Off duty RN scope of practice on an airplane.

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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.

What are your thoughts?

ER RN

Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.

"Exactly. Just the other day an RN friend of mine were chatting about this. She heard a guy in human resources tell of an event he experienced on a flight. A flight attendant called for a doctor or RN, he saw a guy running to where the commotion (did not see exactly what the guy did), He wondered how does the pilot or flight attendant know that he is actually a doctor or RN?"

The one time I experienced this, I was asked to show my license, if I had it with me, to the flight attendant. The wife of the man who had the attack was [COLOR=#000000]actually a nurse, but didn't have her license with her. I rarely travel with mine, but on that day I did.[/COLOR]

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Specializes in Public Health Nurse.

I actually have the RN License number on my phone, but after reading this, I will take a photo on my cell phone too, just in case.

"Exactly. Just the other day an RN friend of mine were chatting about this. She heard a guy in human resources tell of an event he experienced on a flight. A flight attendant called for a doctor or RN, he saw a guy running to where the commotion (did not see exactly what the guy did), He wondered how does the pilot or flight attendant know that he is actually a doctor or RN?"

The one time I experienced this, I was asked to show my license, if I had it with me, to the flight attendant. The wife of the man who had the attack was [COLOR=#000000]actually a nurse, but didn't have her license with her. I rarely travel with mine, but on that day I did.[/COLOR]

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency, Education, Informatics.

My state doesn't issue paper licenses and most actually tell you not to carry the copy around. The whole imposter nurse thing, by people,getting ahold of your license. I'd have to look at them and say, either believe and let me help to save this persons life, or I'll go back to my seat and they can die.

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Here's a summary with more insight into the Aviation Medical Assistance Act and standard kit contents:

Emergency at 30,000 Feet - What You Can Do // ACEP

It states that the box carries an adult and pediatric airway. Does it mean an endotracheal tube? I'm curious if the patient is having trouble maintaining airway or breathing would some ICU RN's be covered to intubate and use the ambu to ventilate the patient?

If they had a glidescope in their toolbox a 16 year old could probably do it.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
If they had a glidescope in their toolbox a 16 year old could probably do it.

:roflmao: I would love to see someone say that to the anesthesiologists I work with who can't seem to intubate even the easiest airway without the glidescope. Some of them seem to have never learned any other way. Same with ultrasound for arterial and central line placements.

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This is an interesting debate. Just last year, I found myself in a similar situation. Flying home to GA from the AACN/NTI Conference in San Diego a gentleman on my flight siezed. I and one other nurse were the only medical professionals on board. We stabilized and provided support, thank God, no cardiac arrest. He had no family on board and it was his first seizure EVER. We were at a mid way point and did not divert, but they arranged seats so I could sit closer to him for observation. When we landed in ATL they had a medical team waiting. Now that I read this, I am cuious as to what our responsibility and scope includes in these situations. I am also ACLS certified and probably wouldn't have had a second thought about administering drugs if they were available.

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Specializes in critical care.
:roflmao: I would love to see someone say that to the anesthesiologists I work with who can't seem to intubate even the easiest airway without the glidescope. Some of them seem to have never learned any other way. Same with ultrasound for arterial and central line placements.

I've seen enough of these go horrifyingly wrong that I get more nervous when they skip the imaging.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Very good podcast on this subject here:

Is There a Doctor on the Plane? - Joe Lex - Intensive Care NetworkIntensive Care Network

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
in our scope the only thing we can do we chatted was BLS, and check vitals, but we cannot do ACLS or anything more complex.

Many doctors arent ACLS certified either [emoji15]

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