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Thoughts and insights from medical students
OMG, I'm a crap medic
I'm listening to music on my I-Pod in the cramped passage of the 18.25 train, when i hear/feel a thud. I turn around and see that a girl has collapsed. Being a medic, I take a step back and do...
...NOTHING!. That's right. I just stand there, frozen, a dumb look on my face, staring at the girl on the floor, willing her to open her eyes. Then she starts to jerk! I'm thinking " Oh noo she's having a fit"  what do i do? what do I do? crap! 
Thankfully, she jerks for like 2 seconds, stops, and opens her eyes and looks around. I breathe a sigh of relief that she seems fine. She looks around, surprised to find herself on the floor and everyone staring down at her. She realizes that she passed out and apologises over and over again to us. In my mind i'm thinking " don't apologise, I feel like i should apologise. I'm the doctor of tomorrow and I could have well stood there dumbstruck while you had fits and do nothing".

Makes me wonder, at what point do you become calm and in control of an emergency situation?
sigh!
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Struckoffdoc wrote:
Congratulations. You will be a good Doctor. You have reflected , shared and sought guidance. I have trained medical Students and latterly Postgraduate Doctors for over 20 years. Welcome to the ranks of those who have experienced"event stress" or "combat paralysis". Follow your first post with "what should I have done?" add a third of " How will I perform differently should the circumstance occur again?" and you are well on the track that the qualified and alledgedly wiser follow on a daily basis. the only "rules" I have found helpful are:- "Never make the same mistake twice" "Be honest with yourself and colleagues"- it looks like you will be able to follow both.
1/6/2012 10:42 AM BST on bmj.com
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DundeeChest wrote:
It's always hard to react to these situations, particularly when they are so out of context. When you're at work, expecting things to happen, you are prepared for it. Being able to spring out of your iPod and random thoughts into a rapid response, first on scene medic, is hard.

In this case, you did the right things - first do no harm. She was clearly safe enough on the floor, so leave her be and see how things go.

You'll be fine!
4/6/2012 10:02 PM BST on bmj.com
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clairmelville wrote:
I think that it is very hard to do 'something' when faced with a situation you are not expecting.
I remember being on a tram in Athens when a boy passed out (presumably it was just too hot an he had not drank enough) and did not know if I should intervene or not as I could not speak any Greek past hello and thank you. Luckily the other Greek passengers knew what to do and the boy recovered well but I remember feeling mortification that I felt unable to do anything, mainly due to the language barrier.
In some ways medicine is like learning a language, and over time you learn it, and some people pick it up and feel more confident using it quicker than others. I wasn't the quickest or most confident but I got there in the end and you will too.
5/6/2012 4:50 PM BST on bmj.com