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Question:

Dear Donna,

I have been asked to be a “volunteer nurse” at a church camp in the summer. I am not being paid. I have been informed that the church does not want to use EMTs but needs actual MDs or nurses to be the camp nurse to provide basic first aid and hand out medications. What liability do I have? Would I be covered as a helping citizen, or could I be sued? I am a practicing RN at a clinic and am covered there by my employer.

Patricia

Dear Donna replies:

Dear Patricia,

Even though you are not being paid, you certainly could be sued because you are working as a nurse — volunteer or otherwise. I am not an attorney, but I do know that “Good Samaritan” laws do not apply to this type of situation. Every nurse should have his or her own liability insurance. Even if your employer “covers you,” that does not automatically cover all situations. If something happened and your employer was to assert that you were not operating within established company policies and procedures, you could find yourself out of luck. You definitely need liability insurance for this volunteer position. It is relatively inexpensive, too.

Good luck, Donna

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Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of “Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional” and “The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career.” Information about the books is available at www.Nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.Nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.Nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call 800-866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.