Helping non-patients

[kgrise09]

I was once told by an instructor that if a nurse is working in the hospital and is told that a person is hurt on the street outside, by law, the nurse is NOT allowed to assit until that person is INSIDE the hosptial. Is this accurate? If so, what is this law called?

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure if there is such a law. If there is, I've never heard of it.

The concern you'd have is that if a nurse left her patients inside the hospital to help someone outside without asking another nurse to cover them, that would be patient abandonment.

I'm wondering what you're getting at with this question. Did something like this happen? Most nurses don't have a whole lot of time to stand around staring out the windows at work, watching for accidents in the streets.

[kgrise09]

A coworker is writing a paper on ethical issues in the hospital, and I immediately thought about the lecture where my instructor mentioned something about assisting patients into the hosital while "on the clock." I wasn't insinuating that nurses were looking out windows. More or less I was considering if a nurse was working in the ED and someone ran inside stating that a person was hurt. Would the nurse be able to act on that?

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

I don't know why not. It's not like staff doesn't occassionally run outside to meet the ambulance when a serious trauma is coming in.

I think your instructor was talking about a nurse abandoning his/her patients inside the hospital to assist in an emergency outside. Hence the window scenario (as that's the best I could come up with as an example).

[kgrise09]

I see what you're saying! It was so long ago when we discussed it, you're probably right. Thank you for your help.

[lucymalfoy]

SoldierNurse,

Not all RNs in a hospital have a team of patients or even work in direct patient care. I would think that this situation is about all nurses, not just staff nurses that would have to abandon their patients to help someone outside. What if this was a hospital's CNO or a nurse educator walking through the lobby of the facility and saw a person collapse in the street through the front doors? At my hospital, our front doors are clear glass automated doors, so it would be quite easy to see someone fall down from across the lobby.

[toomuchbaloney]

I have never heard of such a law.

If I am walking through the hospital lobby and observe a person collapse in the street outside the entry to the hospital I will respond and assist.

If I am caring for my patient and observe a person collapse in the street from the window of the patient room I will notify security or other staff STAT.

I think your instructor is misinformed.

[Spinmass, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

When I worked for a major Boston Hospital in security, we could call a medical emergency code for anyone inside the hospital main buildings. A team of Doctors and Nurses would respond to assist. If the person was outside and I mean right outside the doors we had to call an ambulance because the code team was not allowed to work outside the main hospital. That was true for the medical office buildings as well. The code team could not respond.

I don't believe their was any law associated with this but a hospital policy.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

SoldierNurse,

Not all RNs in a hospital have a team of patients or even work in direct patient care. I would think that this situation is about all nurses, not just staff nurses that would have to abandon their patients to help someone outside. What if this was a hospital's CNO or a nurse educator walking through the lobby of the facility and saw a person collapse in the street through the front doors? At my hospital, our front doors are clear glass automated doors, so it would be quite easy to see someone fall down from across the lobby.

I'm well aware that not all nurses work in direct patient care. More often than not, I'm one of them.

My point is that I don't think that's what the OP's instructor was getting at. There's no reason an administrative nurse couldn't run outside and help in an emergency.

Quite to the contrary of the OP's original concern about a law that prevents nurses from assisting outside the hospital setting, Good Samaritan laws and your personal malpractice coverage should have your back in the event that you decide to assist in an emergency.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

When I worked for a major Boston Hospital in security, we could call a medical emergency code for anyone inside the hospital main buildings. A team of Doctors and Nurses would respond to assist. If the person was outside and I mean right outside the doors we had to call an ambulance because the code team was not allowed to work outside the main hospital. That was true for the medical office buildings as well. The code team could not respond.

I don't believe their was any law associated with this but a hospital policy.

Good example. That's frequently the case in most places--sometimes hospital policy will put limits on what can be done officially outside the doors of their hospital. That isn't to say that administrators or off-duty nurses couldn't assist, however. I've seen that myself many, many times. coughparkinglotcough.

[toomuchbaloney]

I agree that it is hospital policy, not law, that plays a part in these scenarios.

[MunoRN, RN]

If a person is anywhere on hospital property, even a parking lot, EMTALA requires that the hospital respond properly.