The title alone, should make you wonder, what the hell?
I recently got to experience my first ever oh-good-lord-lets-get-this-over-with code. Now, I know what you are thinking, "that isn't very nice," but I beg you to hear my side of the story.
I'm finishing up my fourth 12 hour shift, its 0615, 5 minutes till report time, and I get a page. A trauma triage is called, which means..someone fell and went boom. I consider for a moment, thinking of how I just want to go and give report, but instead, walk myself to the room. On the way, I run into a trauma resident, who we will call Jane. She and I mosey up to what we expect to normally find at a trauma triage and are sorely disappointed.
Jane and I are the first two people to respond, and what I'm about to describe makes me want to punch gnomes (for you babe). The patient is face down on the floor, barely breathing and the RN's that are in the room, are just staring at him. Did I mention its a contact precaution room? Jane and I gown quick, rush to the patient, stabilize their c-spine and roll them over. Grey, the patient is grey. I immediately ask for the code cart, so i can put an airway in this patient. Secretions, there are secretions everywhere.
Simple right? On the floor, with out suction, people around you yelling, c-spine precautions, did I mention ON THE FLOOR? I of all people don't like germs. Here I am, suppose to be on my way home to my bed and I'm on the floor of a pt's room, trying my hardest to get an airway into the patient. My arm hurt for two days post intubation. The patient was successfully extubated and was talking 2 days later. All was right in the world.
Here is my statement to you...for those of you that think that night shift gets to "sleep" and "hang out" I'd remember that the next time you watch an episode of House or Grey's Anatomy, where the intubations are controlled (and not real). They make it look like cake, and I've never watched them crawl onto the floor. We take each situation as it comes, its part of the job.
