When you arrive on an accident scene

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Specializes in ER.

Any EMS people here? If there is an MVA and an ER nurse is driving by do you prefer we stop and offer help, or just let you do your thing? I would generally go by.

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Specializes in PICU, Pediatrics, Pediatric Home Health.

I am not EMS, but if you witness the accident or no one is on scene, I think it is helpeful to just stop and ask if anyone is hurt or needs help. If EMS is on the scene, don't stop...

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Specializes in MSP, Informatics.

I had a friend at my hospital, who always had stories about helping at accident scenes...... and one day I was riding with her on the way to an auction, and an ambulance raced by the opposite direction. She wheeled the car arround and followed! well.....now I know why she was at so many accident scenes..... should have been a lawyer the way she could chase an ambulance!!!!

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Specializes in PICU, Pediatrics, Pediatric Home Health.
I had a friend at my hospital, who always had stories about helping at accident scenes...... and one day I was riding with her on the way to an auction, and an ambulance raced by the opposite direction. She wheeled the car arround and followed! well.....now I know why she was at so many accident scenes..... should have been a lawyer the way she could chase an ambulance!!!!

HaHa!! Why didn't she just become an EMS worker??

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Specializes in ICU and EMS.

I have been in EMS for almost 8 years, and am now an EMS Officer. If you come upon the scene BEFORE police/fire/EMS are on location, it is ok to stop and see if anyone needs assistance. Keep in mind that you do not have any supplies to assist them with! Generally, you will only be able to help them with calling 911 (and please only do this if there are actual injuries). Also keep in mind that other drivers on the road are not paying any attention to where they are driving, so by stopping, you are putting your life at risk.

If police/fire/EMS are already on location, we most likely do not need your assistance. Our protocols do not allow for bystanders to assist with patient care due to insurance and liability.

On a side note, I have gotten on the scene of severe car accidents where nurses have been on the scene prior to our arrival. Generally, the nurses have not done what is best for the patient. C-spine precautions have not been taken into account, NPO status has not been initiated, and general safety precautions by the nurse have not been taken into account (stay away from airbags and bumpers as they can "pop" at anytime, PPE, and rubber-neckers putting your life in jeopardy). Honestly, I can say that when I went through nursing school, we were not educated on how to handle an emergency outside of the hospital. You and the patient are better off letting the properly trained professionals start from the begining.

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I actually had an instructor tell us not to do anything. She suggested to call 911 and if you need to just help control the crowd.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I'm a pre-hospital RN in IL and am also an APN. I never, ever stop unless I'm enroute to a scene....it not safe, you don't know if its a scam, if there are guns involved, etc., are the folks drunk? Nope, no way, no how.

Now...when I come up in my shiny firetruck, that's a different story.

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If nobody is there, I might stop, depending on what it looks like. If there's people there actually trained to work an accident scene (EMS, fire, police) then I drive on and stay out of the way.

The funniest thing was when I stopped for a carload of little old ladies (6 of them in their sedan) got hit by a pickup. They were just walking around their car, in the middle of the street. All I did was assist them across the street so they wouldn't get hit. Once EMS got there, I got out of the way and moved along. But if any of them had been hurt, I wouldn't have been able to do much except keep them still, maybe do CPR, make sure help is on the way and nobody (including myself) does anything to make the situation worse.

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

I have been the first vehicle to the site of a serious head on collision. At the time I was a PICU nurse with extensive trauma experience and was a ground and air transport nurse.

In that particular accident a 2 year old unrestrained child had suffered a severe head injury. I was able to secure the child's Cspine and protect his airway with standard jaw thrust. I was able to provide for protection from the elements as the accident occured in the early morning hours of Easter weekend in Michigan...and of course it was sleeting. When the police arrived I arranged for air transport of the child to the nearest trauma unit (happened to be where I worked).

As soon as EMS arrived I relinquished my position (gladly) although I could not continue on my trip because of the accident. The helicopter arrived moments after the FD had secured the landing area. The child became apneic and postured when loaded which delayed their lift off.

He subsequently survived with some hemiplegia but otherwise had a relatively normal childhood. Interestingly, I worked with his mother, also a nurse, years later in the L&D department. She had also been injured in the accident.

I suspect the outcome may have been very different had my husband and I not been traveling that dark rural road that Easter weekend.

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Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.

if you are first on scene please stop if only to minimise risks and make sure police and EMS are on their way, how involved you get will depend on the kit you have and your pre-hospital care skills knowledge and experience,

stop the traffic, secure the scene , make sure help is coming give the first aid you are safe to give.

if EMS are on scene and are coping you don't need to stop

if EMS are on scene and look to be struggling due to the severity and/or number of casualties , stop, offer your assistance via the EMS or Fire OiC however 2 caveats

1. you must have ID

2. you must have suitable PPE

mrs Zippy and I have stopped at a number of RTCs over the years, we are both EMS providers ( mrs Zippy is a St John Ambulance Emergency Transport Attendant - so an EMT level provider for the left pondians) and I as well as being an RN maintain the ETA award as well as PHTLS , we both carry PPE in the car , hi vis jackets with appropriate organisational role and grade markings , rescue helmets and boots as well as basic first aid kit and diagnostic equipment ( my SJA 'work' bag lives in the car - it and the PPE may as well live there as clutter up my hallway at home)

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Specializes in ER.

Yep, I bought a box of gloves after coming onto an accident involving 5 people, and I can pull out my hospital ID anytime. Crowd control is impossible unless you have some uniform or proof of authority because everyone "knows" what to do, and new people are coming out and exploring the scene just to see it and tell the neighbors.

If ID is available is someone extra to hold c spine helpful? Or a gofer? I feel like crap sitting in my car and watching.

A car hit my house last October, and tore the electrical panel off the wall. I was in such a flap I actually went outside to check on the driver and touched the car, and THEN clued in that I needed to shut off the power. Seriously lost about 50 IQ points for a few hours afterward, even trying to find a number in the phone book was a real challenge.

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If you witness an accident aren't supposed to stop? If not to help at least give an account to what you witnessed....

I am not EMS, but if you witness the accident or no one is on scene, I think it is helpeful to just stop and ask if anyone is hurt or needs help. If EMS is on the scene, don't stop...
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