CheekyEMT Posted January 19, 2009 Posted January 19, 2009 One co worker I had referred to my first "bad call" as being officially baptized into the world of EMS. The call that so wonderfully welcomed me into EMS was an 18 yr old that committed suicide in front of an Amtrak train. I cried alot over that call, it traumatized me for quite some time. After a wk off work the scene of this boy kept going through my head every time I closed my eyes. Over and over and over. We had CISD come in for that call and I also had a couple sessions with the county shrink. The sessions with the doc talking about the call helped me tremendously. A professional can give you different techniques and coping methods to deal with the call and the trauma of it. It's been several yrs now since that call and I am still bothered by it at times. It is one I will never forget, but it is also one that I could never have dealt with on my own. Seeking professional help in dealing with traumatic situations/calls in this field is nothing to be ashamed of. Talking about it will help you a great deal. NEVER NEVER NEVER second guess yourself. We are not miracles workers , we do the best we can with what we have. Pedi pt's are very hard to cope with and they tug on our heart strings. But it's our empathy and caring nature that makes us good medic's/EMT's.
EMTtoCorpsmen Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 Its a horrible thing for a small child to die, and even more terrible to witness it. However, knowing that you were trained to help and did your best should give you some small comfort. On my 2nd day of clinical during EMT school we had a 6 y.o. boy who fell out of a three story window onto concrete below. I was working in the Trauma room that day and the medics who brought him in worked him all the way in and then we resumed cpr in the trauma room. However, as i'm sure you know, cpr secondary to trauma really can't fix the leak so the doctor called it. While the nurses and doctors were crying, I walked over and started prepping him for his mother who had just arrived at the hospital. We could hear her crying from the trauma room and it broke my heart to hear her. However, I kept it together and did my job. I'm blessed with the fact that my family is all medical so I was able to talk it through with my family as well as my instructors. I also knew that that young soul is in a better place. Then, much to my delight- I helped deliver a new baby boy the next week. Life and Death. We never really know whats coming at us- the thing is just to be prepared and do our best. My heart goes out to you, it takes a certain kind of person to be in this field.
cynical_as_hell Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 The thing about pediatric calls is that they can be your worst call or they can be your best call. The pain you feel from losing that child as a patient is different than the pain you will feel from losing an adult patient. It takes alot of strength to be in this field and deal with the horrible things we sometimes face. The best thing you can do is talk it out with those that were with you on scene, or the hospital staff that was involved. If you don't talk to someone, you may end it up quiting. It all depends on how you deal with things that upset you. But I promise you, this will not be your last bad peds call. And because it was so traumitic and among your first, you most likely will never forget it either. I know I haven't forgotten mine. Best of luck to you. Remember, always look at the positive things you did.
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