An obstetric nurse comes across an automobile accident. The driver seems to have a crushed upper airway, and while waiting for emergency medical services to arrive, the nurse makes a cut in the trachea and inserts a straw from a purse to provide an airway

Question

The patient survives and has a permanent problem with vocal cords, making it difficult to talk. Which statement is true regarding the nurse's performance?
a. The nurse acted appropriately and saved the patient's life.
b. The nurse stayed within the guidelines of the Good Samaritan Law.
c. The nurse took actions beyond those that are standard and appropriate.
d. The nurse should have just stayed with the patient and waited for help.

Answer 1

ANS: C
An obstetric nurse would not have been trained in performing a tracheostomy (cut in the trachea), and doing so would be beyond what the nurse has been trained or educated to do. If you perform a procedure exceeding your scope of practice and for which you have no training, you are liable for injury that may result from that act. You should only provide care that is consistent with your level of expertise. The nurse did not act appropriately. The nurse is not protected by the Good Samaritan Law because the nurse acted outside the scope of practice and training. The nurse should have acted within what was trained and educated to do in this circumstance, not just stay with the patient.