We in EMS arrive on scene to a patient and we have to figure out what is making them ill. Sometimes it’s plain for all to see. A knife sticking out of a chest, a body hanging out of a mangled car. But sometimes it’s not so simple. A sharp abdominal pain can be anything from gastritis, to a perforated bowel or ulcer, or even a tripple A. Sometimes feeling lethargic with nausea and vomiting is the flu, sometimes it’s an A typical presentation of a heart attack. We don’t have access to MRI and X-rays, blood work, or any of the things a doctor has in an ER. We have to use our knowledge, the tools at hand, our instinct, and our assessments to crate a working diagnosis so we can begin treatment.
This brings me to the subject, what do we consider a victory? A cardiac arrest save, a healthy baby delivered in the back of the medic, an OD reversal, sure these are all vitories, and they all leave you with that great, “This is why I do this!” feeling. Well sometimes, like in the case of one of my twitter friends a victory might be buried under the disappointment of a patient who didn’t make it out of the hospital alive. Did this mean EMS failed? No, no it doesn’t. Sometimes, sadly we are called to late. But we still arrive quickly, we bring all of our knowledge and experience to the patient’s side, and we use all the tools we have to give them a fighting chance. We all know somethings we are helpless to fix. A patient with a bad internal bleed, we can identify it, and do our best to get the patient to the hospital alive, but sometimes we are to far behind the 8 ball. We can’t view this as a failure. We identified the problem, and we did everything in our power, but somethings we just can’t fix in the back of an ambulance. I know it dosen’t feel like a win, but I sure as hell won’t call this a loss. Here is to a job well done.
I agree with what you’re saying, in theory. But I would liken those lost saves to more like a “draw” or “tie” in the game-sense than a win. Sure you may pull something out of it beneficial or you may have done more to delay death than others could, but you have not conquered anything to get a victory. I consider my victories any time I render care to a PT which positively benefits their outcome in the short and long terms. And anytime I can’t save one, I don’t necessarily feel I lost. I feel like, as long as there was forward progress on the PT but still death, it’s a tie. If they live, it’s a win.