I recently went on vacation & was on an airplane. A person on the plane had a seizure & then went into full arrest. There was another RN on the plane with me. We are both ER nurses & ALCS certified. We used a BVM & an AED. We started an IV and gave epi. All supplies were from the plane. My license is in California. We Diverted to Nevada.
Looking back I wonder if I was covered under the good Samaritans law or did I practice outside my state & scope of practice. Technically, although we left California we landed in Nevada so I wasn't in my state. Also, there was no doctor on the flight who gave the epi order.
If someone on an airplane says that he is a doctor or nurse it should be verified.
That person could be a dentist or a CNA with zero acute care experience and no BLS or ACLS.
It is easy to verify if a physician is on staff at a given hospital via the website.
A passenger has already provided id or passport in security.
The nursing, PA and paramedic and other professional licenses etc. are easily verified via the internet.
I highly doubt it that a dentist or a CNA will have the backbone to claim they know what to do just so they can be seen as a "hero." But I could be wrong as they are too many out there willing to try to get away with it...
I know I would not do such thing if they were asking for anyone with medical training and I was not a nurse or a doc. Now, as a RN with ICU/trauma background, if the flight attendant told me I could not do squat until they verified my credentials, God help that airline when the family's lawyer calls asking what in hell were they thinking. I'll skip what I would tell that flight attendant so this post remains open.
If someone on an airplane says that he is a doctor or nurse it should be verified.
That person could be a dentist or a CNA with zero acute care experience and no BLS or ACLS.
It is easy to verify if a physician is on staff at a given hospital via the website.
A passenger has already provided id or passport in security.
The nursing, PA and paramedic and other professional licenses etc. are easily verified via the internet.
Someone could have a medical license or a nursing license and have 30 years of pschiatric or neonatology experience, but have no idea how to run a code on an adult.
This may clear up the licensure thing? Working for the federal gov't I need to carry a nursing license provided by a us state or territory, I can then work on any us soil for the gov't regardless of what state my license is from and what state I am in. Since the skies are federal, thus the feds accept your license as long as it is valid and from the US.
Interesting. I would like that option, though I think having to pay $30 for one is pretty outrageous. The only way I can prove my license is valid and current is to have someone go to the BON website and verify for themselves. I've even done the print screen thing before to give to my employer and they said no dice, they need to verify online for themselves.
When I had my cardboard license, I used to keep it in a "window" container in my wallet and would occasionally look at it with pride from time to time, lol. What a sap.
If someone REALLY REALLY needs to know that my license is valid, my registration is current, then they would have to simply go to the BoN website, under License Verification.
The laminated ID card is only proof that I HAD a license at the time the card was printed, if anyone wanted to be super-technical. My employer goes online to do verifications every so often; if there's been an action against someone that's the only way they're gonna know it.
Yeah, the thirty bucks for the card was outrageous to me, too. When I FIRST got my license, all shiny-new, the optional card was $10. I did get it then, because....I was all shiny-new and so proud to see that shiny card in my wallet. :) Today? I have other uses for the $30
I highly doubt it that a dentist or a CNA will have the backbone to claim they know what to do just so they can be seen as a "hero." But I could be wrong as they are too many out there willing to try to get away with it...
I know I would not do such thing if they were asking for anyone with medical training and I was not a nurse or a doc. Now, as a RN with ICU/trauma background, if the flight attendant told me I could not do squat until they verified my credentials, God help that airline when the family's lawyer calls asking what in hell were they thinking. I'll skip what I would tell that flight attendant so this post remains open.
LOL, ain't that the truth!! I, too, have a very hard time picturing someone jumping out of his seat and saying "I am a " if there's a man seizing in the aisle and an attendant calls for a doctor or nurse. Could it happen? Sure. But really....that uber-remote possibility doesn't justify withholding medical equipment until his license can be verified, IMHO.
I assisted over Germany with an Australian licence, remember there is a world outside of the US.
there IS?!
I personally hope that if I ever become fortunate enough to take an international flight sometime before I retire, that no one even THINKS of doing anything medically stupid before we land
I personally hope that if I ever become fortunate enough to take an international flight sometime before I retire, that no one even THINKS of doing anything medically stupid before we land
Ditto! I'm so anxious when I fly that on an international flight, I usually have a couple of drinks on board. Probably not the best person to assist in a code, now that I think about it.
Someone could have a medical license or a nursing license and have 30 years of pschiatric or neonatology experience, but have no idea how to run a code on an adult.
That would be me. I'm BLS certified because everyone and their pet rock is, but I'd be rubbish in a code without direction, except to do CPR. It makes me feel bad. I wonder if I could get a PRN job on a medical floor for fun...
I personally hope that if I ever become fortunate enough to take an international flight sometime before I retire, that no one even THINKS of doing anything medically stupid before we land
The long bit over the water does concern me especially around the point of no return.
icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN
1,970 Posts
Someone said the phone must be turned off in flight which isn't correct.
Airplane mode, which turns off wifi, gps, bluetooth and cellular to save power is allowed except during takeoff and landing.