- Joined
- Mar 29, 2002
- Messages
- 8,642
- Reaction score
- 12
Hey SDNers--
I know that many of you as EMTs/medics or whatever have already experienced this, but what do you think you'll do or what your reaction will be when you lose your first patient? I know this is a grim topic, but it's something I think we should think about b/c sooner or later someone who has entrusted you with their medical care is going to die. Granted, there's not always much you can do for certain injuries/illnesses/old age, but what do you think you will do and how will you prepare yourself for it?
I was floored when I lost my first patient as an EMT. She was 28 years old and died of a heart attack. We tried CPR and several rounds of meds, but to no avail. She was not my first cardiac arrest patient, but she was the first one I couldn't bring back. I thought about her for weeks. Since then I've lost other patients, but the first one was the toughest, and I wasn't prepared. I didn't think I would react so strongly about someone I didn't know, and maybe if I had thought about it more I would have been prepared.
I know that many of you as EMTs/medics or whatever have already experienced this, but what do you think you'll do or what your reaction will be when you lose your first patient? I know this is a grim topic, but it's something I think we should think about b/c sooner or later someone who has entrusted you with their medical care is going to die. Granted, there's not always much you can do for certain injuries/illnesses/old age, but what do you think you will do and how will you prepare yourself for it?
I was floored when I lost my first patient as an EMT. She was 28 years old and died of a heart attack. We tried CPR and several rounds of meds, but to no avail. She was not my first cardiac arrest patient, but she was the first one I couldn't bring back. I thought about her for weeks. Since then I've lost other patients, but the first one was the toughest, and I wasn't prepared. I didn't think I would react so strongly about someone I didn't know, and maybe if I had thought about it more I would have been prepared.
