Memoirs of an Emergency Nurse Read Free

now had a readable blood pressure and the monitors also confirmed he had a pulse. The drugs and defibrillation must have stimulated his heart enough to start beating again in normal sinus rhythm.
    The ventilator controlled the patient’s respiratory rate and monitors were in place to closely observe his vital signs post cardiac arrest. His heartbeat had returned, his cardiac output was now strong and his rhythm was normal. He was motionless due to being anaesthetised, but the monitor beeped reassuringly and confirmed effective resuscitation had occurred. His daughter breathed a sigh of relief as she understood the transformed readings on the cardiac monitor.
    His colour was returning to a normal pink and after observation and documenting the event, the Intensive Care Unit was informed and a bed made ready for the patient. A phone call made the next day to inquire about the patient’s progress revealed that he was breathing on his own without the ventilation tube and was stable. He had been referred to the cardiologist for further investigation.

Always wear a seatbelt
    My first major trauma as a new emergency nurse began by receiving a standby call from the paramedics. They indicated that a road traffic accident (RTA) had occurred on a bridge not far away from the hospital; one victim had chest injuries and one victim was unconscious.  The fast response vehicle from emergency was needed at the scene. The fast response vehicle, with its Peugeot 2.6 engine, was used to take a doctor and two nurses out to a patient in need in the community. There is a supply of essential drugs and equipment to keep the patient alive for a sustained period of time if the patient was trapped or cannot be moved from the scene. The doctor can administer drugs that the paramedics did not have and had the authority to refer the patient to hospitals outside the catchment area the paramedics worked within, if the patient need specific trauma centre treatment.
    The trauma team were called over the hospital paging system and given an estimated arrival time of 30 minutes.
    Two nurses raced to the major incident cupboard and began pulling on their fast response uniforms and grabbing the incident bags. The fast response uniform consisted of tough overalls with fluorescent nurse name tag along the back and steel toed capped boots to walk over the glass and debris that usually accompanies a major car accident. The incident bags were large orange backpacks which contained essential equipment like fluid bags, IV access equipment, drugs, dressings and scissors.
    It is never a good sign when the fast response car is required. It often means that it’s a pretty bad incident and that a doctor and nurse are needed at the scene because the patient is critically ill beyond the capability of the paramedics or the fire officers cannot remove the patient from the scene within the golden hour, without further help from a doctor.
    I was allocated to be the resuscitation nurse for when the patient was brought back to emergency and once the team had left, I assisted clearing the department of non-priority patients, such as performing minor dressings that hadn’t been attended to yet and preparing some rooms for patients while we were short staffed. I then moved to the resuscitation room and began to prepare. I had butterflies in my stomach as I wrapped a long green protective splash-proof apron around myself, put protective goggles over my eyes and pulled on some gloves. I turned on the oxygen, ready for the patient’s arrival, and made necessary equipment accessible quickly. Having only the information of road traffic accident, chest injuries and one patient unconscious, it was hard to prepare. I ensured that I had everything ready that I could, including standard IV fluid bags and unlocking all the drug cabinets. Because two emergency nurses were attending at the scene, there were only three nurses left in the accident and emergency department. We tried to prepare for