Who pronounces the death?

[NICU_babyRN, BSN, RN]

The quote below is from another thread and it raised an eyebrow!

...The first time I had a patient die and I had to pronounce them...

I didn't think it was legal for an RN to pronounce anyone person dead. I do believe it is an MD or Paramedic (with more than a basic EMT) who has to pronounce the person dead and state the time. Is this not true in some states?

Thank you so much,

Addy:nurse:

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

Not sure about in the US but here our nurse practitioners can verify but not certify death

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

It is standard here for MD to pronounce death. I have never seen where RN could do that. But then again I only know what applies to MI. Other states might be different.

[jessiern, BSN, RN]

Our house supervisors can pronounce a death after speaking on the phone with a doctor. But, most of the time the ER doc when run upstairs and do it. The attending MD has to sign the death certifcate.

[lovablelvn]

At my previous job at an Assisted Living Facility, if the pt had Hospice and passed we called them and the RN on-call would pronounce them. But if they did not have Hospice and just had skilled nursing HH the medical examiner would pronounce. I'm in Texas and that was at an ALF.

[SDS_RN, RN]

Dr. does it, I've never heard of a nurse doing that. Pretty sure that's out of our scope of practice.

[BlueRidgeHomeRN]

pt had hospice and passed we called them and the rn on-call would pronounce them.f.

in the us, hospice rn's can pronounce an registered hospice pt, all others need an md, at least in fl and va where i've worked.

[elkpark]

This isn't an ethical issue, it's a legal one -- state law specifies who can pronounce, and, like everything else, the regs vary from state to state. It's important to be aware of what is and isn't within your scope of practice where you're practicing.

I believe there are a number of places where RNs can pronounce under lmited circumstances -- like, in LTC settings.

[leslie :-D]

in massachusetts, hospice rn's pronounce all the time.

leslie

[loriangel14, RN]

Where I work in Ontario the RN can pronounce but the MD has to sign the certificate.

[mianders, RN]

In the state of TX a RN can pronounce if the patient is a DNR.

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Where I work in Ontario the RN can pronounce but the MD has to sign the certificate.

yep I have pronounced many deaths. In fact, if a death is expected and happens at 2:00 in the morning, we don't even call the doctor until around 6 or 6;30 - unless they are a coroners case. But even then, I can pronouce.

The MD has to do the death certificate though.