In California, an elderly woman recently died at a nursing home. Although sad, this event would not have been news worthy if it weren't for the circumstances in which she died. After having a heart attack, the nearest nurse called 911. The operator told the nurse to begin CPR, which the nurse replied was against protocol, and therefore she couldn't. As a result, the elderly woman died. Click here to read more about the story.
In my opinion, this nurse made a big mistake. Instead of following protocol, she should have followed our most important right as U.S citizens: the right to life. If she began CPR on the elderly woman, her life could have possibly been saved, and no one would have been angry towards the nurse for 'breaking protocol'. What do you think? Is it more important to follow the rules, or do what you think is best under pressure situations? Comment below.
Tom, this story is awful and makes us wonder what would have happened if the nurse had broken the protocol. Honestly I wonder what their protocol is. You would think at a nursing home that a nurse would be allowed to perform CPR because of the higher rates of heart attacks among older people. That's the first thing that troubled me, and since CPR was not in the nursing home's "protocol" I think the nurse should have broken the rules. But this answer is easy for any of us to conclude because of the American value of saving lives (I am not sure if there is a "right" to life but there is a value). However I also understand that this nurse was under pressure, and most of us under pressure get rid of our ethics and jump to the rules which we are comfortable with. Because of this I don't think the nurse did anything wrong, however if she had chosen to break the rules she would not have been penalized either.
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