code blue

I got to go to my first real code last night. As an observant. I was excited.. heart pumping.. thinking of all the things I would see when I got in there.. people rushing, meds going in, decisions made in seconds to save the person's life, the experience of seeing someone shocked for the first time..... so we get there, and it wasn't quite what I expected. It was a respiratory arrest that only required an airway. I have seen an intubation, so I made myself useful and helped pull things out to make room for the vent and answered the phone. I did get to see the RT bag someone, hadn't seen that yet.. but I still await the first real full code to watch. I need the experience of seeing it with observation so I can assess what is going on and take it all in. See what people do. It is amazing really.. in these type of situations. Everyone pulls together as a team and each person has their own role in the code/emergency situation. There is no arguing about who is doing what.. they just do. I respect that about those involved in a code, and all I could think was that when I graduate, and it is my turn to participate, I hope to hell one of these nurses is there with me! They know what the hell they are doing! :)

But I have to admit, when the er doc was intubating last night, all i could think about was that episode of er (yes I know.. it's not real and all of that, just things stick in your head) where pratt is intubating a kid and when he is lifting the neck for access, he breaks his neck. I could literally hear that crack inside of my head... of course that didn't happen last night, but I couldn't help thinking about it. Must stop watching er.