to resuscitate in the delivery room is appropriate for newly born infants with —Confirmed gestation <23 weeks or birthweight <400 g —Anencephaly —Confirmed trisomy 13 or 18

Source link: https://ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/circ.102.suppl_1.i-12

[Barbara Fouch Lentz]

Her head wouldn’t lay straight when she was put on the bed. Rigor Mortis set in because she died in her chair and her head was slumped over

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Maybe they were fired because of patient negligence? They did not find the woman until she had been dead for hours?

[MunoRN, RN]

38 minutes ago, Barbara Fouch Lentz said:

Her head wouldn’t lay straight when she was put on the bed. Rigor Mortis set in because she died in her chair and her head was slumped over

Rigor Mortis is unrelated to patient positioning, it's due to an extended period of myocyte anoxia which results in the inability to produce ATP which results in the inability to break the actin-myosin bridges that causes a muscle to contract.

CPR isn't contraindicated because of the rigor-mortis itself, it's contraindicated due to the duration of death that the presences of rigor-mortis indicates, which is far longer than the duration that any meaningful brain functioning can remain viable.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

1 hour ago, MunoRN said:

If by "stiff" you mean rigor mortis was present, then no, CPR is not indicated per ACLS protocol. If anything, termination should be considered if a nurse does CPR on a corpse with rigor-mortis since that could technically be considered a crime.

I was thinking that too... breaking ribs seems like desecration of a corpse.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Yeah CPR WASN’T appropriate. There is no question.

On 1/8/2020 at 9:18 PM, Barbara Fouch Lentz said:

Three nurses were suspended because they didn’t start CPR on a woman who was found unresponsive slumped over her chair. She was gray bloated no pulse no respiration’s her neck was stiff and she was cold

[ArmyRntoMD, BSN, RN]

Lol. I’m laughing out loud.

“WhY ThEy No CPR a CoRpSe?!”

??‍♂️

[Delia37, MSN]

It takes a while for rigor mortis to set in, which in itself tell me no one was checking on that poor soul (...nursing home??); I would bet that was the real reason for the nursing staff to be fired