Saw a car accident; I wish I was already a nurse!

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Yesterday I saw a car accident. Looked like some young man in a sports car probably went to fast and hit a truck from behind. The truck was fine and the people in the truck were out walking around. I was going probably 5 mph on the highway strolling by this accident and all I could think about was "I wish I were a nurse so I could help!"

No ambulance yet, but I know the hospital was only 5 minutes away so I knew it would only be a minute before they got there. He was lucky to crash at that exit. He was right by the exit too.

I saw the young man laying in the grass, face up, eyes closed. About 10 people around him. I didn't see any blood or anything, and assumed he hadn't died by the way the people were acting around him. I mean, I'd assume people would either be freaking out or attempting CPR.

Part of me wanted to pull over and help, but honestly, the only thing I know how to do is take vitals. I mean, I haven't done any nursing clinicals. The only clinical I have had were nurse aide clinicals. So what was I going to do? Yell at the people to give him some space and take his pulse and respirations? As soon as that thought came into my mind, I heard the ambulance coming. Had I not heard them coming, I probably would have done the above. lol.

Nurse or not, I know the mistake #1 they made was pulling him out of that car. Hopefully they didn't damage his back.

I do think I am going to sign up for my BLS class next quarter and maybe do a first aid class as well. You never know. I may need those skills sometime before I become a nurse!

Specializes in Cardiac.
Interestingly enough, the Minnesota Good Sam law says that ANYONE must stop and give assistance if they know that someone has been exposed to or suffered grave physical harm "to the extent that a person can do so" and that not doing so makes one guilty of a petty misdemeanor.
604A.01, Minnesota Statutes 2006

Copyright © 2006 by the Office of Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota.

604A.01 GOOD SAMARITAN LAW.

Subdivision 1. Duty to assist. A person at the scene of an emergency who knows that another

person is exposed to or has suffered grave physical harm shall, to the extent that the person can

do so without danger or peril to self or others, give reasonable assistance to the exposed person.

Reasonable assistance may include obtaining or attempting to obtain aid from law enforcement or

medical personnel. A person who violates this subdivision is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

Try to read the law before you speak..

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
604A.01, Minnesota Statutes 2006

Copyright © 2006 by the Office of Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota.

604A.01 GOOD SAMARITAN LAW.

Subdivision 1. Duty to assist. A person at the scene of an emergency who knows that another

person is exposed to or has suffered grave physical harm shall, to the extent that the person can

do so without danger or peril to self or others, give reasonable assistance to the exposed person.

Reasonable assistance may include obtaining or attempting to obtain aid from law enforcement or

medical personnel. A person who violates this subdivision is guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

Try to read the law before you speak..

Yep, I read it. What's wrong with how I described it? It says that a person shall give aid according to their ability (and scope, it can be safely assumed) and that failing to do so can result in one being guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

What am I missing that makes me such an idiot?

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Specializes in IMCU.
Yep, I read it. What's wrong with how I described it? It says that a person shall give aid according to their ability (and scope, it can be safely assumed) and that failing to do so can result in one being guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

What am I missing that makes me such an idiot?

I don't think you are missing anything.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

I think the part that reads "at the scene of an emergency" can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Does being in a car driving by an accident constitute being at the scene or does it only mean if you stop and actually enter the scene? It's a bit ambiguous.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
I think the part that reads "at the scene of an emergency" can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Does being in a car driving by an accident constitute being at the scene or does it only mean if you stop and actually enter the scene? It's a bit ambiguous.

I see that, but wouldn't a loose interpretation of "at the scene" mean that nobody really has to stop and that therefore nobody is really ever in danger of incurring the penalty? In which case I wonder what the point of having the law in the first place is, because anyone who does stop will, presumably, do everything they can (it's why they stopped).

It seems unlikely to me that the law was set up to make strict differentiations in scope of work so that people who are qualified to give advanced aid, but stop for an accident, and for some reason don't meet their scope can be held culpable. This seems doubly true since the next subdivision of the law contains all the usual language about no culpability for people who do everything they can.

The clearest construction seems to me to be that, in Minnesota, whether you are a healthcare professional or not, you face the possibility of a penalty if you do not stop and give what assistance you can at the scene of an accident where grave injury is evident.

That said, such a penalty would probably be almost impossible to impose.

But I am not a lawyer.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Interestingly enough, the Minnesota Good Sam law says that ANYONE must stop and give assistance if they know that someone has been exposed to or suffered grave physical harm "to the extent that a person can do so" and that not doing so makes one guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

The part that you capped....anyone.

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
The part that you capped....anyone.

Because that is how the law reads. It makes no distinction between healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professionals. The only qualifier is the fairly ambiguous idea that they give aid "to the extent that they can do so". ISTM that this would also encompass issues pertaining to scope.

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I'm sorry but I can't believe some of the comments on this post. We are nurses (or soon to be) and have an ethical standard to uphold. Shame on you if you pass by someone that is injured or dying because you're afraid of a lawsuit. You'd rather have them die? If I can help someone that has been injured in a car accident or whatever, then I'm going to help. If I get sued, then so be it. I'll take saving a life over fear of a lawsuit anyday.

I'm a nurse and a darn good one but I'm not a hero and have no desire to be one. I will not risk my health, welfare or livelihood or that of my family, for anyone.

Have you ever been sued? Do you know your likely won't cover you if the incident didn't happen on the job? Do you have the tens of thousands of dollars in the bank to mount a defense with no hope of recovering those funds, win or lose? Yeah, sorry, I have more than just myself to worry about.

If there is a crowd gathered at the scene of an accident (as described in the original post) it's more than likely that someone already there knows basic first aid which is what a nurse would be limited to doing. The 'crowd' is more than capable of holding someones hand or providing reassurance, holding pressure, etc. The last thing that is needed is one more body standing around. One more car pulled over creating the potential for an additional accident or getting in the way of emergency vehicles.

Ask a paramedic what they want people at the scene of an accident to do. The majority of the first responders I know will tell you they want people to call 911 and get the heck out of the way. A couple of people providing first aid and reassurance are helpful, witnesses to what happened are helpful otherwise it's just a crowd and it's rubbernecking.

I just got my AHA BLS certification...but my BLS course didn't cover anything about C-spine precautions, etc. I'm just curious if we would get the kind of training to enable us to help in a situation like a car wreck. One day I did witness a car wreck at a busy intersection. The woman in the car appeared to be stable but was bleeding, and let's just say maybe she had some burns and a broken rib or limb...what would be the right thing to do in order to help this woman? Will nursing school prepare me for things like this? Sorry if I sound naive, I really just don't know. Of course I would call for EMS, but other than that...should I, or could I, do anything else to help?

No, nursing school won't prepare you for situations like that. You may get a sense of what should be done but it is EMS who is trained in emergency C spine immobilization and extraction. There really isn't anything else a nurse or lay person could do.

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