Sometimes God has delegated the decision making authority to you. You are His instrument and the buck stops with you....

I think what we are talking about here is the very human tendency to take action ("do something!") in the face of an emergency. A classic case would be a hurried, unprofessional extrication from, say, a wrecked automobile, without a thorough examination of the victim. This often leads to very bad consequences that could have been easily avoided by more thoughtful action. Again, it isn't the gadgets in you hot little hands, it's the stuff in your brains that counts.

So true.

I'm reminded of a lawsuit within the past few years. A woman in a traffic accident claims she was paralyzed (or it was made more severe) when a rescuer (actually, was it her friend?) pulled her out of the wreck and dragged her away (the phrase "like a ragdoll" seems to stick in my memory). IIRC the rescuer claimed that she feared a fire or explosion, but the first responders did not find any particularly hazardous situation when they arrived on scene. I have no idea what happened to that case.

Actually, I think we talked about it on ETS back then, too. Anyway, we don't know the reality of that situation, but certainly doing less or nothing very well could've been the best course to take in that situation.

Actually the first rule is 'Don't put yourself in danger.'

We called that "is the scene safe?", then proceed to step two, I suppose as with all protocals changes in time, so perhaps wording change? We're not using turniquets anymore either

Ironwood

While most of us civilians are not likely to need them, tourniquets can be lifesaving in certain circumstances. They are now commonly used, with good outcomes, by the military in combat in SW Asia. Circumstances outside of combat where a tourniquet would be indicated are probably rare, but it is still a worthwhile skill to have. See When To Use Tourniquets, by Dr. Johnson of Wilderness Medical Associates for more info about their use.

In Wilderness First Aid; we're allowed. But that's a very rare, very specific circumstance available to a trained group.

My mini-kit

band-aids
gloves
dressing
meds
tiny fauxton light
usually in a ziploc