What would you do?

[EaglesWings21, ASN, RN]

I was on my way home from school today from taking my last final of the semester driving through a bad part of my city. A truck was blocking the right lane so I put on my turn signal and drove past the truck in the left lane. I looked to my right as I drove past and saw a man lying face down on the curb. My first thought was that he had been shot. My second thought as I was maybe 1/5 of a mile down the road was I need to stop and see if I can help. My third thought was there were already about 10 people that had stopped and they were all on their phones most likely calling 911, but none of them performed CPR. This is a bad neighborhood and he may have been shot and the scene might still be dangerous. As I drove down the road I first prayed for the man and then tried to figure out if I should of done anything differently. I wanted to turn around and go back to help, but people are shot daily in my city especially in bad neighborhoods like these. I later found out he was riding a bike and was hit by a vehicle. As a student and/or nurse, what would you do in this situation? Would you stop or keep going? If you would stop, then what would you do?

By the way, I am only certified to do CPR. I have never done it. I am in my second semester of an ASN program.

[LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN]

The good Samaritan law protects you. As long as you are only providing the skills you were trained to do in CPR.

[Levitas, BSN, RN]

If it were me, I would have called 911 and let those on the clock handle it. If it was in my neighborhood, I might stop depending on how the situation looked.

Knowing BLS/CPR is great, but also useless if you don't follow one of the most important rules, ensure a safe environment. For example: You're not going to give someone CPR in a burning building, why? Because you're risking yourself as well as the person in need. You must ensure safety for yourself as well.

I dunno, perhaps others would do something different. My first instinct reading this story was to call 911.

[203bravo, MSN, APRN]

If you did not feel safe then you absolutely did the right thing. It's always responder safety 1st. Also, the 911 dispatcher should have walked those that had stopped through CPR if it was needed.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

I work in a pretty bad neighborhood and honestly, I would have called 911 and left it at that. There is a little park by our hospital and as I was driving by I heard gunfire and got out of Dodge, calling 911 only way. You never know if it is gang related or not and they sometimes come back to finish the job. Keep yourself safe.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

I was an EMT for over a decade. When you are unsure if the scene is safe, call 911 give as much info as possible. Man face down on side of road, visible blood,, about 10 others at scene, location, known gang activity. Then advise that you are leaving the scene as you are unsure of safety , not a witness and am not a trained first responder.

CPR in an unsafe scene is useless, especially if you are injured.

As my EMS instructor so eloquently stated "a dead EMT does no one any good". When I tested a candidate would actually fail the clinical skill if you failed to check & declare scene safety.

[LearningByMistakes]

As a Paramedic of 29 years, and 28 of those working in a city that regularly ranks in the top 5 (many times top 2) of the most dangerous cities in the US, I can tell you that if I was "off the clock" I would have called 911 and reported where it was and what I saw. So no, I would NOT have stopped.

The thought to pray was fine, but please call 911 FIRST, then pray.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

The good Samaritan law protects you. As long as you are only providing the skills you were trained to do in CPR.

Not necessarily....there is an entire thread about this here.....https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/got-use-my-891797.html

Good Samaritan laws only go so far and only if you are practicing within your scope.

I would consider my safety first. I would call 911 again. I MIGHT consider stopping as a trained ER nurse but you are still very limited in what your actions could be...If he was breathing I would probably leave him where he was for to move him you could be causing more damage resulting in paralysis.

You are in the city...an ambulance with trained personnel is a few short minutes away.

Prayer is good.

[EaglesWings21, ASN, RN]

Thanks all. I just wanted some insight as to how to handle the situation. I also didn't know how to handle a gun shot victim or MVA because I know in an MVA you are not supposed to move the person and if someone is shot and it hit an artery and you are doing chest compressions, wouldn't that cause them to bleed even more?

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

If I had seen the person get hit by a car, I might have stopped. If I was driving in a sketchy area and saw someone down not knowing what was going on or if the situation was safe, I'd keep driving and call 911.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Thanks all. I just wanted some insight as to how to handle the situation. I also didn't know how to handle a gun shot victim or MVA because I know in an MVA you are not supposed to move the person and if someone is shot and it hit an artery and you are doing chest compressions, wouldn't that cause them to bleed even more?

All bleeding stops...eventually. :)

If you are ever in that situation, make sure someone else is managing the bleeding (pressure points, tourniquet, etc) while CPR attempts to perfuse brain and vital organs.