Good Samaritan laws for off duty New Jersey RN's.

[mrsinquisitive]

Does anyone know.....

In the state of NJ, can an off duty RN legally administer benadryl to a stranger that is having an allergic reaction to a bee sting?

Also, after all is said and done, could the RN accept a gift that the stranger insists on giving the RN for "saving his life"? Not money, but a free weekend at the B&B he owns....

How does the NJ Good samaritan laws work in such a situation???

[mrsinquisitive]

http://www.nursefriendly.com/nursing/clinical.cases/071899.htm

some good info in this article. actually is a anaphylactic allergic reaction, but the nurse and doctor were manning a first aid station.

kind of scary..... but thanks for forwarding the story!

[mrsinquisitive]

Something seems a little fishy with this scenario.

[OCNRN63, RN]

I would have never administered a medication given to me by a third party to anyone; I don't care if the Pope handed it to me. If the man was able to give his medical history, state his allergies, had a patent airway and was able to swallow, then there was no real crisis. EMS was on the way; they would have been more than equipped to handle the situation if he'd developed full-blown anaphylaxis. The oral benadryl wouldn't really have had much time to do a whole lot for him if he'd really been in danger. If I'd have been with someone who'd gone into anaphylactic shock and I happened to have an epi-pen on me, I probably would have used it, but otherwise? No way would I ever give a stranger meds. That's stepping outside your scope of practice in several ways.

And I certainly would never, under any circumstances leave my cell phone number on that stranger's car. The potential for trouble here should be self-evident.

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

First; Benadryl, Tylenol, Motrin, and other OTC meds don't require prescriptions, and I've made them available to coworkers, friends, etc, always telling them I'm not a doctor and suggesting they see one ASAP.

Second; the flaw in Good Samaritan laws is that they are passive. They don't protect you from being sued, they just give you a defense to use when you are sued.

Third; My personal philosophy is to always make priorities of preserving life and minimizing suffering. It's easy to imagine all kinds of scenarios, but 30 years as a medic and Nurse, had I been sued, I'd feel comfortable facing a jury, no matter the scenario, and stand on those 2 priorities.

[mrsinquisitive]

first; benadryl, tylenol, motrin, and other otc meds don't require prescriptions, and i've made them available to coworkers, friends, etc, always telling them i'm not a doctor and suggesting they see one asap.

second; the flaw in good samaritan laws is that they are passive. they don't protect you from being sued, they just give you a defense to use when you are sued.

third; my personal philosophy is to always make priorities of preserving life and minimizing suffering. it's easy to imagine all kinds of scenarios, but 30 years as a medic and nurse, had i been sued, i'd feel comfortable facing a jury, no matter the scenario, and stand on those 2 priorities.

thank you for your advice.... & for being so nice about it :)

[luvthegsp]

you did a good thing, had you withheld the benadryl and the guy goes into anaphylactic shock, you'd be at fault. Well done

NOPE!! you would not be responsible for the person going into shock.

Also, once a gift is accepted the Good Sam law NO LONGER APPLIES!!!! (because you are now being compensated for care)