Major nursing liability

[Cjhays]

Ok. So scenario you are the charge nurse. You notice the keys are missing to the med room and e-kit. Call nurse in call no answer. Call nurses that left shift one answer checks, no keys. Call the other numerous times leave message, text ...no answer. In the shift you have a diabetic crash and need glucagon . You can not give it it's locked up. Who would be responsible for the coma or possible death of this patient ?

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[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Um, how about someone calling 911? Pretty sure that EMS will have what you don't have access to to save a patients life. THEN worry about who's azz is on the line!

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I would find the nearest fire axe and destroy the lock, I would not let someone die because of keys

Exactly! If I'm a lawyer trying to get blame assigned to someone (i.e., I want someone to pay), I'm going to question the nurse as to why they made all these phone calls but did not act to physically unlock/break down the door.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Many of the meds needed for variations of this scenario would be in the crash cart, which does not require a key to open.

This has the vagueness of a homework question, but it seems like this may be LTC. Where I worked as an aide, there was no crash cart.

[wheeliesurfer]

Trust me, there was a "crash cart" or an "E Kit" of some sort! Not likely something you paid much attention to as an aide because you weren't able to utilize the contents of it in your scope of practice.

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

Exactly! If I'm a lawyer trying to get blame assigned to someone (i.e., I want someone to pay), I'm going to question the nurse as to why they made all these phone calls but did not act to physically unlock/break down the door.

Or get some sugar packets from the tea trolley

Glucagon is ideal, however at the end of the day, if someones BSL is in their boots, we are going to use anything to get their levels up

[SoaringOwl]

We do fingerprint scans where I work. Keys are so last century...

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Trust me, there was a "crash cart" or an "E Kit" of some sort! Not likely something you paid much attention to as an aide because you weren't able to utilize the contents of it in your scope of practice.

Oh, there was an Emergency box…in the med room, which the door was locked. There was definitely not a crash cart.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Why not call 911? Simplest and quickest way to prevent coma. & death. Give sugar before loss of consciousness. EMS carries glucagon and is capable of starting an IV to administer D50.

Responsible aside from whomever took the keys home, whomever didn't ask for the keys at shift transition, and the one who wasted time calling everyone else rather than give some sugar and call 911