Is there a law protecting a nurse doing something they are uncomfortable with?

[usernam]

In short, local hospital is trying to institute a policy to where if a critical care helicopter or ground unit is unavailable due to weather or other reason causing a prolonged ETA that the primary nurse caring for the patient in the ER is to ride along with a local ambulance service. The local ambulance service is an ALS truck with a EMT-B (driver) and EMT-P (patient care). The nurse would ride along and follow written orders given by the attending ER physician. Some of the circumstances that this would happen is for patients with blood hanging, stroke patients, etc. The hospital added this to the nurses job description seemingly overnight and instituted the policy with no input from anyone. Needless to say most of the nurses are very uncomfortable doing this for many reasons.

My question... are there any laws namely in Ohio regarding nurses refusing to do something that they are uncomfortable doing? I understand in this field of work there are many things that you will do that you are uncomfortable with but most of these nurses fear that if something were to happen with the patient or something were to happen and the ambulance was to crash and injure or kill anyone that the hospital would not back the nurse up legally.

[usalsfyre]

Too the many RNs on here who are interested in transport, and in how this thread develops. Your experience and knowledge is badly needed in the transport environment. Please don't let liability scare you off, get the proper training, develop the policies and put it to use. There are MANY (but not all as some would have you believe) paramedics who are massively under-qualified to do critical transfers. Work with your local companies and identify where help is needed. We should be working together for the best transport team configuration, not bickering over who's responsible, because if something goes wrong, EVERYONE will hang together.

I'll quote my own post (note, it was several BEFORE traumaRUS) to show exactly where my feelings on the matter lay. I just don't like medics being slammed because of one persons bad experiences.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Let's try to stay on topic. It's ok to disagree with each other but let's do it civilly.

[TraumaSurfer]

Your postings are remarkably consistent in tone and content to a poster on many EMS sites who when they stick to the their area of expertise is incredibly educational. Unfortunately this poster also has a seemingly pathologic need to decry paramedics as cruel, unprofessional, rude and stupid poor excuses for medical professionals who have no business being anywhere near a patient. While I'm sure your not that poster, I'd hate to think they're spreading there vitrol across yet ANOTHER site under yet ANOTHER screen name.

If you must resort to this type of attacks to get your points across, maybe you shouldn't be trying to make a point. There are several of us in EMS who share the same view points about EMS and the profession. The statement I bolded is also very contradictory to what you want us to believe about Paramedics. I do not believe I have ever seen anyone post that about Paramedics until you just did. What a shame that you just did post that statement about Paramedics. Unless you believe it yourself, maybe you shouldn't be writing it.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Okay. I think we have had enough of this tonight. As I've stated it's ok to disagree respectfully with each other. I will also offer up that different EMS systems and different hospital systems have different protocols. Sometimes it's better to take the high road and realize that it's ok that we disagree as long as pt care doesn't suffer.

Gonna close this for tonight and go shovel and shovel and shovel.