do any of you like codes??

[ryanfocker]

i have a confession...i like codes, ok, i love codes.

i don't like that i like them, because, i know it means a human being is in big trouble. but my heart gets pumping, pin point pupils, adrenaline racing, my entire being focuses intesely on the moment....just thinking about it gets me excited.

even when they are over, the after glow keeps me going for hours. sometimes when the floor gets slow, i "almost" want a code.

my moral compass tells me this is wrong. i should not "want" a human to code. but i know they will, and the hospital is the safest place on earth for it to happen, and i want to be there when it happens.

does any body else feel this way??

i should also point out....i get very anxious and nervous when pt's expire. and aftercare makes me shake for about a day or two. i don't like death.

any meaningful comment would be appreciated.

[burn out]

I like to prevent codes...the outcomes are better. i like to take a pt that is circle-ing and see if I can turn things around.

[Pat_Pat RN]

Think of it the way I've always thought of house fires.

I don't *want* anyones house to burn, but if it is going to[burn], I hope I'm there.

Pat

[postmortem_cowboy]

I have to agree with you ryan, codes are very exciting, and alot of fun to run. As a few of the others stated this is where we get to shine, even if the patient does/doesn't make it, we still get to put into practice everything we've been taught. Personally, I love codes. I'm usually one of two people who start IV's and get saline running if/when the medic line isn't patent, nothing like dropping a nice 18 gauge in someone's arm and letting loose that saline for an RN to push that epi!!

Although i'd say 90% or more of the codes i've taken part in, have been unsuccessful, there is one every now and again you are working on thinking the whole time "this person's a gonner" and they surprise you, they come back. It's also nice to see that same exact patient two weeks later being wheeled out the ED doors to go home, bright and full of vigor, even though you'd been pumping on their chest 2 weeks earlier, and it's also nice to get the thank you from them on their way out the doors as well. I think for me it always comes down to hope. If it were me on that gurney, wouldn't I want someone to do something? Wouldn't I want someone that loves to work a person back up and get them back? I think for all of us, the answer is yes. Although sometimes we may not have alot going on, and pray for anything exciting to happen, I really don't think of it as morbid, but purely, we want to know we're making a difference.

Wayne.

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

I like to prevent codes...the outcomes are better. i like to take a pt that is circle-ing and see if I can turn things around.

Think of it the way I've always thought of house fires.

I don't *want* anyones house to burn, but if it is going to[burn], I hope I'm there.

Pat

Agreed on both counts...

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

When I worked on the med/surg floor codes scared the hell out of me. One of the big reasons I went to the ER. To face my greatest fear and learn what to do, since I knew as a nurse this was gonna happen from time to time.

I have gotten much better now, but still haven't completely gotten over my fear.

When a code happens in my ER it is really crazy. We don't have a code team so everyone that isn't completely tied up with a patient runs to work on the code because I work with a lot of people who love to participate in them. So I have completely given up on getting much more code experience because I just don't have the gumption to force my way to the bedside through the gathering crowd to get the code practice.

After all, someone has to take care of the boring regular patients. I do think that it is okay for a code to excite you. We have to have people like that to take care of coding people. And the more you practice, the better you get.

As long as it is not you making the patient code, I say enjoy and practice and learn all you can.

I do think codes bother a lot of us because when we have a nursing home pt come in we are all always very happy when we find out they are a DNR.

Usually a person passing doesn't bother me too much because I have such an unwavering belief in God. But when my 6 y/o pt died of asthma it did give me pause. I still think about that, and wish it hadn't happened, if not for the sake of the 6 y/o then for his grandparents who were raising him.

[Germanicus]

I've been in lots of codes over the last 27 years. I do not like them. I can only think of a handful, less than five perhaps, where the patient survived. Also I have rarely seen a code go smoothly. All the practice and procedure seem to go right out the door. I especially don't like doing chest compressions. I'm a big guy and I have broken sternums on elderly patients. When I hold back on downward force someone starts telling me to compress harder and I try to get someone else to handle compressions which usually gets me a royal case of Stinkeye from others present. At my last code the patient's sternum came apart on the third compression. I was the first one there so I had to keep pushing. No, I don't llike codes at all.

[jelorde37]

i dont really like codes due to the idea that a patient's life is in danger, but the excitement associated with a code is tremendous. the boost of epinephrine your body gets is better than any kind of drug out there. also, the feeling of knowing that you saved a life in a successful code is one of the best feelings. it gives you a feeling of power of some sort.

whats better than adrenaline + power? nothing that i know of. :pumpiron:

[antidote]

Unfortunately, I must admit I love code blue's too. It is for the same reason, that is gives me adrenaline and really gets me going! I think its the fact that you are what stands between that person and death, and you are one of the people that can bring them back to life!

What I don't like are DNR's. Now, I'm not just saying that because if they do code I can't do anything (*shucks!*). Its the fact that for some reason that person does not want to continue living in this world. Even though some people are in very bad condition in an ICU, and some people have problems in their life, I personally would want to stay and fight through it as much as possible.

[vamedic4, EMT-P]

I like code's too. Years ago when I started as a volunteer "almost EMT" (I was 15 and just taking the class) I had my first ever "run", and it was a code. The lady had gone to the car to get something and didn't come back. Now when I say "car", I mean Chevy Chevette-for those of you old enough to remember those!! And this lady was not small, either. So I get to do CPR for almost an hour (we were in a rural area). I think I slept the entire next day.

Now I work with doctors and nurses who don't have my 20 years experience in code situations, so I enjoy the ability to "teach" during and after the code. Yes, I like 'em.

vamedic4

[kontakt]

Love codes! :)

I sincerely do feel bad for the person who's receiving the code.

But I LOVE codes! :pumpiron:

[nservice]

I love a good code...as long as it's not my patient coding!!!

[CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN]

Even if codes are so amazingly otherworldly...they are not something I look forward to doing, EVER!

Perhaps, because I just have trouble thinking well on my toes while everyone else is scurrying. It's just plain not fun!

And why is it that they always come in twos or threes???

Additionally, I find the code process tiring, not exhilerating at all!!! In fact after suffering over two codes in a night, I'll be found crumpled off in a corner of the Tele floor whimpering like a pet mongoose.

PS...I know, I know! I should work more with my ACLS flash cards, but I think I'd rather be enjoying my dogs, daughter, and laughter on my days off!