Refusing To Assist With CPR Because of No Gloves?

[HellsBells]

the guy was deader than dead (without any obvious signs of death)

WTF?

[FireMedicChick164]

sounds to me like the incident was a bit of a cluster....just my opinion.....

usually if we come in with an arrest we will assist in the ER at least until they get more hands in the room. We deliver pt's to a fairly small hospital and sometimes it takes a few minutes to get extra people.

Edited August 18, 2011 by FireMedicChick164

[ERDoc]

I don't mean to nit-pick, but what exactly was meant by "off-duty"? It seems this question has been asked several times without any answer. Maybe if we know what it means it might help understand the situation a little better.

[Lone Star]

I don't mean to nit-pick, but what exactly was meant by "off-duty"? It seems this question has been asked several times without any answer. Maybe if we know what it means it might help understand the situation a little better.

Presuming that 'off duty' means not in uniform, and not being compensated by their employer. This leads to the next question...if they were off duty, why were they hanging around the E/R, and why did they get involved in a situation that clearly violates HIPAA? Since he/she was not directly involved in patient care, or related to the patient...they had no business even setting foot in the treatment room with that patient.

Yeah, I'm going to take a different tack....an arrest in an ER, and you need more than two people for compression? And (what sounds like) a basic recruiting folks because he's unable to continue compression due to exhaustion? For a patient with an initial rhythm of asystole?

This entire code sounds like a cluster fuck. I'm thinking that if this was perhaps a competent medic that 'gloves' was maybe easier than saying..."I want no part of that mess...." But, then again, unless he's banging one of the nurses, or ill, I don't know what he was doing at the ER while off duty.

Just a thought...

Dwayne

I don't care if they were 'banging one of the nurses'...who hangs out in the local E/R on their days off? In my book, the excuse 'Just so I can be near you and spend time with you' isn't a satisfactory response.

The E/R isn't someplace you go to hang out and socialize. That is someone's place of employment and if you're not an employee of that establishment, you don't need to be under foot!

Even if said nurse is causing you to either 'pitch a tent', or gives you 'panty puddles', use the appropriate venue for socializing.

[paramedicmike]

While we don't know as the OP hasn't clarified, the term off duty could mean a variety of things.

The person in question could've just clocked out and had to walk by on his way out the door.

The person in question could be there for a meeting with the medical director.

The person in question could've been there for a meeting with anyone in the hospital for any number of reasons.

The person in question could've been there as a family member for another patient.

The person in question could, indeed, be dating one of the nurses and was there for any number of reasons.

Until the OP comes back to clarify what was meant by being off duty we won't know. It does little good to jump to conclusions and make assumptions about things when details are unavailable.

It still stands that not having gloves was a lame excuse.

[Bernhard]

It still stands that not having gloves was a lame excuse.

But it obviously worked. That instantly makes it a good one.

Honestly: If I would have been asked by some random (and maybe inexperienced) assistant and clearly not by the team leader and/or I see a bunch of weird things going on in this particular case which I don't want to be part of, I would've backed out as well. I even can imagine the medic willing to help when asked outside the ER, then steps in and sees, what's going on and decides that he doesn't want to get really involved in some stupid thing.

I already did things like that (even in duty!). However, with better excuses or with a very clear statement: "That looks like your mess...handle it yourself" or maybe a little more polite.

As long as we don't know the real situation (and the original poster seems to share only his point of view), it's not really legitimate to judge the off-duty medic's behaviour. His excuse was not very creative, yes - but that's all what we can say. A more interesting question now would be: "What would you've said in such a situation, if you want not to get involved for any reason?"...

(Not to be misunderstood: I already assisted even off-duty in calls, which were not mine, if it was needed).

EDIT: schpelling

Edited August 19, 2011 by Bernhard

[Hooch.NREMT]

1. No gloves = no excuse

2. He assisted in unloading = made a voluntary decision to assist, but could have ended that decision after casualty was loaded out

3. The tickler… You say you went into the hall and "asked for help", and he complied… hmmm, although he does not fall into abandonment or fail to act, im gonna say that was not very "professional" to respond for a call to action and then refuse… we are all team mates here

[scubanurse]

Holy dead post resurrection...

[Arctickat]

I've seen holier

[EMT City Administrator]

It is OK to add to an old post.