questions about your first code.. from a student nurse

[tinker72]

Hi all.. I'm a second year SN seeking my BSN. Today on peds I had a toddler who was going into respiratory distress with stridor. Luckily the code team was able to revive him. I assisted a little bit-and helped calm the mother down. The is the 1st time I've seen this happen to a child-I managed to keep it together during clinical today but I keep feeling so sad for him-and his mother. It was a difficult and scary thing to see, especially for someone so young. I know as a nurse I will see this often-but my question is: do you get used to it? Is it normal to feel teary, especially for a child? I'm not sure how I am supposed to react. I did go into the break room and pray for a minute-Is it normal to have something like this linger in your head post-shift?

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Where are you, OttawaRPN? I'm awaiting your reply.

Uncool. Well, to throw you and your child out after you were late picking him up once (or was it far more often?) and you had a perfectly sound reason (a work emergency) - to me, that's very uncool.

[shoegalRN, RN]

I remember every last code/trauma/rapid response I've ever been a part of. And I feel sad after every one of them.

Everytime I'm a part of a code or trauma I really feel sad for a day or two. I really reflect on my own life choices and I make sure I tell my family how much I love them. Since becoming a nurse, I've become really close to my family because you never know when it's your last day. I often think what the person was doing right before they were brought into the ER in resp arrest or cardiac arrest. I often think of their love ones and how they will react to the news that their family member died suddently. I often say a prayer for the family.

[mentalhealthRN]

All your posts are why I don't do peds....I have been involved in many codes with adults over the years and I have been okay with dealing with it. Better then I ever would have thought I would. But I know myself and I couldn't deal with peds. I give you nurses that take care of the kids sooooo much credit. You are angels as I see it. The only place I ever took care of any kids was in the psych ER and they are stable physically. Sick and injured kids.....I can't handle that emotionally.

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

My first code was also on a child, although fortunately it wasn't when I was a student. The child did die, but the team in the room that day did EVERYTHING possible and that is what I console myself with. I don't believe I will ever forget him, or the feeling of helplessness I felt when I realized there was not going to be a thing we could do to save him. He was just too far gone by the time he got to the ED. You will learn to deal with your feelings better, but I do hope that you don't become so callous that you don't feel anything for the ones you can't help. I'm not saying you should allow yourself to become crippled by your emotions, but I think it's healthy to feel the way you do.