[CVICURN2003]

My first code was when I was still on orientation, had passed my boards so I had RN on my badge but I was only two weeks or so into orientation so I was still clueless...I just went to "watch" and someone turned around and looked right at my name tag and said, "I need another nurse" Well, I turned to go get my preceptor and the nurse said "NO! I mean you!" OMG!!! After she saw the panic in my eyes, she gave me instructions and all went well.
And that was a zillion codes ago...

[JessieRN]

I saw a lot of codes by the time I graduated. I worked as a tech before and during school, and by the time I graduated they already had me in the middle (not giving drugs or anything, but taking notes, bagging, chest compressions, ect.)

The first one I "nursed" for was during my last semester of RN school, and I was precepting (at the hospital I work at). It was a twelve year old girl, septic. Suspected sexual/physical abuse. And we were very understaffed that day. She was fine one minute, and unconscience the next. We coded her for over 2 hours. I can remember the the family that had keep her at home sick for 3 weeks with 101+ fever corning the MD up and threatning to kill him for killing their baby.

My preceptor and boss wouldn't let me leave when it was over until my mom got there, because I made it clear I was on my way to the college to drop out. Probably one of the worst memories I have.

[nelcoy4]

I was brand new and it was only me and another RN on the floor. We also had a nurse extern (I think it was her 3rd day). I worked 7a-7p. The wife of the pt came out to the nursing station at 6:55pm and asked could I check on her husband again. I walk in the room and the pt was blue. My heart felt like it hit the floor. There wasn't a mouth protector in the room, so I ran...sprinted and got a non-rebreather mask. Turned that bad-boy all the up and was doing compressions. (I was almost stradling this pt!!!!) I was yelling "Man you better breath and don't walk into the light. Walk away from the light" The nurse extern was screaming "oh my God". The other RN left and the 7p-7a RN was saying she isn't helping bc it was prior to her shift. The wife was screaming "what do I do?" I told the extern to call the code and continue to do vs. I asked the wife help me with the verbal encouragement. The code team thought we was all crazy when they came in. The pt lived BTW.
I get so embarrassed when I think about it now. I'm a lot better now when it comes to codes.

[maluangel118]

How did I react? I didn't. I believe I froze and stood there watching everyone else around me. When you don't have the experience, you don't really know what to do. I suggest watching a few codes in order to observe the different roles of people during a code and see what everyone does. Now, it still gets everyone's heart pumping, but it's def less scary.

[texas2007]

My first code was a huge event. I was still on orientation and another nurse happened to glance at this one cardiac baby and noticed she looked awfully white and grunty. Took a temp and she was cold, pulse ox wasn't picking up and couldn't get a BP so we made some phone calls thinking we might need to intubate her...Turned into a 2 hour full blown code with 30-40 people in the room....pedi surgery, pedi cardiology, several neos, managers, many experienced nurses, and a bunch of curious onlookers. I was the recorder and I sure got a rush of adrenaline...I was shaking the whole time! And almost paralyzed with fear. We pushed epi 22 times, gave several atropines and bicarbs...chest compressions the whole time...We ended up losing her. I didn't cry until I put my car into Park in the driveway at home when I could finally just decompress on my own time. This code was talked about for over a month after it happened.

I was a bit more composed in my 2nd code..it was at night and much more contained. I did chest compressions and ended up getting him back for a little while until the parents could arrive. That made me feel really good, as we were about to call it. He ended up passing in mom's arms about an hour later...

[Ruby Vee]

I was a brand new nurse when I saw my first code. I was out walking with my med/surg patient and saw a visitor go down! I went and rolled over the visitor, did the "shake and shout" and started CPR (we did mouth-to-mouth in those days without even thinking twice!) while the patient ran to get the charge nurse. She told me later that the patient was worried about me because he knew I was brand new! I was scared spitless until I started CPR, then training kicked in and I was fine. The visitor survived, went to ICU and was transferred out several days later to be in the same double room with his wife whom he had been visiting.

My SECOND code was a real cluster frack -- patient admitted for "work-up fatigue." She was in her 40s, so heavy she had to be weighed on the livestock scale at the vet school and so dirty that the admission orders read "Shower before doctor sees."

She wouldn't fit in the shower, but we had an enormous tub, and the two student nurses who were caring for her that day asked if they could give her a bath instead of a shower. Neither the intern nor I saw a problem with that, so into the tub she went. Things went fine until the SNs tried to get her OUT of the tub and found that she couldn't get herself out. Moreover, she "turned grey and started gasping for air."

She was in full arrest when they came to get me. I ran to the tub room, slipped on some of the water on the floor and went skidding into the wall . . . patient is feebly flopping around. We got eight people in to try to lift her out of the tub, but no one could get a good grip on her. Turns out that the patient had told the students that she was "stuck in here" and between the 3 of them they'd decided that a little Keri oil would lubricate things up enough she'd just "pop out' of the tub. So they poured in the whole 18 ounce bottle! She was so slippery, no one could get a grip on her and we couldn't pull her out. Someone let the water out of the tub, we called every available person from the whole house and slipped a bath blanket under her to drag her out. The tub room was too small, so we dragged her out into the hall to run the code.

So here we are, in the short arm of an "H" shaped unit, doing CPR on a >400 pound greased, grey patient with no one left on the unit to do traffic control. Visitors were stopping by for the show. The Cardiology attending was kneeling next to her in a puddle of Keri oil and ruined his 3 piece suit. When we defibrillated her, the electricty arced and knocked out both the cardiologist and the intern kneeling on her other side. The ER nurses (who had responded to the call for "all available help" were nudging each other and snickering. (The cardiologist wasn't real popular.) The student nurses (8 of them by then) were standing around watching the fiasco and wringing their hands. And this poor woman had the LEAST dignified death I've EVER seen!

I still laugh when I think back on that code and no, I don't feel like an utter failure as a human being. The only way to survive in this field is to laugh!

[Vegas RN, MBA]

Yes it is unbelievable, but true. You can call my MOM!

My very first clinical patient I had in Nursing School died. I swear.

I was only on the floor to do ADL's, and as I was shaving my patient he became unresponsive. I thought he fell asleep (I was 18 and never even saw a penis). His lips started to turn blue so I got my instructor. She called a code, he didn't make it, and I considered becoming a long-haul truck driver.

I then had the reputation of being the harbinger of death. Nice for a sheltered, small-town girl!

[puggy232]

I was strangely very calm, the doctors had just completed rounding, and this pt, lung transplant sat up eyes bugged out, red faced, sob, his room was right next to nurse's station-I went and told the doctor, ran and got an abg kit, while they were doing that, went and got the crash cart into the room my charge nurse at that time was in the room by then- the spouse was at the bedside when all this started- so I got her to step out of the room, tried to calm her. Then had to go back in the room pt in next bed was confused trying to get to the bedside commode yelling his head off, on lactulose-you can guess what happened, crap every where but in the commode-on the curtian, on the floor,on everybody's shoes yuk! Then back at the bedside to get yelled at by doc to increase fluids,pt being intubated now-then it was over pt got transferred. I was shaking after, but I just kept telling myself deep breaths and that this was their code -the pt not mine, I'll just keep trying to have my freak outs afterwards.

[ngbaseball]

It was awesome

[Datastream]

The first code that I participated in I ended up giving chest compressions. It was the first time that I had ever performed CPR on a real person. At first I found it hard to get into the groove right at the start. Luckily I had an very nice and experienced RT working right next to me, and he corrected my pace and depth calmly and quietly. I was thankful with the correction I was able to settle down and focus on the situation more fully. It was intimidating for sure. Before this I had been present at another code and stood in the wings and even this was intimidating, but educational.