We do what we do because the job offers different challenges every shift and we're not stuck being a desk jockey. Sometimes we even get to run calls that remind us how much cooler this is than being an acountant. Yeah, every once in awhile we get calls that are disturbing, but try to remember...YOU AREN'T THE ONE WHO PUT THEM IN THAT SITUATION. You got thrown in the middle of things, because something didn't go as planned and you were called for help.
I had to work a code on a 75 year old man Halloween morning at the nursing home with no quality of life. He had no family-only a legal/medical representative. Hospice was supposed to come in a few hours to evaluate him and get a DNR. And here we were shoving a tube in his airway, cracking his ribs, and drilling an IO into his leg, knowing he didn't want any of it. When you take this job, you have a legal and ethical duty to all your patients. We have to have standards where everyone is treated the same. You were just doing your job. Take a deep breath. Take a day off. Get some sleep and come back for another fun-filled shift. It's what we do.