Off duty RN scope of practice on an airplane.

Was it cardiac epi or anaphylaxis epi (dose wise) I assumed you checked

Some airlines have physician protocols that can be used by a licensed professional as standing orders

Do commercial airplanes actually have an RN and/or paramedic on staff on each flight? That seems prohibitively expensive. Or can the flight attendants perform ACLS?

Or or are the ACLS medical equipment and medications on the plane simply for the scenario where one of the passengers happens to be a physician or RN?

New account? Smells like homework for an ethics class. Sorry, just my opinion....

Personally it sounds like care went FAR beyond "good Samaritan" and most certainly would not be covered by that umbrella should (God forbid) any kind of lawsuit be forthcoming.

Now I'm sitting back to see if OP even comes back. There is that trend out there right now

Do commercial airplanes actually have an RN and/or paramedic on staff on each flight? That seems prohibitively expensive. Or can the flight attendants perform ACLS?

Or or are the ACLS medical equipment and medications on the plane simply for the scenario where one of the passengers happens to be a physician or RN?

In case nurse, physician, medic. Flight attendants are limited to bcls

I had a similar experience a few months ago. Hubby and I were flying from Bahamas into North Carolina. Just as we landed and people were exiting the plane there was a commotion. He and I look at each other and sure enough the flight attendant starts yelling "Is there a doctor or nurse on board?". I tell him to yell that I'm an RN and I start heading forward. A 20-30ish guy with an insulin pump was seizing a few aisles ahead of us. An ER nurse and an ICU nurse also were coming forward. We checked his blood sugar & vitals and he started to come around. We gave him glucose gel until paramedics could get on board and take over. He started to come through so I left after giving the flight attendant my name and contact numbers. Hubby and I then had to RUN across the airport to make our connecting flight home. I hope the guy ended up ok. Never heard from anyone about that.

I have a friend who is a flight attendant. They are trained in basic life support.

They also told me that in a mid flight medical emergency such as a cardiac arrest/seizure they always ask passengers if anyone is a doctor/nurse/medic to provide experience and direction.

They do carry IV start kits however rely on there being someone onboard who can start an IV as they do not receive this training.

Honestly? I wouldn't care.

I would never watch somebody die if I had the ability to try to save them and I wouldn't give a rat's behind what state I was licensed in.

You did the right thing and I wouldn't give it another thought.

I just hope the people that say yes I am a dr or nurse actually are! While I understand why its done that way it still seems a lil scary

As being part of the responding code team ACLS is a protocol therefore no physician medication order requirement. We frequently start pushing meds before responding code physicians arrive. One of the purposes of being ACLS trained and being a code responder is being capable of running a full code. So long as you are ACLS certified I see no issues.

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

I have a friend who is a flight attendant. They are trained in basic life support.

They also told me that in a mid flight medical emergency such as a cardiac arrest/seizure they always ask passengers if anyone is a doctor/nurse/medic to provide experience and direction.

They do carry IV start kits however rely on there being someone onboard who can start an IV as they do not receive this training.

Huh. Two of my friends have been on flights where they were asked to provide emergency medical care, and both times the only medical supplies were a first aid kit, an AED, a BP cuff, a stethoscope, and oxygen. No IVs, no meds.

I gotta stop flying budget airlines. If I'm in that situation I want all the options.

I just hope the people that say yes I am a dr or nurse actually are! While I understand why its done that way it still seems a lil scary

I've responded, it was a deteriorating pt. Not a cardiac arrest. I had to provide my registration details to the senior attendant. Turns out guy was 6 weeks post renal transplant and was returning from Dubai where he had been for 2 weeks. Most likely bowel obstruction from adhesions. We were 90 min out from landing so we continued on with me hanging out with him in first class (cause I don't care for the cattle class:-))

When I responded I was simply letting OP know what part of that scenario would have bothered me personally. I have ACLS training myself and know what it's for. I was just saying that I would have felt slightly uncomfortable about doing that with no further direction from a physician. When I actually used my ACLS training in a hospital setting we always waited for a physician to show up before actually administering any meds- we would always start CPR, ect if needed but never actually administered meds until a physician was present or gave orders. I understand in this situation that's not really feasible (although other posters have expressed that you actually can get orders from a physician on the ground apparently).

I forgot to add to my first post that it sounds like a crazy situation and I probably would have done the same thing as OP. So kudos to you, OP, for helping that patient out of a tough spot.

I don't mean to offend, but if you start doing chest compressions and/or bagging a patient when they code, but wait for a physician to arrive before administering any meds, you're not using your ACLS training, you're using your BLS training.

The entire point of being ACLS certified is so you don't have to wait for a physician. Why wait when there's a protocol in place and you know what you need to do?