Nurse Refused To Initiate CPR, What Is Your Opinion?

She does not really say, she keeps saying “ummm…” “no one…” “not at this time…” (?!) At a point she talks to someone else in the room (not clear whom) and asks to get someone (inintelligible, we may infer some sort of supervisor, but this is pure speculation) and says something about the dispatcher’s insistance stressing her.

No word about a DNR and not even about informal statements from the patient. Also, the fire dept have confirmed there was no DNR on file with them.

My opinion (I know Health will grill me for speaking of situations I don’t know, and in this case, he would be right) is that the employee, after being treated like sub-garbage for who knows how long, was beyond humanity, beyond common sense, even beyond self-interest and self-protection, she was like a broken robot blabbing nonsense (“not at this time”?!) I don’t condone her at all (and I am aware this is what sometimes people do to themselves in order to cope with something their moral conscience find repulsive e.g. please talk to Africans who have been through wars) but still, we have heard how an employee (BTW, somehow professionally qualified in health care) has been brought to that point.

daniela -“My opinion (I know Health will grill me for speaking of situations I don’t know, and in this case, he would be right) is that the employee, after being treated like sub-garbage for who knows how long, was beyond humanity, beyond common sense, even beyond self-interest and self-protection, she was like a broken robot blabbing nonsense”

I mean you can sit and speculate all you want, as long as you realize you turned this into a novel; none of your posts are even close to non-fiction.

“She does not really say, she keeps saying “ummm…” “no one…” “not at this time…” (?!) At a point she talks to someone else in the room (not clear whom) and asks to get someone (inintelligible, we may infer some sort of supervisor, but this is pure speculation) and says something about the dispatcher’s insistance stressing her.

No word about a DNR and not even about informal statements from the patient. Also, the fire dept have confirmed there was no DNR on file with them.”

The point being was she never said there is No DNR -so a good possibility is that she knew about the DNR from the family and therefore did nothing. The FD never (almost never) has any DNR’s -they wait for s/o at the facility to give it to them before they honor it.

In hospitals patients who have a DNR usually have a bracelet that states that. Wouldn’t the resident have had it on her medical bracelet? Many elderly people, even those who live on their own, wear one.

2scents -“Health, it does not make sense that she should be aware of the DNR, I believe that there are more than three residents living in the facility. what business is it for the nurse if the person has a DNR or not so that she should be aware of this.

I think that you are to say something that is far fetched.

When asked if she cares about the PT, she states yes, when asked so dont you help the PT, she replies that this is why she is calling 911.

I have attended many codes in similar facilities. Never has any of the staff had any knowledge if the PT has a DNR or not.”

It is not far fetched at all. Maybe this pt. was under her care and she was familiar with what was in her chart.

2scents -“Since that would have been the factor of not providing CPR, she would have either mentioned it to the dispatcher, or she would have told that to someone.”

She could have mentioned it to the dispatcher, but the fact that she didn’t – doesn’t mean she didn’t know about the DNR.

“This was not the reason she stated on why she refused to let the dispatcher talk to someone else.”

Because she didn’t think that it was relevant, which it isn’t, because she obviously wasn’t holding the DNR in her hand. If she did have a copy – she would have given it to EMS when they arrived.