Emergency Situations in a clinical setting

[jhenafire]

Today I experienced my first emergency situation in the office working as a Certified Medical Assistant for almost 4 years.

I would like to say I handled it well, but I didn't.

A patient passed out due to low blood pressure and the doctor told us to call 911. The receptionist called 911 and I sort of froze, my office manager yelled at me which made me freeze even more. She went into the exam room with the doctor and I stayed out of the way because I felt like an idiot.

It wasn't a very good situation for my mind. Maybe the fact that I am premenstrual and highly emotional made it worse. I really beat myself up about it for a few hours.

I am currently taking courses at the community college so I can apply for the associates degree nursing program. I was asking myself do I really think I am cut out to be a nurse? I do have confidence issues and I had a tough time during my medical assistant program due to my issues with self, but I have since grown from that, but this issue seemed to trigger my unhealthy thoughts.

I am almost positive it is the right direction for me, but I need some words of encouragement, response of your experiences, or whatever you can give me. I looked online for information and couldn't really find anything. I don't want to talk about this with my friends or family because I feel ashamed and embarrassed.

[mindyfromcali]

Don't be discouraged. It sounds like the other people there were stressed about it too. I've worked in a hospital in a major metropolitan city, and in a critical care unit no less. These situations are always stressful for everybody, but the key is to remember your training, and if it's beyond your scope of care, let the nurses/doctors handle it. All you can do is notice major changes in condition and tell the nurse ASAP. It took me a long time as a CNA to really feel like I could be the nurse some day after watching them handle those kinds of situations. Don't feel stupid, you can only do the best you can. I've seen patients oxygen levels decrease rapidly, watched people pass in LTC from their condition, and all I could do in the situation is what I was trained to do: get the nurse ASAP. When I become a nurse, I'll know just what to do and will be able to handle the situation, but in the mean time all I can do is be their eyes and ears. Don't feel bad.

[northernguy]

I dont know about Medical assistant training, but if its like CNA school, there was very little training on what to do in medical emergencies. If you arent BLS certified, then take the class so you will have some idea what to do if someone does go unresponsive and stops breathing. Maybe take a first responder or first aid class.

The thing about medical emergencies is that you cant go completely wrong as long as you at least ensure your ABCs. Airway, Breathing, and Circulation. Make sure they got a patent airway(without unnecessarily aggravating a possible spinal injury if you can), make sure they are breathing adequately(or as well as possible under the circumstances), and make sure their heart is beating, they arent bleeding out, and if need be treat for shock. There are pretty simple and easy to learn things you can do for each of these in many cases. You dont have to be able to create a surgical airway or perform a chest needle decompression, just do what you can.

As an EMT Ive had my "oh s#*%" moments, where I arrive at a situation that is a lot worse or more complicated than I expected. I always try to stay as calm as possible. I move deliberately, I dont go rushing around frantically or rifling through my jump bag. I dont raise my voice or yell or speak fast. It helps keep me calm and focused, even though I suppse it might not look like what people expect to see from TV and movies. But results are what matters, not what you look like. Humor can help too(when appropriate), the other day as I helped lift someone into an ambulance who was in pretty bad shape, they mentioned they used to be an EMT, so I told them this should be like old times then. It made them smile for a second and helped break the ice.

Important thing to remember after the fact is rather than beat yourself up about everything you should have done, just remember you didnt make the person sick or injured, all you did was try to help(or in your example stay out of the way). In some cases it really may be best for you to just call for help, offer emotional support to the patient and wait til someone with a higher level of training arrives(remember the first rule, do no harm).