Scope of Practice Concern

[Chopel]

Hello allnurses community!

I recently got a request to help/volunteer as medic for a martial arts event benefiting the American Cancer Society. The event is only for kids and I don't expect too much carnage with the sparring, but in this case will I be putting myself at any risk of stepping outside of my scope of practice? I am only expecting first aid type functions, but of course you can never rule out the possibility of any of these kids sustaining a blow to the head.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. Cheers!

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Depends on your credentials/license. I would contact the board that licenses/credentials you and see it this is appropriate.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Depends on your credentials/license. I would contact the board that licenses/credentials you and see it this is appropriate.

^^^ Exactly! Each state is different.

[amoLucia]

And always know what your malpractice insurance (or theirs) covers.

[T-Bird78]

At most you should just apply an ice pack to a sore wrist or stop a nosebleed. My oldest does Tae Kwon Do and they're instructed light to no contact for sparring and wear protective head gear, foot pads, gloves, knee/shin pads, elbow pads, and a mouthpiece. We had a tournament last weekend and the only medical issue was a participant's grandmother fell in the bleachers and hurt her wrist. Your thing should be just basic first aid and stay within your scope of practice.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

My son does judo and we have nurses that volunteer at our tournaments. We had a guy shatter his humerus at our last competition a few weeks ago. The nurse stabilized his arm and we called paramedics to take them to the hospital. We always have injuries at ours and they just stabilize and call paramedics or parents take them to the hospital if needed.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Nobody can make you "step out of your scope of practice." If you know what that is and stick to it, you're fine. If something comes up that's beyond you, anywhere, you call 911 and let the paramedics deal with it.

There is no risk of "stepping out of your scope of practice" unless you are in a war zone and the bad guys have a gun to your child's head and you have to do an appendectomy or cricothyrotomy or something or else. :) Even at that I think the BoN would forgive you.