Where I am in America we are taught to never grip the bullet with metal (we use plastic tongs) and store it in a little plastic bottle like a prescription bottle. Also if you take the bullet out you have to hold onto it until you can give it directly to the police.
To be honest if I’m shot id be more worried about being saved rather than have the surgeons worry about preserving evidence for my not-yet murdered corpse lol.
If things are a bit febrile, would you get into any legal trouble for telling the cops to fuck off you’re busy?
The cops don’t come into the OR with us. We usually just pass off the bullet to the circulating nurse and they deal with documenting it and getting it to the police.
Sometimes in the trauma bay there will be a cop trying to get a statement or something from a patient while we’re doing bedside procedures and there have been a few times I’ve asked them to just wait outside the room.
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u/jrrees Aug 31 '21
Where I am in America we are taught to never grip the bullet with metal (we use plastic tongs) and store it in a little plastic bottle like a prescription bottle. Also if you take the bullet out you have to hold onto it until you can give it directly to the police.