Registered nurse

I am a registered nurse who was recently asked to perform a clinically invasive and dangerous procedure ( a platelet depletion , which involves a surgeon placing a heart catheter, and I then hook up the patient to a Cobe Spectra machine.) I had never been trained or done this procedure before this emergency call. My supervisor asked me to perform the procedure with no training by speaking to a Spectra mfg. rep. on the phone. I did not do the procedure, and was subsequently told I did not have confidence in my skills and perhaps I should look for other employment by the director of nursing. If the patient had died on my machine( a real possibilty because they are on the verge of a stroke before our arrival), could I have been sued ? Would my supervisor have shared the burden for instructing me to perform the procedure?

Can anyone give me a case citation(s) for a similar situation? I need something to back my stance, this has threatened my job security.

Thank you

No way, the super would have said you were adement you were experienced, and left you twisiting in the wind. However you left out a critical piece of info. Was the proceedure preformed? If so my whom? Or did the Surgeon shove a hose in the patients heart and say, MY job is done!

OMG, what hospital is this? Yikes!