BoCat9 Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 I had a rough call yesterday. A 5 y/o female was shot in the face, left upper lip. I just can't get the little girls image out of my mind. I need to stop second guessing myself, but I can't help but wonder what if I had done something differently. I feel like I froze up, couldn't remember what to do. Family as working her when we got there, but she was already gone, but we had to work her all the way to the hospital. How can I deal with this? This was my first bad pedi call. :sad11: If this post is in the wrong place, feel free to move it. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
p3medic Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 There was nothing you can do. Traumatic cardiac arrest, especially prior to your arrival has nearly a 0% survival. There was nothing you could do differently. Unfortunately in this line of work you will occasionally see some very unpleasant things. You might feel better by talking about your feelings with your co workers involved or the hospital staff, or perhaps a professional who's job is to deal with post traumatic stress. In the end you need to come to realize that the outcome for this kid was determined long before you showed up. Good luck and take care.
itku2er Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 Bo I am sure everything you could do you did. Like P3 said there is a usually a 0% survival rate for things like this. But if you are having this hard a time dealing with it and I know that I am going to get flamed for this one but see a professional, do a CISD or something or girl you are going to end up with more problems than you can handle. We can give you advice here but we are not professionals and Bo that is what you need right now. *btw where you been so long? You really need to pop in more often *
TDP Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 CISD, perhaps even a chartered psychologist. For everything else
crotchitymedic1986 Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 I worked in a pediatric hospital parttime for a few years, and watched kids die from a variety of ailments and injuries. It never gets easier. I think the biggest problem with kids is that 99% of the time they are INNOCENT, and did not contribute to their death. If you are working an adult who has been smoking for 20 years, or is 200lbs overweight, or decided to see if their car could do 150mph, we can sort of minimize the death (privately in our minds) by saying they did it to themselves. But with a kid, you can rarely say that. I think it is a good idea to talk about it with your coworkers who were on the scene, if things are not better in a week's time, see a professional. The day Pediatric death no longer bothers you, is the day you should get out of EMS. Private message me if you need to talk.
itku2er Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 The day Pediatric death no longer bothers you, is the day you should get out of EMS. Private message me if you need to talk. I cant believe this but I agree with that statement 100%
Lone Star Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 Bo, When the deck is stacked against you like that, it doesn't matter what you do, how well you did it, or how long you did it...it's going to end the same way. As far as talking to a professional, that might be a good idea. I suggest that you stay away from the alcohol and what ever other 'pain killers' you may consider, because they never work. The 'problem' will still be there when you sober up...... You need to stop 'second guessing' yourself! You've critiqued your actions, now move away from it! 90% of this job deals with 'unpleasant things', and the higher you go in the heirarchy, the more you'll deal with. If you need to talk, we're here. We may not have been through exactly this situation, but I'm sure that there's alot of us that have been through the 'rough stuff' as well.
Richard B the EMT Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 The day Pediatric death no longer bothers you, is the day you should get out of EMS. Perhaps it is just me, or it could be a bunch of us, but I'd not limit it to peds, but keep it widely across the boards. That would include those where death is an obvious release from the patient's pain due to an extended illness. Death may be inevitable, but some of us still view it as "The Enemy", and even when expected, makes us uncomfortable. It is that lack of comfort with it around that makes some of us good EMTs and Paramedics.
joesph Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 Had a similar call this spring 7 yr old shot hit in ab better outcome then yours but until we knew that I second guessed myself. and yes there were things that I would have done differently not life changing things but important and I agonized about them. But in the long run I accepted that we do the best we can with what were given and move them up the chain we didn't make the problem we just deal with it. and yes I'm glad you care about the outcome your the kind of person I want caring for my child when the chips are down
evjm Posted January 18, 2009 Posted January 18, 2009 Talking about it is definetly the best way. Find a coworker or someone you trust to talk about how you felt and how you feel now. Just remember that despite our best efforts a lot of calls are truly out of our control. It's normal to second guess yourself and to have some feelings that worry you afterwards. These feelings are normal to have for a few days after the call but seek some professional help if they start to linger.
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