Yesterday, I was waiting for a bus and all of a sudden, I heard a big thud. I turned around and saw a man lying on the ground, bleeding from his head. Luckily, a RN was right next to the accident site, so she ran over to him and applied pressure to the bleeding site (no fracture was detected) and paramedics came within minutes. The man survived with only minor injuries. I was of course shocked but it went by really fast.
I'm a nursing student but taking a part-time course load so I didn't have clinicals this year therefore I had no "skills" that I could help. I didn't want to make the situation worse. However I went over to the RN who was already there and stayed with them should she need my help.
Have you been in a similar situation? Please share your story.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I call 911!
I have done CPR a couple of times and the Heimlich maneuver a coupe of times. I used an AED in an airport once. I was visiting my Dad at the hospital once in Indiana when a car flipped over in the parking lot of the hospital...again called for help and told people to leave them alone...the car had roll bars and the 2 people had a fractured arm and a collar bone but where amazingly unharmed (it's a crazy story).
I am a feces magnet...my family doesn't want to go anywhere with me because they claim people drop dead in front of me.
A few sports stuff here and there....I have stopped at a couple of accidents. One was to keep everyone calm and remind them the car was NOT on fire that it was the airbags....one was a guy ejected out of a windshield of a rollover van in the middle of the highway. I called for help...notified the medics (they were from the ER I worked AND just left) to call lifeflight NOW. He still had a pulse...I had gloves in my pocket...cleared the airway and held c-spine...he did not survive.
Never go outside your area of expertise. I am an ER nurse/flight nurse so my scope for emergency first aid is better than most but you still provide just basic care until EMS arrives.
Coming off night shift on Thanksgiving day, I came upon a drunk driver who had hit a tree. The guy was bleeding so I held pressure until the paramedics arrived. I also helped with my son's sports team injuries.
I've only used the Heimlich on my 4 year old son in public. I came upon a bad car accident while a nursing student but there were already others on the scene. I've heard some scary stories about lawsuits from others who have helped in public, but I still would.
Yes. However as horrible as it sounds I have never ventured towards the injured person at any time. We have a law protecting us as the rescuer in my country however we are not legally obliged to attend to the person and I don't. Other staff have and have ended up with a whole heap of legal problems and loss of licence etc. I have felt overwhelmed at my lack of participation but I have a young family to protect and be there for them.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I was leaving Walmart (a year+ ago) and I saw an old woman on the ground in the parking lot. I went over to see what was wrong. I assessed her, made sure she was ok, got information for the EMTs & waited. She was ok & there were no major medical issues.
I haven't had many that I have come upon, people that are friends usually call me with "daughter has cut herself badly please come" or lately tick removal.
One time our family was out to eat and I could hear the distinct sound of someone with a compromised airway. I jumped up, followed the sound(couldn't see him) and went to see if assistance was needed. The poor guy was almost purple but was coughing. I just knelt beside him, gave him assurance that I would help if needed and after a few was finally able to clear his airway.
We live in a very rural area and thankfully not many accidents.
When I was in nursing school and was standing in a line waiting for a table in a restaurant, the guy in front of me collapsed. I'd worked for several years in a state psychiatric hospital w/ many patients who had all kinds of seizures so I put my coat under his head thinking if he was going to seize, at least he wouldn't bang his head on the floor, when he woke up and my face was about a foot from his. He pushed me away, got up, and ran out the door.
A few years ago we were walking out of a movie when an elderly man just went over backwards. Fortunately an RN was standing next to him. (I'm an LPN). She got down and talked to him while we waited for an ambulance. I stood with his elderly wife, who was obviously upset and kept her calm.
Yes. However as horrible as it sounds I have never ventured towards the injured person at any time. We have a law protecting us as the rescuer in my country however we are not legally obliged to attend to the person and I don't. Other staff have and have ended up with a whole heap of legal problems and loss of licence etc. I have felt overwhelmed at my lack of participation but I have a young family to protect and be there for them.
What country are you from?? I've never heard of anyone losing a license for helping someone in public. Always stay within your scope and with what you are familiar with. Call EMS and try to keep everyone safe until they get there.
Here's a little different perspective. I have done field CPR, first aid to injured folks on camp-outs, called 911 for apparent CVA in the theater, ministered to somebody seizing in the grocery store, and stopped roadside at accidents. But oddly, the first thing that came to my mind when I read the title of this thread was nothing to do with what so many people call "nursing skills."
I got up in town meeting to support a warrant article, a proposed ban on smoking in all town restaurants. Some of the loudest anti arguments were that this would cause restaurant owners to lose money. I pointed out that there were a number of costs to restaurant owners related to smoking, such as:
* the many people like me who wouldn't set foot in the place because of the smoke
** these also include a number of elders with pulmonary and cardiac conditions (big retirement area here) and parents with children with asthma (increasing)
* costs of replacing banquette covers, upholstery, and carpeting/other flooring due to burn marks
* costs of deep-cleaning drapes and fabrics from the smell and discoloration; washing walls, windows, etc.
* increased insurance premiums due to increased risk of fire from ashtrays emptied in the trash and butts in the bathroom wastebaskets
* increased sick time for barkeepers and servers due to constant secondhand smoke exposure, also meaning overtime to cover those shifts
* increased work comp costs, as people who smoke (or who are exposed to secondhand smoke for hours a day, which is the same thing physiologically) heal more slowly and less well from orthopedic injuries, such as back injuries from heavy lifting
I was using nursing skills in a public place: providing education, information on illness, and advocacy for community health.
Last year while driving with family, cars in front of us slam on their brakes and dust is flying everywhere. As we inched forward traffic started moving and I could see a guy lying in the center median and another lying in the fast lane having crashed their motorcycles. Hubby pulls over off the highway and bystanders have started CPR on the man in the median. I go to assist and did pulse checks and coached CPR until paramedics arrived. He did not survive. I did check the other man who was conscious and answering questions. It was traumatizing to me and everyone at the scene.
I was in the bathroom at Chicago's Union Station when a woman was found unresponsive in a stall. A quick look under the stall revealed a needle hanging out of her arm and an empty tea light on the TP holder. We got security to pull her out (they took like 15 minutes), and another nurse and I took over. She was not breathing and didn't have a radial pulse, but had a VERY weak thready carotid pulse. We started rescue breaths to begin CPR. Her pulse came back stronger, so we continued w/ rescue breaths. After about 20 breaths she coughed and started breathing on her own. EMS arrived shortly thereafter. I'll always carry a CPR mask (or two) thanks to that experience.
Another time I was in a hot dog joint when a flight attendant walked in and said she thought she was having a heart attack. I walked her over to a long bench and started talking w/ her while my husband had the owner call 911. I got her health history and medications, and told her a bit of what she could expect when EMS arrived (IV start, O2, EKG, which hospital she would probably go to, etc). When EMS arrived, they were asking her to spell out her health conditions and meds b/c they didn't know what rheumatoid arthritis or methotrexate were. I spelled them for her, and EMS thought I was her family. I said nope, I'm just a customer here that happens to also be an ICU nurse. My hope is she just had a panic attack and that by knowing what to expect in the ambulance it was a bit less scary for her.
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
I call 911!
I have done CPR a couple of times and the Heimlich maneuver a coupe of times. I used an AED in an airport once. I was visiting my Dad at the hospital once in Indiana when a car flipped over in the parking lot of the hospital...again called for help and told people to leave them alone...the car had roll bars and the 2 people had a fractured arm and a collar bone but where amazingly unharmed (it's a crazy story).
I am a feces magnet...my family doesn't want to go anywhere with me because they claim people drop dead in front of me.
A few sports stuff here and there....I have stopped at a couple of accidents. One was to keep everyone calm and remind them the car was NOT on fire that it was the airbags....one was a guy ejected out of a windshield of a rollover van in the middle of the highway. I called for help...notified the medics (they were from the ER I worked AND just left) to call lifeflight NOW. He still had a pulse...I had gloves in my pocket...cleared the airway and held c-spine...he did not survive.
Never go outside your area of expertise. I am an ER nurse/flight nurse so my scope for emergency first aid is better than most but you still provide just basic care until EMS arrives.