# Cardiac Arrest in ER



## Eddie263 (Oct 14, 2015)

So today my partner and I were picking up a PT for an IFT in the ER. A medic unit brought in an older PT who looked to be unresponsive. PT was on nasal cannula, EKG on the back of the stretcher but no leads hooked up. PT catches a docs attention, doc walks over, examines him and calls a code. Doc starts compressions and they start working him up for about 30 min. Doctor declares time of death. Im guessing someone is loosing their certs for that call. Seems like textbook neglect.


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## Jondruby (Oct 15, 2015)

Wow, I was talking with some nurse friends of mine yesterday and they were telling me about a nursing home call, an elderly PT choked on some food and the Nursing home staff stood by and watched because the PT had a DNR. I'm like "WHAT!" you can't just let somebody choke to death because they have a DNR, thats not what it means!!!

Another one was a similar incident of PT with severe schizophrenia who choked on some food and kept pushing more food down her airway. Nurses tried to heimlich got some out but there was alot in here airway. Nurses suctioned and tried to work on the food in airway.  She was down for 30 min before an EMT unit showed up, cyonotic, unconscious ect. The EMTs  show and one of them had apparently been drinking, Nurses on staff called a Doc who was going to call it a XYZ time. PT had a DNR and my nurse friend showed it to them, but the EMT who had been drinking started CPR. Breaking ribs on an PT who was dead already. She was a temp nurse so she never really found out what happened with that situation.


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## Kevinf (Oct 15, 2015)




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## Jondruby (Oct 15, 2015)

Exactly...


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## DesertMedic66 (Oct 15, 2015)

I know I'll probably take some heat for this but was the "drunk EMT" a volunteer?


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## Jondruby (Oct 16, 2015)

Yes, I am a volunteer as well, but my crew members take our job very seriously. Actually had an EMT before I came along who did respond to a call and he had been drinking, a nurse told our Director and he was off, no qualms. Volunteer or not volunteer people need to understand with our job peoples like is at steak and you cant be a dumb@$$.


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## Carlos Danger (Oct 16, 2015)

Did somebody say steak?


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## Eddie263 (Oct 16, 2015)

I agree volunteer or not you should take your job seriously. We are not burger flippers where you mess up and can make another one. We have people's life in our hands.


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## Jondruby (Oct 16, 2015)

Remi said:


> Did somebody say steak?


Ha make that life at stake, not like at steak. Although I do like steak. My Dad say that quote under a picture of Clint Eastwood, "Life's hard, but it's alot harder when your stupid."


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## Jondruby (Oct 16, 2015)

I have seen nurses and healthcare professionals that get into this attitude of, "It's just a job." I know its a job but we are dealing with real people.  A  nurse-friend of mine had a PT who was possibly infarcting and they need another set of cardiac enzymes drawn in 6 hours, she told the Lab tech, "You need to be here in 6 hours." 6 hours passed and no lab tech so she called her (it was like 03:00) and the tech says "Our protocal says we can do it in 6 to 8 hours." My nurse hit the fan and told her to get in here, she started calling the Sup's and the Lab tech pulled in, she was still like 1 1/2 hours late. For a PT who was possibly infarcting, its just sad to think of how many people die because of that attitude. Its scary because we are at risk to fall into that attitude because we are around it so much, and can very easily become "burnt out". But everytime I have a PT tell me and my crew "Thanks you guys are a great team." It kinda brings me back to reality.


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## johnrsemt (Dec 1, 2015)

At the same time is it the fault of the Lab Tech that she wasn't there exactly at 6 hours?  did he/she have other labs to draw that he/she was doing in order?  
Just because the nurse thought it was important that it had to be done exactly at 6 hours (and yes it was important); did the nurse make sure that the lab tech knew how important it was?
When I was an inpatient for pneumonia I had doctor orders for 30 minute breathing tx every 2 hours:   over a 3 day period I got the tx anywhere from every 90 minutes to every 4 hours:   It was as close as the RT could do it, but the RT department had 1 person working for the entire hospital.    I tried to tell him to leave the stuff in the room and I would do it myself:   He thought it was funny, but wouldn't do it


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