Sol518
Registered
I wrote this post as a reply in the Most Frightening Moments thread. Thinking about it I thought it would be valuable and get more visibility as it's own thread. Mods - feel free to delete if you'd rather not have the double post.
In reading through the thread I notice some common themes from people who had been involved in rescues possibly feeling anxiety or guilt that their response wasn't perfect. I have also seen this happen many time in my EMS career. I know that it is human nature to beat yourself up about what you could have done better, but give yourselves some credit. The fact that you acted instead of panicking and freezing up gave the victims a much higher chance of survival. It's easy to look back and and say "I should have..." or "Why didn't I ...?" but when the emergency is happening you don't have the luxury of time to think about every possibility. You have to assess the situation and react.
For people worried about how they would react in an emergency situation, think about your priorities:
1. Don't become a victim.
2. Get the victim to the appropriate medical care.
3. Documentation - follow up.
4. Again, take care of yourself.
5. Remember that you did not put the victim into the situation.
In reading through the thread I notice some common themes from people who had been involved in rescues possibly feeling anxiety or guilt that their response wasn't perfect. I have also seen this happen many time in my EMS career. I know that it is human nature to beat yourself up about what you could have done better, but give yourselves some credit. The fact that you acted instead of panicking and freezing up gave the victims a much higher chance of survival. It's easy to look back and and say "I should have..." or "Why didn't I ...?" but when the emergency is happening you don't have the luxury of time to think about every possibility. You have to assess the situation and react.
For people worried about how they would react in an emergency situation, think about your priorities:
1. Don't become a victim.
Even if there are enough divers at the scene with the skills and training needed to conduct 2 simultaneous rescues, multiple critical patients at the same time could easily overwhelm many rural EMS systems. Sometimes the best thing you can do to improve the chances of the victims survival is choosing not to act instead of doing something that you are not comfortable with or that would put you at risk. If you end up needing help you will be taking rescue resources away from the original victim and potentially decreasing their chance of a positive outcome.
2. Get the victim to the appropriate medical care.
Don't let it get to you if you are unable to fix the problem on your own. You are just one link in the chain of survival. Anticipate your needs so the next link is there as soon as possible. Confirm that someone has contacted EMS. If needed make sure someone is getting the Oxygen and/or first aid kit so that it is ready when the victim gets to the boat or shore. Have someone take some notes so the hand off to EMS is efficient and does not delay transport to the hospital. Make sure you are doing what you can to stabilize the patient, but remember that you might not have the training or equipment to do everything that needs to be done. As a paramedic some of the most stressful situations that I've been in have been when I know what needs to be done, but I don't have the equipment to provide the treatment needed.
3. Documentation - follow up.
After an emergency response there could be an in depth investigation into what happened. There will be questions about details that you don't remember or think are insignificant. Answer everything honestly and factually. Don't speculate or offer opinions. Coming from the EMS world I am used to writing up run reports after every call and I do the same if I'm involved in a rescue when I'm not working, it helps me get my thoughts in order, and provides a reference if you are asked questions weeks, months, or in the event that there is a lawsuit, years later. Again keep it simple, what did you see, what did you do. Leave opinions out of it. If you don't remember, don't guess. It's OK to say that you don't remember or didn't notice.
4. Again, take care of yourself.
PTSD is a condition that can affect anyone, not just people in combat or terror attacks. Sometimes it can be the result of a single incident, or it could build up over time and multiple situations. If you are feeling "off", talk to someone. It could be a buddy, friend, mentor, significant other, or a professional. Watch out for the other people involved, if someone isn't acting normal, talk to them, see how they are doing. Nobody is immune and we all have different triggers. Maybe the victim looked like a family member, or maybe the situation was similar to something that happened to you and it puts you into a "that could have happened to me" mindset.
Often in EMS we will do an incident review after a serious call. This is a great tool, but it is important to keep blame out of it. It's ok to use it as a learning opportunity, but remember that you reacted in the best way you could to the situation that was presented to you. I find that often in these debriefs it is a good opportunity for less experienced people to get some insight into why the more experienced people made the decisions they did, which will help them if they are ever in a situation where they are the most experienced person.
5. Remember that you did not put the victim into the situation.
If the victim wasn't in your group this is an easy one. To prevent this from happening within your group make sure that you are not pressuring people into situation they aren't comfortable with. Make sure everyone in your group understands the risks, and let them make their own decisions. Encourage a culture in which everyone knows that they can call the dive for any reason, at any time, without any judgement. Even if it's just "I'm feeling a little off today". If it's just two of you the proper response to that is "OK, lets go get lunch instead."
I hope this is useful to folks who worry about ending up in the middle of an emergency. Remember your first priority is yourself, then your buddy, then everyone else. Do what you can, don't feel obligated to do something that you are not comfortable with, or that would put you at risk. Remember that everyone has their own level of acceptable risk, based on their training and experience, don't feel you need to do something just because someone else is comfortable with it.
