Have you watched another person die?

cottagecheesefan said:
I am a nurse and have seen a number of people die. But none in an ER situation like that. These people had DNRs and simply expired. Death Rattle breathing FTL
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Captain Davis said:
Like josh, I've seen many. The most recent was a guy in his early twenties who had 4 gunshot wounds. Two in the lower arm and two in the abdomen. We worked him for a few minutes, but he was fading fast. By the time we loaded him into the ambulance, he was gone.
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edco76 said:
Yeah. Paramedic so, I dunno. Maybe 100? Maybe more?

You get used to it. My first code was kinda surreal but TBH, after that its just same old, same old.

Only ones that bother me now are kids or one where I feel like I didnt do something right.
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My dad died of respiratory failure and my mom chose not to resuscitate because he was at the end of the line but I wasn't there at the time so it didn't exactly hit me like this. I've seen other people close to the end (heavy drug user collapsed and face turned completely blue).

edco76, how do you deal with those cases that bother you?
 
I've seen a few now almost in my third year in law enforcement. Some are worse than others. Gang related drive bys when people get hit in the abdomen and expire slowly and in pain.

Last year off-duty in a hotel in Daytona beach saw a 19 year old kid after he jumped off a balcony from 30 stories onto concrete. Didn't actually see him die but saw the aftermath and that was one of the worst ones for me.

Edit: and to top it all off from what I heard it was after him and his fianc
 
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Yes, I have been with family members .....that being said your career path while much different than assisting and supporting family will expose you to much more illness and death...keep talking about it with friends and colleagues.....it sounds like a normal response considering it was your first time in that situation....good luck, be an exceptional doctor.....the field has far to many arrogant A-holes....
 
Endocarditis said:
My dad died of respiratory failure and my mom chose not to resuscitate because he was at the end of the line but I wasn't there at the time so it didn't exactly hit me like this. I've seen other people close to the end (heavy drug user collapsed and face turned completely blue).

edco76, how do you deal with those cases that bother you?
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It becomes clinical after a while. You look beyond the gross stuff trying to fix the problem. You still get shocked every now and then, but it will be more routine in time.

In 18 years there have only been a couple of incidents that have stuck with me. I'm just able to let it go, some have a difficult time doing that. If it bothers you, talk to someone, coworkers, spouce, even guys here. Just remember, you didn't cause the problem, you are trying to help and you can't save everyone. Bad shit just happens.
 
edco76 said:
Unfortunately it really is almost always pointless. The last I heard, I believe full arrest survival rates were around 4% I think. I would wager that almost all of those people in their 50s-60s. To be honest I really have only had 2 patients in my 6 year career that I KNOW left the hospital. Sure you will "get them back" a lot. But they always seem to die in ICU later.
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I guess that's where seniority/experience comes to play but it just seems so mechanical moving from one person to the next. I guess I'm just too inexperienced to come to terms with the reality of the situation.
 
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Yeah, it's pretty surreal. Sure makes you feel alive though, doesn't it?
 
Endocarditis said:
edco76, how do you deal with those cases that bother you?
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Don't dwell and leave work at work.

Remember. You are the solution. Not the problem. Bad shit happens. Always has, always will. Even when it doesnt work out, if you look back, you may have learned something that will help someone down the road. You admitted to freezing. That's fine. But you probably wont next time and the next patient may be more viable. You not freezing and having a little more ACLS experience may well save someones life.

Also, after a while a lot of good things will happen and that helps a lot. The times you genuinely get to help or even save someone will start to balance out some of the bad shit.

Kids are the exception though. I still have a few kids that just kinda linger around in my head that I think about sometimes. I ran a 9 yr old who hang himself which was hell. Ive seen some other bad ones but that one hangs around for some reason. Fortunately I have some good ones to. I got back a 2yr old last winter from a drowning and I can't lie. I was damned proud of that one! So anytime I think of one I try and remind myself to think of the other.
 
Captain Davis said:
It becomes clinical after a while. You look beyond the gross stuff trying to fix the problem. You still get shocked every now and then, but it will be more routine in time.

In 18 years there have only been a couple of incidents that have stuck with me. I'm just able to let it go, some have a difficult time doing that. If it bothers you, talk to someone, coworkers, spouce, even guys here. Just remember, you didn't cause the problem, you are trying to help and you can't save everyone. Bad shit just happens.
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Honestly, I feel uncomfortable sharing this information with anyone else aside from an anonymous forum. My classmates are more analytic than empathetic so they'd just keep asking me questions about it. I appreciate the advice though.
 
Endocarditis said:
Honestly, I feel uncomfortable sharing this information with anyone else aside from an anonymous forum. My classmates are more analytic than empathetic so they'd just keep asking me questions about it. I appreciate the advice though.
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Sure. There are a lot of medics here. Feel free to PM me anytime.
 
Captain Davis said:
Sure. There are a lot of medics here. Feel free to PM me anytime.
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Actually, I spoke to the director the other day and told him you got dubs. I'm pretty sure they are suspending your license.
 
edco76 said:
Don't dwell and leave work at work.

Remember. You are the solution. Not the problem. Bad shit happens. Always has, always will. Even when it doesnt work out, if you look back, you may have learned something that will help someone down the road. You admitted to freezing. That's fine. But you probably wont next time and the next patient may be more viable. You not freezing and having a little more ACLS experience may well save someones life.

Also, after a while a lot of good things will happen and that helps a lot. The times you genuinely get to help or even save someone will start to balance out some of the bad shit.

Kids are the exception though. I still have a few kids that just kinda linger around in my head that I think about sometimes. I ran a 9 yr old who hang himself which was hell. Ive seen some other bad ones but that one hangs around for some reason. Fortunately I have some good ones to. I got back a 2yr old last winter from a drowning and I can't lie. I was damned proud of that one! So anytime I think of one I try and remind myself to think of the other.
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Good job, ed!

I've been fortunate that I haven't dealt with many young kids. That's the only situations that would make my ass pucker.
 
I think you'll get used to it after a while. You'll have to accept that sometimes, it just a person's time to go no matter what you and others do to intervene. If it bothers you that much, there are other specialties in medicine that you don't have to deal with death as much e.g. dermatology, radiology. ER medicine would be difficult to see life threatening trauma and other medical conditions.
 
I watched my mom die twice. She had cancer... It would fill her body cavity with fluid to where she couldn't breathe. She died and they brought her back, then like 5 days later I watched her die again when we had to pull the plug.
 
edco76 said:
Actually, I spoke to the director the other day and told him you got dubs. I'm pretty sure they are suspending your license.
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Actually, just a single, so no worries. Hey, never trust a man with a spotless file.
 
When I think about it, I've never been in the room when anyone has died. My dad died 3000 miles away, my best friend was in the hospital and then dead within the span of McDonald's shift, both my grandfathers died when I was in college. Even my old family pets have always managed to die when I am off at school. Seems weird do say, but I kinda wish I had been there for them.
 
After drinking a lot, too muuch, I look in the mirror.and say aloud"you should be dead by now you stupid drunk" My mental mind says I am, but not yet.
 
Yes. A lot. Only one recently though and she was in her 80's so that was sad but expected.

The others were way before their time. Iraq and Haiti will do that though.
 
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