I signed up to work the 11:00pm - 7:00am shift in the ER Friday night for clinicals. I had a classmate tell me that his night shift was boring and that I shouldn't expect much, but I was signed up for it and changing shifts requires an act of Congress so I just stuck with it.
About 30 minutes into my shift, one of the nurses grabbed me and said they had a "CPR in progress" coming in and I needed to be a part of it. Another student was there on a ride along with the ambulance service and they kept him in the ER to help as well. I honestly had no idea what to expect or how I would react as this would be my first exposure to such stress.
The call was for a 27 y/o male in cardiac & resp arrest. He was found by his family and was unresponsive. ETOH and/or OD were given as possible causes. The family also mentioned he had been vomiting blood every day for several weeks.
When the ambulance pulled up, I could see one of the medics inside doing compressions. We opened the doors, got the cot out, and the other student took over compressions while I took over the BVM. Once we got to the room, we switched places. The next hour and a half consisted of us doing compressions and BVM; the ER doc delivering shocks, giving orders, and monitoring the 12-lead; and the nurses and medics doing everything from IV drugs to taking arterial blood gas levels. I even had the opportunity to start an IV line during all of this. The patient regained a pulse several times, but he would quickly decline time and again until the doctor and cardiologist called it.
Looking back on it, everything seems kind of surreal. It went by so fast, but I can see how everything took place very clearly in my mind. I thought I did well. There was no sense of panic, just a need to do my job and do it well. Afterward, the nurses said it seemed like I had done this many times before though it was the first. We stayed in the room for a while and talked with/consoled the family and then left them alone to grieve together. I hate to see someone so young (27) lost, but I was glad to be a part of a team trying to help him and I learned a lot about myself in the process.
My hat goes off to all of you who have done this many many times before and continue to do so. I look forward to joining you in EMS once I get my license in a few months.
About 30 minutes into my shift, one of the nurses grabbed me and said they had a "CPR in progress" coming in and I needed to be a part of it. Another student was there on a ride along with the ambulance service and they kept him in the ER to help as well. I honestly had no idea what to expect or how I would react as this would be my first exposure to such stress.
The call was for a 27 y/o male in cardiac & resp arrest. He was found by his family and was unresponsive. ETOH and/or OD were given as possible causes. The family also mentioned he had been vomiting blood every day for several weeks.
When the ambulance pulled up, I could see one of the medics inside doing compressions. We opened the doors, got the cot out, and the other student took over compressions while I took over the BVM. Once we got to the room, we switched places. The next hour and a half consisted of us doing compressions and BVM; the ER doc delivering shocks, giving orders, and monitoring the 12-lead; and the nurses and medics doing everything from IV drugs to taking arterial blood gas levels. I even had the opportunity to start an IV line during all of this. The patient regained a pulse several times, but he would quickly decline time and again until the doctor and cardiologist called it.
Looking back on it, everything seems kind of surreal. It went by so fast, but I can see how everything took place very clearly in my mind. I thought I did well. There was no sense of panic, just a need to do my job and do it well. Afterward, the nurses said it seemed like I had done this many times before though it was the first. We stayed in the room for a while and talked with/consoled the family and then left them alone to grieve together. I hate to see someone so young (27) lost, but I was glad to be a part of a team trying to help him and I learned a lot about myself in the process.
My hat goes off to all of you who have done this many many times before and continue to do so. I look forward to joining you in EMS once I get my license in a few months.
