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Discussion

PTSD after losing a patient?

Hello Nurses,

I'm a new nurse with less than a year's experience and just lost my first patient. I work in a skilled nursing facility and have the opportunity to bond with my patients since they are long-term residents. This week one of those patients suddenly went unresponsive and required ACLS, I applied all of my knowledge and fought my best, but resuscitation was unsuccessful and the resident died. Since then I have been dreaming about the event every night, fearing I missed something, or didn't do enough. Is this normal? I tried talking to my supervisor about this and she brushed me off and told me was "too thin-skinned" and would "get over it" I realize patients die on a daily basis, but this was huge event for me, this wasn't old lady so-and-so passed away peacefully in her sleep. Any advice for a dealing with a traumatic loss? Thanks for any advice and letting me vent!

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    I definitely wouldn't go so far as to label this PTSD; the loss of your patient was upsetting, but not the caliber of a post traumatic stress disorder, a diagnosable condition.

    At any rate, it IS normal to have feelings of sadness, loss, regret, and back-tracking through what you did and didn't do for this patient to see if you could have done something better. I suppose everyone who has ever lost anyone they felt close to experiences that, including nurses :)

    I wouldn't take your supervisor's response as a brush off, but more just her reaction to what she recognizes as a new nurse experiencing something this upsetting for the first time. You WILL get more "used to it", if you will, but if you don't feel something....well, that's probably the time to get out of nursing entirely.

    Hang in there. Sounds like she was lucky to have had you there for her!

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    This is very very normal. Don't let anyone tell you that you should "suck it up" or whatever. It's stupid that we are supposed to somehow be too tough to have feelings, but that is exactly what we are expected to be.

    This has come up before and I wrote out a whole plan of attack (that WORKS!) for these mixed up feelings you are having. There's a ton of good advice here, so go check it out.

    https://allnurses.com/emergency-nursing/how-do-i-975821.html#post8366640

    HUGS!! You can get through this! :cat: :yes: :inlove:

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    • Author

    I didn't intend to insinuate that I am actually suffering with PTSD resulting from my experience, only that I feel traumatized by the event. I will definitely choose my wording more carefully in future posts, thanks for your advice.

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    • Author

    Thanks for the advice, I will definitely apply some of the tips for coping with my emotions, thanks again!

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    I believe it is possible to experience a very mild form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from losing a patient. I felt like I had this experience at one time. I was watching Grey's Anatomy after experiencing a code recently and I began to start breathing really hard and fast and my heart was racing. One of my family member's noticed my reaction and body language to the code I witnessed on Tv and asked was I okay. I realized that I was affected by my previous experience in real life.

    All you can do is take it one step at a time. The experience should make you a better nurse.

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    • Guides
    Hello Nurses,

    I'm a new nurse with less than a year's experience and just lost my first patient. I work in a skilled nursing facility and have the opportunity to bond with my patients since they are long-term residents. This week one of those patients suddenly went unresponsive and required ACLS, I applied all of my knowledge and fought my best, but resuscitation was unsuccessful and the resident died. Since then I have been dreaming about the event every night, fearing I missed something, or didn't do enough. Is this normal? I tried talking to my supervisor about this and she brushed me off and told me was "too thin-skinned" and would "get over it" I realize patients die on a daily basis, but this was huge event for me, this wasn't old lady so-and-so passed away peacefully in her sleep. Any advice for a dealing with a traumatic loss? Thanks for any advice and letting me vent!

    It is completely normal to fret over you first patient death. Even more so when you were the one doing CPR/interventions. Your supervisor's comments were inappropriate and uncaring. It's normal to ask yourself what you might have done better/differently. In some facilities it's also normal to debrief everyone involved to make sure all are ok. I work in long term care and for what it's worth I see death in the elderly daily because we admit a fair number of hospice patients in their final days. Death is not a tragedy- it is the end of a journey. Of course if there is no DNR we perform all necessary interventions but most of our patients 99% have DNR status. If you find yourself continuing to dwell on this in a couple of weeks talk to a counselor. Don't just brush it off. There will be many more deaths in your career so you will have to learn how to put them in perspective.

    Peace and Namaste

    Hppy

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    • Experts
    I believe it is possible to experience a very mild form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from losing a patient. I felt like I had this experience at one time. I was watching Grey's Anatomy after experiencing a code recently and I began to start breathing really hard and fast and my heart was racing. One of my family member's noticed my reaction and body language to the code I witnessed on Tv and asked was I okay. I realized that I was affected by my previous experience in real life.

    All you can do is take it one step at a time. The experience should make you a better nurse.

    This sounds like a genuine anxiety driven reaction, possibly a panic attack but not PTSD and to my knowledge there isn't a "a very mild form of PTSD". :)

    Diagnostic criteria for PTSD:

    DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD - PTSD: National Center for PTSD

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    This sounds like a genuine anxiety driven reaction, possibly a panic attack but not PTSD and to my knowledge there isn't a "a very mild form of PTSD". :)

    Diagnostic criteria for PTSD:

    DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD - PTSD: National Center for PTSD

    Thanks for the side-note clarification :)

    Much like a very active child should not be classified as ADHD simply because of the level of activity, a person experiencing normal anxiety or sadness related to an upsetting event should not be considered to have PTSD. If you've ever seen what that IS.....you're not gonna confuse it ;)

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    I didn't intend to insinuate that I am actually suffering with PTSD resulting from my experience, only that I feel traumatized by the event. I will definitely choose my wording more carefully in future posts, thanks for your advice.

    No big deal, honestly. Just stuck out at me because many of the people I see daily DO have diagnosed PTSD, and it can be completely debilitating. You, on the other hand, are a compassionate and caring person who is going through a normal grieving process, and just need time to work it all through. It will get better, trust me :)

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    Thanks for the advice, I will definitely apply some of the tips for coping with my emotions, thanks again!

    Talking to a colleague helps some people, especially if they're willing to tell you about a time they felt the same way. Exercise was GREAT advice, it's a phenomenal treatment for that anxious energy it sounds like is wound up inside your head. NurseOnAMotorcycle mentioned EAP and that's also good advice, especially if these feelings stick around. I'm a firm believer in brief therapy as a form of mental inoculation, so that you feel better now and have the toois to decompress the next time. Take care of yourself.

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    • Experts

    Much like a very active child should not be classified as ADHD simply because of the level of activity

    Lol yup, or that someone with affective lability has BiPolar Disorder. ;)

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