- Natalie Davies was getting ready to enjoy her spring break in New Orleans.
- The nursing student had just presented a paper on the importance of CPR training.
- Then a man collapsed while waiting for his flight and she sprang into action with CPR.
Just 12 hours before boarding her flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport, a Connecticut nursing student presented a paper on the importance of CPR training for the general public.
“Twelve hours later, I was administering CPR in a public place. In this case, there were a couple of us who knew what to do. It’s important that everyone learns to administer CPR when necessary,” said Natalie Davies at Sacred Heart University. Press release.
Davies, a nursing senior at the school, was waiting for her flight to New Orleans when she said she heard a scream. When she turned around, a man had collapsed, prompting her to take action and administer CPR, according to her statement.
The man had no pulse and Davies began CPR compressions. Another passenger, who turned out to be a cardiologist, also came forward to help revive the man. The cardiologist used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to help restore the man’s pulse, according to the school.
The school offered no further information about who the man was or what may have caused the pulse to stop. Davies did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Davies said the incident was “the first time” she had felt like a “real nurse”.
“I didn’t think: I just knew what to do and focused on the patient. I didn’t even realize people were watching until EMS arrived,” he said in the statement.
It took three rounds of this before the man’s pulse returned, but he was awake and talking when EMS arrived, according to the news release.
After graduation, the nursing senior plans to join the Yale New Haven Emergency Department as a critical care RN.
