[US] Nurse refuses to perform CPR

[THE Bigzoman]

Here is my CPR training.

[Cthulhu 2020]

I had just posted a report from the local NBC affiliate in which the anchor stated the woman did not have a do-not-resucitate order (it's in the video). That's what got me posting in this thread to begin with, as many people were either suggesting or asserting otherwise.

regardless of whether the woman had a DNR or not, if the nurse did not know one way or the other she did the right thing for herself by not performing CPR. Now I will say it was not necessarily the "right" thing to do, but when people slap retarded lawsuits on people doing good things, this culture of protecting your own ass develops.

If the nurse did not know for certain, the options were, CPR the woman and possibly get hit with a giant lawsuit, or do nothing and nothing happen. It's a result of our effed up laws but that's how it is.

[Sivick]

that's some massive BS

[Kasierith]

that's some massive BS

Care to explain your thoughts in more detail than "that's some massive BS?"

[Sayl]

regardless of whether the woman had a DNR or not, if the nurse did not know one way or the other she did the right thing for herself by not performing CPR.

I hope you realize I'm not contesting that.

[schwarzkopf]

Care to explain your thoughts in more detail than "that's some massive BS?"

I'm guessing - BS aka Breastbone Smash, what probably would have happened giving CPR to this lady.

[Tricksterjim]

Welcome to the US where if that Nurse had performed CPR and had done ANYTHING wrong or against the current guidelines (which change almost yearly) she could have been sued for everything she had and the nursing facility as well.

Some of you will say you have done it anyways. I would like to think i would as well. But add in a few more life experiences: what if you had been practicing for years and have seen numerous friends and colleagues sued for frivolous reasons and lose everything. or you yourself had previously bent the rules and only been punished by the system and even the very people you were trying to help.

Some states have good Samaritan laws but they are not comprehensive.

Yes, in a lot of peoples opinion, it was a heartless act. But I blame the system as much as the nurse or the facility. You see this too often. I remember a recent story about firefighters that refused to enter a lake to save a car accident victim because they did not have the proper qualifications. They didn't want to get sued.

Plain and simple the nurse had no duty to act in her position and so did not. Maybe if our system better encouraged good Samaritan's and stopped lawsuits ending in large cash rewards, we would have this happen less often.

[Shennanigans]

Don't assume it was a medically staffed facility. It may be a assisted living community or any such thing like that. The term nurse in retirement and assisted living care facility is used to describe a variety of trained or untrained caregivers. Many who are just personal care aids and probably don't know how to perform CPR. Nowadays there are actually very few educated real nurses, LPN or RN in retirement settings. It's mostly aids who help with hygiene and feeding. I'm not surprised by this at all. Its customary to call 911 in a lot of retirement centers nowadays.

[araine]

time to sue the living shit out of that nursing home and hope they get driven into bankruptcy.

[Kasierith]

time to sue the living shit out of that nursing home and hope they get driven into bankruptcy.

What exactly would you sue her for?

[araine]

Welcome to the US where if that Nurse had performed CPR and had done ANYTHING wrong or against the current guidelines (which change almost yearly) she could have been sued for everything she had and the nursing facility as well.

Some of you will say you have done it anyways. I would like to think i would as well. But add in a few more life experiences: what if you had been practicing for years and have seen numerous friends and colleagues sued for frivolous reasons and lose everything. or you yourself had previously bent the rules and only been punished by the system and even the very people you were trying to help.

Some states have good Samaritan laws but they are not comprehensive.

Yes, in a lot of peoples opinion, it was a heartless act. But I blame the system as much as the nurse or the facility. You see this too often. I remember a recent story about firefighters that refused to enter a lake to save a car accident victim because they did not have the proper qualifications. They didn't want to get sued.

Plain and simple the nurse had no duty to act in her position and so did not. Maybe if our system better encouraged good Samaritan's and stopped lawsuits ending in large cash rewards, we would have this happen less often.

You need to be sued to hell and back for the system in place of we watch people die.

[DEATHETERNAL]

time to sue the living shit out of that nursing home and hope they get driven into bankruptcy.

Do you not realize that this kind of foolish attitude is what gave rise to this kind of situation in the first place?

[Shennanigans]

time to sue the living shit out of that nursing home and hope they get driven into bankruptcy.

Yea sue them, that will certainly fix the problem which is that healthcare workers have to practice defensively so they don't get sued......wait........... : /

[Magpai]

Jeeze....imagine that. You'd rather let someone die than break the rules.

Those rules may very well be intended to prevent harm to patients. Things aren't always as simple as your first impression makes it out to be.

[araine]

What exactly would you sue her for?

Not her the company with those rules in place. since those rules caused a criminal negligence to occur, The acts of in this case the standing orders of do nothing caused the person to die. And that is criminal negligence.

And on top of that a person that thinks those standing orders goes above the medical oath you have sworn to upheld you need to lose your license for practicing medicine even in the form of a nurse.

Plain and simple IDIOT actions like this needs to COST for those that do them and stand up for them and only way to do that is by suing the living hell out of them

[Magpai]

time to sue the living shit out of that nursing home and hope they get driven into bankruptcy.

And then complain about the rising cost of healthcare and elder care, no doubt.

[DEATHETERNAL]

Plain and simple IDIOT actions like this needs to COST for those that do them and stand up for them and only way to do that is by suing the living hell out of them

I should sue you for this IDIOT post you made then. Stupid posts like this need to COST for those that make them.

[Twotonsteak]

What's the big deal?

If you don't agree with the policy (which the girl rightly followed, it's there for a reason) then you should've picked a different retirement home.
And the woman's daughter was happy with the service provided. So why are people getting worked up over this?

There really isn't an issue here, honestly. The nurse followed procedure. The family of the deceased agree'd with what was, and wasn't, done and the results. In fact odds are VERY good they were made aware of the policy when they signed the (many, many) forms involved with the home.

But boring stories where everyone accepts the results don't get ratings. Hyping it up by making an issue and playing on emotional sentiments, however, get's the sort of interest that create threads like this.

[Kasierith]

Not her the company with those rules in place. since those rules caused a criminal negligence to occur, The acts of in this case the standing orders of do nothing caused the person to die. And that is criminal negligence.

If you are put on a DNR, either you or the person legally responsible for you signs it. If you don't you get what happened to the doctors of that Down's Syndrome patient, ie a huge lawsuit. If you sign a DNR without knowing what it means, you're an idiot.

The hippocratic oath is not legally binding. It never has been.

Yes, actually it is costing people. It's costing you. Have fun paying for your doctor's malpractice assurance because greedy pricks want to sue someone for not saving their life properly. Really, it's blind ignorance of medicine like this that is ultimately destroying the US medical system from the ground up; I bet you don't even know what conditions CPR actually has a chance in helping. I'll give you a hint: if someone's pulmonary circulation has outright failed, your CPR isn't going to do anything.

[Elegiac]

Not her the company with those rules in place. since those rules caused a criminal negligence to occur, The acts of in this case the standing orders of do nothing caused the person to die. And that is criminal negligence.

And on top of that a person that thinks those standing orders goes above the medical oath you have sworn to upheld you need to lose your license for practicing medicine even in the form of a nurse.

Plain and simple IDIOT actions like this needs to COST for those that do them and stand up for them and only way to do that is by suing the living hell out of them

Exactly what do you think should have been done? As said, performing CPR on an 87 year old woman is about as likely to kill her as the heart attack.