Does It still count as a save?

Sasha, the day you stop learning is the day I will tell you personally to leave EMS.

Every call, every patient, something will be picked up.

It could be as small as learning how to correctly spell a med name, remembering Epi down the tube is to be 1:1,000, or it could be that HTN, and a bottle of Jack means that you play CSI on the floor of the bus when you start the IV, and you (NOT the EMT) play janitor when the job is over.

Know that you need to learn, and know where to improve, then do it.



I gots faith in ya!
 
Sasha said:
Of course I was, but I was also a totally different person back then, too. At some point, though, you gotta sit back and realize EMS isn't for everyone.

Of course, I do realize that before I go turn in my EMT patch and throw my hands up in defeat that I'm my worst enemy and can be overly critical because I think of things I could have done differently and better, after the fact. I'm sure all these feelings will pass, just frustrated and venting, I guess.
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Hindsight is 20/20, so it's a good thing that you look back. Now next time you run a code you can think back to your past experiences and knock the next one out of the park. Making mistakes are not a problem; everyone makes mistakes. It's a problem, though, if we don't learn from our mistakes.

Besides, if all of these emotions were felt when you finished EMT-B class and came to pass while working as an EMT-B, what makes you think that the same won't happen in regards to finishing EMT-P class and working as an EMT-P?
 
cardioversion?

Could you have cardioverted prior to spending time getting IV?

VTach c pulse and he's SOB, poor skin ctc, and palpitations ("chest feels funny"). If ya want to go just by what the ACLS card says, thats about half the unstable/symptomatic category.

Immediate cardioversion in that instance is as crucial as your immediate defibrillation for the VF. If he had coded immediately in front of you, ya would have shocked him after getting IV. Do the same for unstable SVT/VTACH of the magnitude your pt was (obviously instances like granny Fricket "SOB" c hx COPD doesn't fit the bill for whats being said)

Otherwise yeah, cardioversion/lido could have made no difference, it's a learning experience, and a good chance of it being your pts time anyways. Ya did what you could, he was given immediate CPR/defib/drugs/tubed. Wouldn't feel bad, it was just in his cards.
 
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Sasha said:
I'm just dissapointed in myself and starting to re-evalute if I'm cut out for an emergency setting.. I'll get over it
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Sasha said:
It's not the call, but my state during that call. I was jittery, nervous, hesitant, etc. Had trouble remembering things I had a good grasp on in class. Not something I'd want in a provider running on someone I cared about.
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PAH-LEEZE GIRL!!!! Cut yourself some slack. You sound SOOO much like me. The facts that you recognize you could have done something better, you are asking questions, and you want to learn from this run all tell me you will do fine. Even the most seasoned of medics will make a mistake, feel they could have done better at some point, or feel the need to learn more after a run. Those that have no desire to constantly learn have no business working in health care, IMHO.

You are going to be fine. It takes time to transfer that new knowledge from your head to your hands. No amount of scenarios in the controlled environment of the classroom will fully prepare you for "real life." You are still a student, and are expected to make mistakes. That is why the preceptor is there. It is thier job to let you make those mistakes, and to know when to step in and prevent you from making the really big mistakes that will harm your patient.

Once you complete medic class and get your license/cert (and you WILL
wink15.gif
) you are going to find out exactly what I am learning at the moment - class was just the beginning. Your whole first year is like an entire new school year spent figuring out what type of medic you are going to be (i.e. what is going to be your "style" of patient care), and getting that knowledge transferred from your head to your hands.

Find yourself a good mentor - a seasoned medic you repsect and trust - that you can go to with questions about runs that first year (and even after that). I gaurentee you will still have plenty of questions. I know I certainly have, and those more experienced medics have been a wonderful resource.

You want to do well, and I have confidence you will.
 
Epi-do said:
PAH-LEEZE GIRL!!!! Cut yourself some slack. You sound SOOO much like me. The facts that you recognize you could have done something better, you are asking questions, and you want to learn from this run all tell me you will do fine. Even the most seasoned of medics will make a mistake, feel they could have done better at some point, or feel the need to learn more after a run. Those that have no desire to constantly learn have no business working in health care, IMHO.

You are going to be fine. It takes time to transfer that new knowledge from your head to your hands. No amount of scenarios in the controlled environment of the classroom will fully prepare you for "real life." You are still a student, and are expected to make mistakes. That is why the preceptor is there. It is thier job to let you make those mistakes, and to know when to step in and prevent you from making the really big mistakes that will harm your patient.

Once you complete medic class and get your license/cert (and you WILL
wink15.gif
) you are going to find out exactly what I am learning at the moment - class was just the beginning. Your whole first year is like an entire new school year spent figuring out what type of medic you are going to be (i.e. what is going to be your "style" of patient care), and getting that knowledge transferred from your head to your hands.

Find yourself a good mentor - a seasoned medic you repsect and trust - that you can go to with questions about runs that first year (and even after that). I gaurentee you will still have plenty of questions. I know I certainly have, and those more experienced medics have been a wonderful resource.

You want to do well, and I have confidence you will.
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A wise medic, nurse, doctor. Anybody and everybody that are considered wise. Wisdom rubs off.
 
Originally Posted by Sasha
It's not the call, but my state during that call. I was jittery, nervous, hesitant, etc. Had trouble remembering things I had a good grasp on in class. Not something I'd want in a provider running on someone I cared about.


You will be jittery and nervous for the first year or so, it happens. It will get worse when you are the medic with no one to turn to. Over time it all falls into place and you will slide into a calm easy way of doing things.
 
...I know this will sound awefully simplistic but try taking a DEEP breath to help calm yourself down. You will continue to get that "adrenaline pump" because your new to all this and your just beginng to build confidence in your skills. Once you feel comfortable you will be running codes like they were second nature. So much for having quiet shifts at the FD eh....
 
To quote the great Dr. Cox...

"It was luck. The thing that you forgot? Turns out, whatever you know about medicine, ultimately, luck or fate or God or...who knows what is always gonna end up playing a much bigger role in the whole thing than you and I ever will. And it was unlucky that your patient went the other way."
 
EMTinNEPA said:
To quote the great Dr. Cox...

"It was luck. The thing that you forgot? Turns out, whatever you know about medicine, ultimately, luck or fate or God or...who knows what is always gonna end up playing a much bigger role in the whole thing than you and I ever will. And it was unlucky that your patient went the other way."
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That's a good episode. The one where Dr. Cox and JD have patients with similar diseases (I forget what maybe kidneys) and JD's patient dies. I've watched an episode of scrubs once or twice.

P.S. why couldn't you post that in the other thread with movie quotes so I wouldn't be off topic.
 
Sasha said:
Of course I was, but I was also a totally different person back then, too. At some point, though, you gotta sit back and realize EMS isn't for everyone.

Of course, I do realize that before I go turn in my EMT patch and throw my hands up in defeat that I'm my worst enemy and can be overly critical because I think of things I could have done differently and better, after the fact. I'm sure all these feelings will pass, just frustrated and venting, I guess.
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Sasha just remember everybody can go back and look at a call and find things they would have done differently. Hind sight is 20/20 sounds like you did great. We have to understand that some patients are going to die regardless of what we do we just don't get to make that decision so we have to give our best effort on every call. Don't beat yourself up over one call but do use it as a learning aid. If something you did or didn't do is bothering you talk to your preceptor. Sounds like he was watching and didn't see any reason to intervene so he must have thought things were going good. The nerves were just your body's way of letting you know that you were excited because you were treading on unfamiliar ground. I would be more worried if you were not feeling the jitters on your first code. Keep up the good work I think you will be fine.
 
Sasha, our job is to get them to the ER with a pulse. You did that! What happens after isn't on you.

What you are doing is a natural progression for someone who wants to improve their skills and increase their knowledge. But you need to do this from the standpoint of making the next call better, not from beating yourself up with shoulda/couldas.

The guy was in better shape and had a better chance of survival for your being there. He would have died quicker without your intervention. It will get better with time and experience. But you can't rush that. Let this motivate you to improve instead of criticize yourself for not knowing it all already.
 
Learning.........

I would say that everyone has been there in your shoes and walked that path of living and learning how to become better a patient advocate though education, pratice and yet again more education and practice. You pointed out how now it is different working as a paramedic student. Everything comes with time, remember that, and also remember you will learn something new from every patient contact, everything from the massive trauma from MVA, to the code blue in the field, and the call to the nursing home for a patient with decreased LOC.

When reviewing your calls always ask yourself and your precepter, " This is what I did well, and this is what I need to do to become better." Kudo's to your precepter, by what you said he was right there with you to help you and give you guidence. Remember Sasha, every patient contact, there is always something to learn from it. Good job gal! :)
 
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