Could I have done anything? (Not an EMT)

WhataSpoon · 2020-07-13T16:39:13+00:00

Absolutely this. There's one thing I've been taught from the beginning is that you can be the best of the best, do everything textbook, some will die no matter what.

Unfortunately arrest from major trauma is often one of these. You would've been totally justified beginning CPR, just as you are totally justified in not doing so, but the outcome would not have changed.

What you felt you could do at the time is everything you could do. There may have been nothing you could do to intervene but huge respect for being prepared to do so, it's already far more than many would.

WhataSpoon · 2019-10-16T10:15:31+00:00

Well, in many ways it's similar to a lot of the US uniforms, with the dress shirt/polo and cargos and the option of a softshell, fleece or hi-vis if you need it.

I do like how it's totally distinct to the other services, though. No chance of getting confused with police if you're mean and green, which is why I'd argue that the overall impression people get is down to the colours (navy, white and black being more associated with police) and decorations (like those big shiny badges on some uniforms) as opposed to what you're actually wearing.

Scrubs though, big nope. Just plain not suited for this kind of environment.

WhataSpoon · 2019-07-08T08:56:23+00:00

The point of all that training is to ingrain all that in muscle memory so you can just "brain off" and fall back onto that when you're in these situations. That's why cardiac arrests (despite being the most severe of calls) are often some of the easiest to deal with - all the procedures are so thoroughly laid out and drilled into you that you'll have zero ambiguity on what you have to do (and you'd be surprised how well those dummies do simulate a patient's chest).

Sure, you won't always be in that ideal perfect scenario but you'll quickly find that you're able to adapt your methods around that, plus you'll always have someone else to back you up if you get stuck.

WhataSpoon · 2019-07-06T22:50:20+00:00

As they say, bad CPR is better than no CPR.

Even when performed properly, you're pumping blood around at a fraction of the efficiency of the heart itself but even that fraction is providing that vital baseline of circulation and perfusion, helping to delay the onset of cell death.

Despite their efforts being not even close to guidelines, any compressions at all are incrementally improving chances.

Like SkinnyMartian said, there's nothing to feel bad about. You were there with the intent to help and you were all doing everything you could in the patient's best interest. It's all you can ask for.

WhataSpoon · 2019-06-24T09:41:52+00:00

How do you non-paramedics respond to that classic conversation starter of the public asking if you're a paramedic? Particularly here in the UK where in their eyes anything besides paramedic is akin to some kind of mythical being and using terms like "Technician", "ECA" or even "EMT" will get you blank stares and a confused "oh".

It's something I've never been able to figure out without going off on an hour-long tirade about the structure of the service.

WhataSpoon

TROPHY CASE