Black Friday Code Blue

Good Job. You Rock.

It sounds like you handled the situation overall quite well and your patient will benefit from your effort! I am guessing from your user name you're a relatively new nurse. It sounds like you were very close with this patient, which makes it harder. I do have a few thoughts, though. 1. It never really helps to run in these situations, ESPECIALLY if you're 8 months pregnant. If you had fallen or run into someone the situation would be way worse. A brisk walk is better. The extra 5 seconds probably won't make a difference. 2. You use the word "screaming" a few times. This might just be your way of saying that you were speaking loudly and authoratatively. If not, that is the way you want to talk in these situations. Screaming and getting emotionally involved isn't helpful. 3. If your patient didn't want to be intubated again, was a DNI ever addressed?Don't you hate how Pyxises break at the worst times? So frustrating. Even if it's not an actual code, don't be afraid to bust open the code cart if you need something like that stat. It does sound like you did well and worked as a team. Glad you got your patient taken care of quickly!

WOW. You are a very good writer as well! I think my own heart was pounding.

Hi there, what I am about to say is meant to be constructive feedback. I'm glad you knew the right actions to take in order to help your patient, and whenever you have an incident like this, it's important to debrief what worked and what could use improvement. Screaming (you use this word 3 times in your article), and running ("I resume running at a break neck speed, my stethoscope and badge swinging wildly, my co-workers shouting at me to be careful because of the baby, and me almost plowing them down as I speed past them") are not consistent with remaining calm, an essential component of responding to any emergency.Screaming at others during a code/rapid response is inappropriate, as this is not consistent with promoting good team dynamics, which are essential in an emergency situation.Running down the hallway as you describe places yourself, your unborn baby, and your co-workers at risk for injury.I'm glad you had the presence of mind to go to another Pyxis for Ativan, and that you knew there was more Ativan in the code cart, but your reaction overall sounds like you lost control. This is an area that I think you might consider working on.Remember, it is not YOUR emergency, it is the patient's, and so you need to keep yourself calm and composed in order to best serve the patient, and you cannot help anyone else if you do not keep yourself safe, so do not run or do anything to place yourself in harm's way.As an ED RN, I am part of the Code Team for our hospital. We have one rule that we always follow: We do not run to codes.This is for the same simple reason I stated above. If we injure ourselves then we can be of no help to the victim- i.e. if I fracture my wrist falling on my outstretched hand, then I cannot perform high quality chest compressions, ventilate with a bag mask, start a peripheral line, draw up or administer medications, or any other essential task I might be required to perform in an emergency. I become useless and of no help to the victim.

Just wanted to add: What if you had fallen on your belly and gone into premature labor? Then your co-workers would have had 2 emergencies to respond to.

It sounds like you did a great job but I would never run & I'm 9 weeks pregnant. I couldn't imagine running at 8 months. If there is an emergency at work, they know I'm not gonna run. If someone else wants to run ahead of me, good for them!

I'm an ICU nurse and I often "run" to codes. My run is definitely a brisk walk as opposed to a run because, in all honesty, running through a busy, obstacle filled hospital is all but impossible. I read this article and was able to put myself in the OP's shoes very easily. I think a lot of the "running" and "screaming" used was for emphasis as opposed to being real descriptions of actions or behaviors. I've assisted in and run many, many codes and I think it sounds like the OP did a fine job. These posts are written with emphasis on the dramatic so that readers are enticed to continue reading. She was telling a story, not asking to be critiqued. It's no wonder she hasn't replied to any of you. She was sharing a very emotional experience and all she got was a lot of criticism in return. OP, well done. Thanks to your quick(!) response to the situation, the patient survived.

I don't think the other nurses were trying to be mean to the OP, IMHO I think they were only trying to offer her some very valuable advice in case the situation arises again, and we all know it will. The patient survived and that is the main objective. It never hurts to evaluate what you did in an emergency and see if there is anything you could do better or different the next time. Sometimes it is even hard for those of us who are experienced in code situations to remain calm, but I always take a second to tell my self, "Calm down, take a deep breath, you know what to do, this is why you are a nurse."OP, you did well, the patient survived. As a PP stated, don't be afraid to break open the crash cart if you need to.

It is not my intent to be unkind to the OP. If she was simply using dramatic license, and didn't really scream at her co-workers or run "at break neck speed" and "almost plow down" her co-workers, then my apologies. However, I took the post at face value, and in that spirit, I cannot condone those behaviors and I think they deserve some reflection on the part of the OP. I cannot in good conscience just give someone an "atta girl" when they describe such behaviors as screaming at coworkers and endangering the well being of themselves, their co-workers, and their unborn baby.

Remember to take a deep breath. Deeeeep breath. Seizures and codes are terrifying, but panicking only makes the situation worse. With stress levels that high, performance goes down. It's contagious so the rest of the code team will feed off of that energy, not to mention you will really upset the family. Also, next time see if someone can get the Ativan for you so you can stay with the patient. Someone who is seizing shouldn't be left alone. I really hope you don't think I'm being mean, just wanted to share my insight as someone who sees these instances frequently. Nicely written article and good job, just a few tips

Law #3 of the House of God AT A CARDIAC ARREST, THE FIRST PROCEDURE IS TO TAKE YOUR OWN PULSE.

Quote from SwansonRNAlso, next time see if someone can get the Ativan for you so you can stay with the patient. Someone who is seizing shouldn't be left alone.