Have you helped/saved anyone while off duty?

Specialties Emergency

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Specializes in ER,Neurology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology.

Hello everyone. Have you helped anyone while off duty? Do you feel comfortable giving medical help before 911 comes around? I would love to read some of your stories. Thanks!

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Specializes in Trauma/ED.

Happened to me a couple times...not really "saved" but "helped".

One time I was driving through Malibu Beach and some guy on a motorcycle was weaving through traffic, then we of course came to him on the ground with his bike shattered, nobody else was helping so I pulled over and did the basics...told him to stay still and quit whining about his bike..lol. Then the straight out of Baywatch EMT's showed up with their bleach blond hair and rolled up sleaves to "save the day"...was so funny! I tried to give them report but of course they blew me off...whatever they were the "studs" on scene :) (guy was fine I'm sure).

Another time I was at the ballpark with my son and some lady was throwing up and may or may not have had a seizure...I stayed with her while the panicked crowd wondered why I wasn't doing more I think...wasn't much to do of course. Then the first responders showed up "to save the day" and totally blew me off again. I stood by in case and the medic showed up who of course I knew from the department...was funny, he blew off the firemen to talk to me...they were looking at me like, "who is that guy"...

I have never been a prehospital person but I think if I were I would at least listen to someone who was a witness to what happened or first on the scene.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

I've stopped at quite a few accidents. Worst one was while on vacation, a car clipped a semi and flipped end over end several times. One person fell out, totally degloved one leg (clean white bones straight down to ankle, rest of leg to the side, still attached mid thigh. Tournequetted the leg (other mangled but not degloved), talked to him and got as much history as I could in case he lost consciousness before EMS got there. Maintained C-spine.

When I went to get back in the car, my daughter pulled out the water jug and poured for me to wash my hands, then said "you're NOT getting in the car like that!" (jeans all bloody). I looked down and said, "well its not dripping". Pulled a clean pair out of my luggage and changed my pants in the middle of the highway median, lol.

Never did hear if he made it or not. Should have, he didn't get real shocky until EMS got there.

A different time, is when I learned that baby wipes will NOT remove blood from your hands, they just make it dry on harder.

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Know that I know how to perform CPR, I would definitely try to help someone if I found them in distress. I think that's what being a health care worker is all about. I know if I was getting mugged and an off duty police officer were around, I would be pretty upset that he hadn't helped me.

There is also a law to protect health care workers from being sued if they deliver emergency care. The Good Samaritan Law? I thought it was federal but maybe I'm wrong and it's only in New Jersey.

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Specializes in ER/ICU/Flight.

Yeah, one time I was pulling into a gas station when an ambulance screamed into a dialysis center next door. I knew most of the medics and had taught one of the responders through paramedic school so I asked if they needed any help. Turned out a man had a cardiac arrest in the dialysis chair. I intubated the gentleman after we pulled him onto the floor and when I looked up to get the BVM, the paramedic (who was a great student and sharp medic) was attaching the 12 lead cables.

I said "dude, no matter how many views you get...we're probably still gonna need to shock him." He felt a little embarassed as he broke out the paddles (it was a long time ago) but to make a long story short, the patient was in torsades -pulseless/apneic- we defibbed him 2-3 times and I figured since he was being dialyzed his lytes were probably off. The ambulance carried MgSO4 and CaCl so we gave him an amp of each, shocked him one more time and got pulses back. He went in and out of VT a few more times and became the only person I ever mixed and hung a Bretylium gtt on (hey, i said this was a long time ago!!)

Anyway, he survived and I ran into his family at the hospital. They had been sitting in the waiting room at the kidney center and weren't even told that they're father/husband had arrested!! I thought that was kind of bad form on the part of the dialysis nurse, but they were very grateful to have "borrowed time" with their loved one.

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so I was a brand new nurse attending my beginning fetal monitoring class with about 8 other new nurses. The teacher was trying to finish up her lunch quick so we could get back to the material and she choked right in front of the class....I heard it before I saw her. Classic choking sign, hands at the throat and nobody moved. I went up there and asked her that great question "are you ok?" and she shook her head and was extremely red in the face. I did the heimlich maneuver right there in the chair. the food dislodged and she stopped choking....and I started crying (weird response but I was terrified). I had to leave the room to pull myself together. And to make the expereince all the better, she relayed the story to the next class a few weeks later and said I did the maneuver wrong....well she isn't choking anymore, is she? :nuke:

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Specializes in geri, med/surg, neuro critical care.
And to make the expereince all the better, she relayed the story to the next class a few weeks later and said I did the maneuver wrong....well she isn't choking anymore, is she? :nuke:

LOL...I would have been like "umm...YOU'RE WELCOME!"

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Specializes in ER newbie, NICU.

This has happened more than I care to have experienced. I have been first on scene for 2 mva's, 1st one died at scene, 2nd one had stroke while driving, did cpr til ems arrived. Another time, I was walking my dog when a guy started seizing at a stop light, doors locked to vehicle. Car rolled into light post and I climbed in sunroof (stupid move on my part!) got car in park and pulled guy out. Waited until ems arrived. Last week I saw an older man get attacked by a huge rottweiler, stayed in car this time, called 911 and used my horn and van to distract dog (not very effective). Neighbor with bat came out...much more effective. Once dog down, sat with old guy til ems came. My husband hates travelling with me.

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My friend told me that she helped a man on a plane once. He was having classic chest pain. This happened right after she got her RN license. She was very excited about it.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.
There is also a law to protect health care workers from being sued if they deliver emergency care. The Good Samaritan Law? I thought it was federal but maybe I'm wrong and it's only in New Jersey.

They are usually state laws. Good Samaritan is for non-health care providers, there is a different name for the one covering nurses and all, because we are held to a higher, different standard than "civilians". But I haven't heard of any states that don't have these laws.

Only reason I remember is because it was on the state boards way back when, when it was still 5 separate exams.

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Specializes in Pediatric ED.
I have never been a prehospital person but I think if I were I would at least listen to someone who was a witness to what happened or first on the scene.

Absolutely. I was an EMT for 1.5 years before starting nursing school and the witnesses were extremely valuable. The patient was usually confused/didn't remember/didn't want to talk etc. (you know) but the witnesses were more than happy to share.

No offense intended, but in my experience the FF and police officers without EMT training tend to try and dive in and do the "cool stuff" and wind up ignoring things like asking what happened or utilizing actual medical personnel. It's great the medic recognized you for the asset you were.

On topic: My mother once called me to the school she worked at bc the principal wouldn't let them have access to the only phone (it was a post-juvenile detention school and everyone had to turn in cell phones etc.) to call 911 for a kid with chest pain. I didn't have any equipment of course, so I showed up just to humor her but as soon as I placed my hands on his ribcage I knew something was off. (Are people's ribcages usually that wide? No.) I marched down to the office and demanded they call a squad. They finally caved and called the kid's mother, who listened to me and took him straight to the ER: he had a spontaneous pneumothorax and it wound up taking us over an hour to get him there. *rolls eyes* He's fine but I'm still angry with that school.

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Specializes in ICU.

I had a scary time once on a flight from London to San Francisco, person started fitting, had to maintain his airway and give 02 etc, we diverted to Iceland and the person was offloaded.

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