I was interested to hear other peoples opinions about what the difinition of "saved life" really means. The website http://www.thefreedictionary.com/save+own+life-----was used for the definition.
1.
a. To rescue from harm, danger, or loss.
b. To set free from the consequences of sin; redeem.
2. To keep in a safe condition; safeguard.
3. To prevent the waste or loss of; conserve.
4. To set aside for future use; store.
5. To treat with care by avoiding fatigue, wear, or damage; spare: save one's eyesight.
6. To make unnecessary; obviate: Your taking the trunk to the attic has saved me an extra trip.
The above ws part of the definition of "saved life".
If a patient is code, and you bring him in through the ED doors, with a pulse, techinically he is alive. Once you passed the ER doors the patients care is in the Emergency Medicine certified doctor. He is the chief person in care of the patient. As we see in definition, 2, it states to keep in a safe condidition. When you bring a patient that coded in through the doors WITH a pulse, you have kept him in a safe condition, because without your help, the person would surely have been a gonner.As we see with definition 3, it states to prevent the waste or loss of. When you bring a patient in that is only BIOLOGICALLY dead, the patient MAY under RARE circumstances be revived. Again if someone is BIOLOGICALLY dead, he is not completely dead. Since you have "prevented the waste of", you have saved his life. Someone said that in order to really "save a life", th patient has to live and walk out of the hospital, but again, the definition states....."to prevent the waste of", if you provide emergeny prehospital care....you have prevented the loss of life (that is if you bring the patient through ER doors BIOLOGICALLY alive. If you work a code, and the patient survives, but dies a couple days later, to me I still saved his life. DO YOU THINK THAT IF YOU SAVE A PATIENT BUT THE PATIENT DIES IN A FEW DAYS, DO YOU THINK YOU SAVED THE PERSONS LIFE? :wink: