help in stress situation

[Aronia]

hello

My name is aronia.I live in Israel.

I am a nurse .I work in Orthopedic department for 6 years.

well I am fine there as long as patients are ok.

i mean i can handle with surgeries; dressings ;ADL ;

I work night shifts and everything.

My mean problem is in a stressor situations like CPR.

yesterday in my shift the patient was difficulty in breathing her BP was 45/22 no pulse.

My doctor started CPR.I was supposed to help him.

than my problems are serious.

I can't handle there with situation

I freeze in the place where I must act quickly.I lose my mind and there is blackout and I can't do even simple things like open ampules.

I am with enormous stress in these situations and I can't act.I can't find nothing everything falls from my hands and I am useless.

it is very dissapointing me.

what can do to get over with this problem??

please help me.I am hopless with this sitation and it is affecting on all my work.

sorry about my english.

when I thought with myself why I am like that I think that it happens to me because I am very sensitive to how others see me in these situations.I think maby I am not doing things right? what others will think about me? I am very afraaid that I will be humiliated.

please give me advice what to do.I am afraid the next time it will happen and same thing will occur again.

thank you!!

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

Hi aronia,

Remember that when a patient is crashing, it is not about you. Shift your focus from your own worries about how others perceive you to the patient and what needs to be done for them. Take a deep breath or two and calm your mind, and focus on your task.

It may be helpful to you to mentally reheorifice CPR/ACLS procedures at times when you are not under stress. Practice chest compressions, get your hands on a bag valve mask and practice ventilation on a pillow, imagine your patient is coding when you draw up meds.

The more you reheorifice when you are not in a serious situation, the more prepared you'll be during the real thing.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

In many code situations, somebody has to sit in the corner, watch, and document everything that happens. Perhaps you could do that instead of performing other tasks. In time, you can move to doing small things, like opening the emergency medication and handing it to someone, while continuing to document.

I agree with Stargazer, though. It is not about you, and people think about you far less than you think they do. Practicing the hands-on skills when it doesn't matter at all, in a lab or an empty room, may help you focus on what is important.

If this anxiety is really harming your work, perhaps some work with a good therapist to help you gain perspective would release you from your fears.

And your English is a far sight better than my Hebrew. :)