New RN, terrified of codes and emergencies

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everyone,

I'm a new RN and have only been on my own as a nurse for a little over a month. I have anxiety, which I have had for a long time, that is starting to creep into other areas of my life.

I am constantly fearful of codes, emergencies, etc. I know the fear in general is normal, but I also feel that the level of anxiety I have about it definitely isn't normal. There aren't many codes on the unit I work, but the possibility of one happening is enough to cause me to be anxious. My greatest fear is to walk into a pt's room and find them unresponsive. Thinking of that makes me sick. I know what to do (in my head), but I feel like I'll just freeze or panic and be useless. I'm scared and it's starting to interfere with my desire to even continue being a nurse. I'm also on night shift so I don't know if that has anything to do with me feeling anxious and depressed.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Any advice?

Thanks guys!

Walking in to a room and seeing your patient unresponsive is scary for ANY nurse. It is natural to have some anxiety...it is a stressful thing. It sounds as if you have been in this situation before and rose to the occasion. You didn't freeze, you didn't panic. You reverted to your training. I have faced this exact same anxiety, and I bet most good nurses have as well.

You will be just fine. Have confidence in yourself. We have all been there.

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No one survives a code and goes home with "no deficits".

That's not true. I've participated in rescucitations where the patient had ROSC and ended up being discharged home without any deficits after therapeutic hypothermia.

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Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).
That's not true. I've participated in rescucitations where the patient had ROSC and ended up being discharged home without any deficits after therapeutic hypothermia.

In my three most recent codes, I was the patient. Thanks to my ACLS training, I knew just what to do. I've had no permanent major deficits, so I guess I agree with you, but also a little with Richard. It's a lot to go through.

A nurse manager I worked for for years had an interesting take on codes for new nurses: do compressions. It doesn't take a ton of brains, and you get to see everything. She always had a weird, but brilliant, way of looking at things.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I had a patient wake right up after being in cardiac arrest for 2 minutes til he got shocked.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Here's an article I wrote earlier this year. https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/anatomy-of-a-1094248.html

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No one survives a code and goes home with "no deficits".

Well, they did. Not sure what else you want me to say.

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
No one survives a code and goes home with "no deficits".

That's not necessarily true. I've seen many a patient not only survive but thrive and walk out the door to go home perfectly intact. One patient I had was flown in following an MI, CPR in the field, was placed on hypothermia protocol, and was even posturing for a while. I swore it was going to be a bad outcome, but the day we warmed him, he opened his eyes, we pulled the tube and he asked for ice cream! Then he went home a few days later. Hypothermia is a miracle.

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Do you have mock codes on your unit? You can gather 2-3 coworkers and run through some mock codes to get the order of events down correctly. If you don't have mock codes implemented, this sounds like a great project.

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Specializes in Case manager, float pool, and more.

Oh gosh, I recall my first code. I was so scared I would not know what to do and thought I would mess up or freeze. But when it happened, I just went into that adrenaline driven and I recalled everything I was ever taught about codes. I could not believe I did so well for my first time. I thought back to before the code and how anxious I was and all that fear for for nothing.

My advise, practice codes on the unit rock ( ask your education dept about this if your unit does not do suprize mock codes ). Do a verbal "what would you do" with a co-worker. Write down the steps you would take. Know your feelings are completely normal. We all freak out a bit when a patient codes. It is all about going back to your training and continued training.

Sounds like you have done well so far though.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
In my three most recent codes, I was the patient. Thanks to my ACLS training, I knew just what to do. I've had no permanent major deficits, so I guess I agree with you, but also a little with Richard. It's a lot to go through.

A nurse manager I worked for for years had an interesting take on codes for new nurses: do compressions. It doesn't take a ton of brains, and you get to see everything. She always had a weird, but brilliant, way of looking at things.

I'm confused. You were the patient in the code, but your ACLS training helped you know what to do? Do you mean that you knew to call 911 for your symptoms before coding? In general, all the patients that I have coded have been pretty unresponsive and not really actively involved. I'm curious what your situation was, if you don't mind sharing.

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I did a new grad program and we had 3 days of simulation and a TON of mock codes. For some reason I'm still anxious though.

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Specializes in Case manager, float pool, and more.

That is ok. That is normal. You'll do fine and it sounds like you did ok. It is ok to be nervous as it means you care enough to be concerned and are asking questions. That is a good thing. No matter how well you know and have trained for situations, seeking to continue to learn, willingness to ask and being prepared are the key.

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