Nurses & Emergency Scenes

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Specializes in EMS, ER.

Ok, I've just got to ask this, what is up with nurses and accident scenes, please forgive the length becasue this is kind of a rant on both stupidity & safety :icon_roll

Here's the background, I'm an RN, and I'm also a volunteer firefighter/EMT and I've had 2 interesting experiences in the last year, most recent today.

The first was a fairly serious vehicle accident, I ride out on our ambulance and walk up, looking the vehicles over immediately thinking "oh crap this is going to be a jaws call, looks bad". I go over to the drivers door of the vehicle which is the most seriously damaged (in full firefighter gear & jump bag over my shoulder) and find a woman in scrubs looking in the window, staring at the obviously unconscious driver. I ask her to step out of the way and she replies "I'm an LPN at such & such hospital", to which I respond, "ok, what's going on with the patient", and she goes, "she's bad", I'm like "ok, just step out of the way please", and she goes "what are your credentials", at this point I'm like "I need to get in and assess her airway, I'm an EMT", she says, "well didn't you hear me I'm an LPN", my response, "get the hell out of the way". She goes off the side of the road and starts pitching a fit to the Trooper (who is a friend & member of the same FD I'm with), and he tells her, "look he's an EMT, and an RN, did you see the accident occur?, no?, do you have anything to contribute to the accident report, no, ok, maybe you should be on your way". WOW!

The second was today and was much more humorous, we have a 2 car accident in a major intersection, all patients have been removed from the vehicles and in the ambulances (both still on scene), an Assistant Chief and I are getting the information off the vehicles when this woman comes running, I mean really, really running down the road past all of the Fire Police & State Troopers who are yelling at her "STOP, STOP", and busts into the middle of this accident scene yelling "DO YOU NEED ANY NURSING STAFF!!!!!!!!!!" Pretty much all we could do was give her a dumbfounded look and say "what?", so she yells again "DO YOU NEED NURSING STAFF!!!!!!!", so I smile and say, "yeah, if you're paying about $35 an hour I'll take the job" everyone busts out laughing and she's all confabulated and says, "wow this really looks serious, is anyone hurt bad", the chief replies "no, it's worse than it looks and everyone is out of the vehicles, could you please step out of the puddle of gas & anti-freeze or I'm going to have to have that guy over there with the hose wet you down so you don't catch on fire", she says, "well, I'm an RN & I can help", someone else speaks up & says "we have people that are actually trained in emergency medicine", she goes "oh, you do?, ok", and turns around and walks off. WOW!

I understand the need to want to help, been there, been doing that for a long time, but honsetly, holy cow, what the heck. What I've observed is: 1. If you have no idea what you're doing, never done it before, think ABC's are from Sesame Street, please, you're not much help. 2. If there is fire equipment/ambulances there, chances are the scene is under control & the patient(s) is/are in good hands, don't add to the mayhem. 3. Don't rush into something and become a victim yourself, and compound the situation, if you don't have proper PPE don't place yourself into a dangerous situation be it from BBP's, fire, cuts, hazardous materials, getting run over etc etc etc.....

Think before you act please, yes some situations warrant your assistance and others don't, use a little common sense & be safe!

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

Yeah, I don't stop for accidents. Those people made complete asses of themselves.

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Specializes in ICU.

Your post reminds me of an accident that happened ten years or more ago. Before I was an RN, my husband was a paramedic and we were driving around doing errands or something. We came upon an intersection and this lady was laying in the road, apparently she had just gotten ran over by a very very large log truck. (SECONDS before we drove up. ) Since hubby was off duty, and there were no emergency personnel there yet,, we both get out and assess the scene.

The lady's head was crushed and brain matter was laying on the ground. Someone from a restaraunt nearby brought out a table cloth and we were about to cover her for decency. All of a sudden this lady runs up with scrubs on, bringing her stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. She proceeds to take the victim's blood pressure. My husband looked at her as she was trying to get a reading, and he says "UMMM, it might be hard to get a blood pressure on her, considering she doesn't have a pulse, and her brain is on the pavement here". The "nurse" lady looked at him all dumb founded and continued to try and get a bp,.

What's the point? I mean, crap,, traffic was backed up, people were staring,,, me and hubby and this other guy just wanted to cover her up, it was a grousome scene. I couldn't believe this lady was trying to take her bp, like that was REALLLLLY gonna help.

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What's the point? I mean, crap,, traffic was backed up, people were staring,,, me and hubby and this other guy just wanted to cover her up, it was a grousome scene. I couldn't believe this lady was trying to take her bp, like that was REALLLLLY gonna help.

Ughh. Part of me is glad that some people just want to help, but the other part of me knows that they just want to rush in like superman and save the day! Too bad they usually end up screwing things up more than helping, and just get in the way.

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Specializes in ER/ICU/Flight.

Wow.

That was inappropriate, especially to ask for your "credentials"...the fact you're in bunker gear with the fire truck is all she needed to know.

I've seen a lot of similar stuff (and I rarely ever stop unless it obviously just happened...I witnessed a motorcycle wreck on the interstate and stayed with the guy until the ambulance arrived).

One night a sports car got completely run over by a furniture delivery truck. Passenger compartment was left about 18" high and the driver was unrestrained. She ended up in the trunk and had part of the B post shorn off and imbedded in her neck with a huge bleed...to the point I initially thought she was dead--but she lived. Anyway, a woman came up to us as we were flapping the roof, identified herself as an RN and told us we needed to put a C-collar on her before pulling her out of the car. I said we'd be sure to immobilize her as soon as we had a good idea on what to do with the large piece of metal sticking out of her neck and maybe stopping her uncontrolled hemhorrage. She ended up "helping" the state trooper at my recommendation and he cussed me back at the station for a week!!

Anyway, I'm always glad for help but like they say "It's a free country: you can help, watch or get out of the way." Stay safe out there!

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Specializes in ER.

I have only ever stopped when there were no emergency response personnel on the scene. Once they arrived I got the hell out of the way. Everyone has their job to do.

One piece of advice. If you do stop for a wreck DO NOT tell the victim that you are a nurse. They can sue you. If you're a good samaritan they cannot unless you're found guilty of gross negligence.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I wonder what she did to "help" the state trooper. My feeling is that these people may want to help but the EMTs, paramedics and fire crew are trained professionals and they know how do deal with someone with a huge piece of metal in their neck but the people the run up to the scene and interrupt the rescue cause a huge distraction.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, cardiac.

LOL This makes me laugh. I am an ER nurse, but feel much more comfortable handeling situations after EMS takes care of the important stuff for me. I am not an EMT, nor would I ever pretend that I knew more than them when it comes to first responder situations. :) Glad you are out there! You guys do a great job! :)

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Specializes in Psych, ER, Resp/Med, LTC, Education.

Yeah I have come across many accidents over the years and would never think to stop if there is already an ambulance there. Hello......yeah they do this all day what do they need me for?!? However, if there was no one there yet I would stop and help....call 911 if still needed and leave as soon as the EMTs and Paramedics arrived.....of course unless is was a huge disaster or something and they ASKED me to stay. I was actually driving home with a friend one morning --my friend is actually a podiatrist--and we see a car that has driven right into a cement barrier. There is no one there with her. So we stop and get out and see that she is talking and stabe.....and she says she called for an ambulance but its taking a long time.......we tell her we will stay with her till they arrive. So my friend and I are asking her if she is okay...if she has any pain, numbness, bleeding etc. and she says well a little bloody nose and my foot hurts a lot......a said to my friend......her foot......that's you! He looks at it and says......."oh yeah you have a bla bla bla fracture there. Gonna need to have some surgery to have that repaired......you just need to get to the hospital. Oh wonderful, look at that....yeah here they are. They will take good care of you. " The medics walk up and we say...."okay, well we are gonna head out now, you got it from here. " --they thanked us for staying with her and asked if we had called or seen the accident. I told them "No she was here alone and I am a nurse, he's a doc....so we kinda felt like we couldn't drive past and not stop, seeing as she had obviously just crashed" They were very nice and appreciative as was the women. She was hurting yes but really mostly scared and maybe in shock.

So I think nurses should stop when they are first to an accident but we nurses need to trust that the EMS workers know what they are doing and are good at it. Same thing when they arrive to the hospital and hand off to the ER docs....

Now if I was an ER doc and came upon a bad accident the story might be different! LOL

In all the stages of emergency med we all need to trust that each part knows how to do their part and let them!!!

And BTW......I can't believe that LPN had the balls to ask what your credentials were!!!!! Damm! --**** wouldn't you have loved to say....well I am actually a gargage man but I though I would ride to some calls today and see if I could do a bit of on the job training!!!! LOL

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Specializes in ER/ICU/Flight.
I wonder what she did to "help" the state trooper. My feeling is that these people may want to help but the EMTs, paramedics and fire crew are trained professionals and they know how do deal with someone with a huge piece of metal in their neck but the people the run up to the scene and interrupt the rescue cause a huge distraction.

Hey,

to answer your question. She kept trying to tell us to get a spine board and a cervical collar. We were in the middle of a technical extrication, she was making it worse. So I said "sounds like you must have witnessed the accident." She replied, "Oh yeah, I saw the whole thing." At which point I told her that would be of great help to the state trooper in doing his accident reconstruction, so she went over to him and elaborated on the whole thing. He could barely get away from her. When we got back to the firehouse, he pulled in and said he'd heard me tell her to go talk to him and hadn't been able to hide fast enough!!

and like I said, I certainly wasn't mad at her and did appreciate the fact that she wanted to help, but also recognized the fact that she wasn't really helping but only getting in the way.

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My husband and I stopped recently for a head - on collision between two pickups where one almost slid into the creek. We helped get everyone out - no one was hurt badly - kind of amazing. It was snowing so we took one couple into our car to wait for help and another car took the other couple into their car. It took 45 minutes for CHP to show up - but it was a bad snow storm on a mountain and lots of other wrecks. We ended up driving the couple to where they could be picked up by family.

I've only stopped at one other accident where an ambulance was already there - I knew one of the paramedics from MICN training and so I stayed to help with CPR . . .the guy was obviously dead but everyone was getting tired while waiting for a doc to say STOP. :D

There are people in all walks of life who like to be the center of attention . . . . too bad that nurses have to do it.

steph

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
Hey,

to answer your question. She kept trying to tell us to get a spine board and a cervical collar. We were in the middle of a technical extrication, she was making it worse. So I said "sounds like you must have witnessed the accident." She replied, "Oh yeah, I saw the whole thing." At which point I told her that would be of great help to the state trooper in doing his accident reconstruction, so she went over to him and elaborated on the whole thing. He could barely get away from her. When we got back to the firehouse, he pulled in and said he'd heard me tell her to go talk to him and hadn't been able to hide fast enough!!

and like I said, I certainly wasn't mad at her and did appreciate the fact that she wanted to help, but also recognized the fact that she wasn't really helping but only getting in the way.

You are awfully nice. I would have told her to shut up and get the hell out of the way.

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