An obstetrical nurse comes across an automobile accident
The patient 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 her purse to provide an airway. The patient survives and has a permanent problem with his 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 acted 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.
ANS: C
An obstetric nurse would not have been trained in performing a tracheostomy or a cricotomy, and doing so would be beyond what she has been trained or educated to do. The nurse did not do what another nurse would have done in the same situation. The nurse is not protected by the Good Samaritan Law because she acted outside of her scope of practice and training. The nurse should have acted within what she was trained and educated to do in this circumstance, not just stay with the patient.
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