First time handling what could be an emotionally draing situation

[Dobo]

Okay I don't shy away from blood, and am not weak kneed when it comes to seeing people injured, but I have to admit I am quite worried about what my response may be when I handle my first case of a seriously injured child. That my be an emotional thing.

Has anyone else had similar worries before they got started? Do you find that your training takes over and you get the job done? Does it ever get any easier?

 

[rmellish]

It's a ton more stressful, mainly because Peds are more complicated as patients. It's not one of my great fears though.

Keep in mind I'm not a parent though.

 

[Dobo]

I have three gorgeous nieces, but no kids of my own. However, working on a child, at least right now, before I have any experience is a frightening scenario, maybe after I have had some experience I will fear it less and look at the glass as half full meaning I recognize that I can help this child.

 

[rmellish]

Keep in mind I'm technically a BLS provider though. An ALS scope of practice with Peds makes me nervous already.

 

[BossyCow]

There will be something that gets you. It probably won't be what you are expecting to bother you. It will be some silly thing that sneaks in under your radar. Most of us in that situation man/woman up and do our jobs. After the call is over it can become more difficult.

 

[ttoude]

I have noticed that I'm fine as long as its not my kid. I clipped my sons finger nail to close one time and a glucometer size drop of blood came out and I cried like a punk till my wife came home.

But somebody else's kid I'm fine. I have two cases from work I think about from time to time, but there are those cases that are gonna catch you off guard and sucker punch you. For that use the stress debriefing in COMBINATION with something in your life. I like Burnout Dominator for PS2. Gotta love the crash breakers
hope that helps

It sounds simple but its psychological, falling back on my training and controlling my breathing seems to be my biggest helper.

 

[ttoude]

And oh yeah, I thought when I first started doing Autopsies (Now an EMT) That the kid cases where gonna be hard. I was wrong. It was the prostitutes.

This is only my opinion but after doing 1 Ped case for every 10 prostitutes, I realized that it was these lost little girls that hit me the hardest. After all they are somebodies daughters.

Socially they are at the bottom rung and we tend to forget that they are people and unfortunately are headed to the same ending

 

[marineman]

I have limited experience and only 2 serious peds calls under my belt but they don't really affect me other than making me nervous because everything is so precise with peds. (haven't done PALS yet) The patients that get to me are the ones I know, and that happens pretty often being a first responder in a fairly small farm community. I've lost two good friends from high school to serious trauma so far and I was the first responder on scene to both of them. As soon as I walked on scene my brain shut down and I didn't recognize who it was until we transferred care to the medics, all I knew is I had a job to do and it's so ingrained in my head that I just did it without thinking. Most people will tell you the same thing, you may not be able to calculate the proper dopamine drip off the top of your head on a call like this but at least your BLS skills will be so pounded into your head that you can at least do something while you're waiting for the lights to come back on.